But the main consideration for bathroom flooring is, of course, moisture.
Let's look at your top bathroom flooring options. We're counting down, from worst to best:
7. Carpet
In a Nutshell: "You've got to be kidding..."A horribly bad choice for bathroom flooring. Moisture and carpeting do not mix. However, if you still must have carpeting in your bathroom, we have pointers from a professional carpet installer
6. Solid Hardwood
In a Nutshell: "Not the best, but if you insist..."
A slightly better bathroom flooring choice than carpet, solid hardwood looks great and feels warm under foot. But moisture kills solid hardwood. Make certain it's perfectly installed, with no gaps for moisture. This likely means hiring installers--unless your day job happens to be that of a hardwood floor installer.
5. Laminate Flooring
In a Nutshell: "A viable choice for bathrooms..."Surprisingly, laminate flooring is a better bathroom flooring choice than solid hardwood. I say "surprisingly" because laminate flooring is no more than resin-impregnated paper atop a wood chip base. The surface of laminate plank is actually a photograph of whatever it's supposed to be simulating: oak, cherry, slate, marble.
On top of that is what the manufacturers call the "wear layer." The wear layer is a clear layer of melamine. But this wear layer is amazingly strong. DuPont RealTouch, for instance, warrants the wear layer on its line of laminate flooring for 30 years. Because the seams are glued together, it's difficult for moisture to work its way downward.
Laminate is easy to clean, too. But laminate still has that wood chip base, and should it happen to contact with moisture it will expand and bubble and the only way to fix it is to tear it out.
Laminate Flooring Guide for Bathrooms
- Oak is the most popular style of wood or wood-look laminate flooring. Dupont's embossed-in-register feature means that the wood grain is imprinted in the product, giving it a more authentic wood-grain look (and better slip resistance).
Buy Red Oak Laminate Flooring Direct - Pine is also great for bathrooms because it reflects light better and looks cleaner.
Buy Pine Laminate Flooring Direct - Tuscan Stone. Laminate flooring doesn't have to look like wood. How about a Tuscan Stone Terra to give your bathroom a richer look? In fact, the deeper embossing of the stone laminate further reduces the chance of slipping.
Buy Tuscan Stone Terra Laminate Flooring Direct - Travertine is a lighter colored stone, and in this laminate flooring application it will brighten up your bathroom considerably.
Buy Tavas Travertine Laminate Flooring Direct - Slate. Part of Dupont's popular RealTouch line, this light-colored slate feels like real stone--except in this laminate version, it's warmer on bare feet than stone!
Buy Dupont Real Touch Elite Gray Slate Laminate Flooring Direct
4. Engineered Wood
In a Nutshell: "Better yet, due to engineered wood flooring's dimensional stability."
Engineered wood is great stuff. It's got a plywood base that holds up well against moisture. And it looks terrific because the top layer is real wood. If you want the wood flooring look in a bathroom, engineered wood is the best choice.
Hold Your Breath...Here are the Top 3 Bathroom Flooring Options
