Are you choosing the right bathroom flooring?
If you’ve been looking to re-floor your home, you may already be pulling your hair out over the amount of choices on the market. However from our experience, no room is harder to choose flooring for than your bathroom. Not only does it have to look good, it also needs to be highly practical and durable. At Hudson Flooring our experts are here to walk you through the process and educate you on the most appropriate options for your bathroom flooring.
The steamy environment of the bathroom means that your flooring needs to be able to withstand the excessive moisture and also prevent people from slipping. If you choose the wrong type of flooring the chance of it getting water-damage is far greater and could end up costing you more.
To narrow it down for you, let’s look at the flooring options that you should definitely not include:
Avoid
Carpet
It may be obvious to some of you but carpet is not a good choice for your bathrooms. Yes there are some advantages to having it; it will be soft on your feet and will keep them warm when you jump out of the shower in the morning, but the disadvantages far outweigh these. We cannot stress enough how much of a mistake you would be making by fitting wall to wall carpeting in your bathroom. Not only is it out-dated but it is extremely impractical, as carpets absorb and harbour moisture like no other type of flooring. If your bathroom is not well ventilated and your carpet remains damp for long periods of time, you run the risk of mould and mildew growing,
Laminate
At first laminate flooring may seem like a good option for bathrooms; it is easy to clean and it is not necessarily very slippery. It is also a fantastic and cost-effective alternative to hardwood flooring. If you have decided that you want to go ahead with laminate flooring in the bathroom, make sure that you do your research beforehand and choose one that is waterproof. If you choose a type of laminate that isn’t suited for a moist environment then you run the risk of the laminate boards swelling and cracking.
Solid Hardwood
In the same way as carpeting, hardwood flooring gives you the feeling of a warmer environment. The reason you don’t want to be using hardwood floor in the bathroom is again due to the amount of water exposure and damp air. If hardwood floorboards are exposed to too much water then they can warp and in a worst case scenario crack. Once a hardwood floorboard has cracked it is almost impossible to repair and will most likely have to be replaced.
So what is our best option for your bathroom flooring?
Let’s be honest it is inevitable that the bathroom floor is going to get wet at some point. Therefore you need to choose a material that is resistant enough to not be affected by the moisture. Below is a list of what we think are the best options for your bathroom flooring.
Sheet Vinyl
At Hudson Flooring the best option that we offer for bathroom flooring is our sheet vinyl tiles. Over the years these have become an incredibly popular option due to their waterproof properties and the fact that they are surprisingly soft underfoot. As with laminate, sheet vinyl flooring is created with the intention of mimicking the appearance of other natural flooring, like stone and wood. Our huge range of wood vinyls is available in a range of styles and colours, so you can guarantee that we will have the perfect choice for you.
The other sheet vinyl option is vinyl stone flooring, a fantastic alternative to real stone floors. Recent technical advancements mean that vinyl stone flooring is almost identical to real stone except for the fact that they do not get cold in the winter and are significantly more comfortable underfoot.
Amtico
We are always proud to label ourselves as one of the few Amtico stockists in the South East. Amtico are international market leaders in the production of innovative sheet vinyl tiles. These luxury vinyl tiles have been crafted by experts to be virtually indistinguishable from their natural equivalent. Amtico’s designers take inspiration for all around the globe and create cutting-edge designs that will be sure to make your home amaze. (If you want to learn about who Amtico are read our blog.)
Although they are an extremely design-led company, Amtico have spent the last 50 years perfecting their vinyl flooring. Ultimately they have developed a highly innovative product that is suitable for every room in your house, especially your kitchen and… you guessed it.. your bathroom.