How to select the flooring for your bathroom?
Bathrooms are a very important part of our homes. They need to be clean and tidy, in addition to being dry, at all times, for a variety of different reasons. The flooring of the bathroom tends to get slippery and dangerous due to moisture and water content inside the bathroom. Bathroom is already the room in your house which suffers temperature changes and high humidity content. So, the flooring in the bathroom can easily get damaged in a short span of time, if some good, proper flooring is not installed in the bathroom. The wet surfaces and the splash factor in the bathroom calls for a lot of work and demands extreme robustness and strength from the flooring. Sure, the flooring in the bathroom may look good and have some aesthetic value but more important is the fact that it needs to be practical in application.
The flooring in the bathroom must be resistant to slippery effects and also should be resistant to moisture content and it should be able to withstand the sudden temperature changes in the bathroom. In order to reduce the slip factor, floor mats, rubber mats or some similar type of rugs may be installed in the bathroom. These type of options are cheap as well as effective. So, they work well for you and are light on the pocket too. This article provides some popular flooring options to be installed in your bathroom in detail. If you want to replace the flooring in your bathroom or install a new one, this is a guide which can help you decide which material or type of flooring to go with.
Read the complete article to learn the considerations for flooring in the bathroom!
Tiles
Ceramic tiles are a popular choice and there are good reasons why it’s often first choice when it comes to bathroom floors. In terms of water-resistance, ceramic is way ahead of the alternative options. It’s available in a range of colors, styles or prices and because of this – and the fact that tiles can be arranged in an unlimited choice of patterns, it all helps add to a bathroom’s personal and unique look. Even common objections to ceramic like it’s slippery when wet, difficult to maintain or cold over foot are easily overcome.
For example, textured surfaced ceramic tiles can help keep floors from being slippery underfoot and grout can be sealed to make cleaning easier. Underfloor heating can put an end to cold bathroom (or kitchen) floors. And with electric underfloor heating systems, you don’t have to install it over the entire bathroom floor, you can choose to heat the areas where traffic is most common such as in front of the shower, bath, basin or toilet.
Other tiles like porcelain, glass, granite and travertine are more expensive than ceramic but can also be arranged in an infinite number of patterns. Porcelain and stone have color that goes all the way through the tile, so chips are less obvious. Granite and glass can also be especially slippery when wet so combining these materials with limestone tiles, a non-slip vinyl or textured tile inlay for added safety is a good idea.
Laminate
If you want the look of wood without the aftercare and know that your bathroom floor will need to withstand the onslaught of damp towels or over-exuberant splashing at bathtime, then laminate treated with water repellent is the way to go. Laminate is factory-finished and it can be put in over an existing floor, making installation quick and easy.
White good laminate can look uncannily like real wood, it often lacks the warmth of natural wood and some people may find it noisy. If cost is not a concern, then these issues can be overcome by adding underfloor heating and a good quality underlay.
Vinyl
Sheet vinyl is a great option, particularly if budgets are constrained. Not only is it available in a wide array of patterns and colours, it’s also relatively easy to install.
One of the drawbacks to vinyl floors is that if installation is not done carefully, air bubbles or tearing can be an issue. The lifetime of a vinyl floor is shorter, wear and tear and discoloration can occur and the edges can curl so proper sealing is essential. Peel and stick vinyl tiles are not recommended for the bathroom as moisture can seep between the tiles and damage the sub-floor.
The original article can be found here:
http://www.thehonestplumber.co.uk/choosing-bathroom-flooring(2854579).htm
