Bathroom Floors
When you are choosing the your bathroom floors, what do you need to take into consideration?
The most important thing is the waterproofing of your bathroom floors because it will need to cope with day to day splashes and a high degree of moisture as well as the occasional flood. Even the best looking floor will not look nice for long if it is not waterproofed right.
You should also think about safety because if you decide to have a highly polished surface, such as timber, marble or ceramic tiles you then have a high risk area for slips and spills if water gets on them. Various surface treatments, such as honing, can reduce slipperiness.
Of course you should not forget about the look of the material you have used for your bathroom floors. The look of the material you choose needs to be balanced with practicality and of course, cost!
So what are some of the options for your bathroom floors
Ceramic Tiles
Ceramic Tiles are one of the oldest flooring materials known and are popular for bathroom floors, but it's usually a job best left to the professionals because a bad tiling job is hard to fix.
Ceramic tiles are made from clay fired at high temperature and you can get them glazed or unglazed. Glazed tiles are more water resistant and easier to clean than un-glazed, but are more slippery when they are wet because of the glaze. Unglazed tiles are less slippery option, but are more porous. You can seal them to make them less porous and easier to clean.
There are huge ranges of ceramic tiles to choose from to create the style you are after, right from the clean-lined minimalist look, to a rustic, farmhouse look. Always take tile samples home and consider how they will look grouped together and with other components of the bathroom.
You need to consider the size and shape of the tiles. The smaller the tile, the greater the number of grout lines there will be. This can make them less slippery, but harder to clean also.
In a small bathroom a very large tile will make it more difficult to create a pattern and in a large bathroom very small tile could create an overwhelming effect with so many grout-lines.
Quarry Tiles
Quarry tiles are from clay, but the type of clay is high in silica alumina content, these tiles are which is fired. This makes them are hard and durable, but they have a softer composition than ceramic tiles and are unglazed so if you use them as bathroom floors you must seal them.
Porcelain/ Vitrified Tiles
Vitrified tiles are a porcelain tile fired at extremely high temperature. This makes them strong, durable and non-porous which makes them especially suitable for bathroom floors.
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is marble or granite chips set into slabs or tiles – it's a hard-wearing attractive product, long popular in Mediterranean countries. Terrazzo is also used as bench tops.
Concrete
Concrete has a hard wearing surface and is perfect if you are using under floor heating. Concrete must be sealed in a bathroom but can be left in its raw state or have a colorant added to the mix before laying or can be painted afterwards.
Stone
Stone has been used as bathroom floors for centuries because of its classic timeless look. Granite, Marble, Slate are commonly used.
Granite is form of igneous rock made up of feldspar, quartz and mica that makes for a very hard flooring surface. Granite is highly slippery when it is polished, or can be honed to create a safer finish.
Marble is a form of metamorphic rock, it's a luxury product. It comes available as marble slabs, or in marble tiles. Marble is very slippery so you will need a honed surface to make it suitable for bathrooms.
Slate is another metamorphic rock consisting of silica alumina and iron oxide which is split into layers creating a rustic surface. Slate is also slippery and is difficult to clean due to the textured surface. Usually it comes in shades of black/grey through to green.
Vinyl
This is can be a low-budget option; vinyl flooring comes in a large range of qualities and prices. More expensive vinyl’s can cost as much or more than tiles but the cost of the laying of it is less expensive. Many vinyl’s can replicate tile-patterns quite convincingly. With vinyl you must ensure it is meticulously laid to prevent water getting under joins.
Hardwood
A hardwood floor can add character to your bathroom because of the grain. It can be a bit high Maintenance , it is essential that the floor is well sealed and is resealed before problem areas develop.
Wood-look Laminate
This can be a very cost-effective way to get the look of timber or lumber, wood-look laminate flooring consists of a HDF base with a photographic ‘wood-look' veneer and laminated surface.
It can be laid over existing floor, solid concrete usually with a foam underlay. Depending on the brand some click together and others require gluing. You should check the quality of the locking systems and the quality of the laminate layer for durability.
Whatever material you chose for your bathroom floors take your time in deciding, it will pay of in the end.
