Guide to choose Flooring for your Bathroom

Choosing flooring options for bathrooms is quite different from that of rest of the house. There are different criteria to be considered while choosing tiles for your bathroom. Style, design and material are common factors of consideration in case of all tiles. But there are two other important factors that you need to think about when it comes to choosing tiles for a bathroom. Water resistance, easy maintenance and slip resistance are important aspects for bathroom tiles. Bathrooms are all about water so you ought to make sure that the tiles are durable and last long, remaining unaffected by water. Also if you have senior citizens or children in the house then opting of anti-slip tiles is a good idea.

When it comes to materials options available are numerous. You can choose from ceramic tiles, vinyl, laminate floor, stone floor, cork floor, hard or solid wood floor, linoleum floor, bamboo floor, carpet floor, concrete floor, etc. Each of these floors have their own advantages and disadvantages. But if you put together all the considerations listed above, ceramic tiles emerge as the best choice as it fits the bill in all respects and at the time is pocket friendly, though you can also take a look at the more expensive options.

• Ceramic tiles

These come in a wide variety of shapes, colors and finishes giving different textured looks. They are extremely water resistant and very easy to maintain apart from being economical. On the flip side they may be cold and need professional installation.

• Laminate floor

These are also low maintenance and come in countless variants. They are comparatively warmer but the presence of wooden chips makes them less resistant to water. If the rest of your house has wooden flooring then this is a good and pocket friendly idea.

• Hard or solid wood floor

This is solid or hardwood flooring and feels really warm. But maintenance is tough also water proofing it is a huge challenge because that would require high precision professional installation without slightest of gaps.

• Carpet floors

This is actually a bad idea for a bathroom floor because the abundant usage of water spoils it soon and you may have to replace it earlier and more often than you imagined. If you have a carpeted bathroom you will have to toil doubly harder to restrict moisture and keep the floor dry. Instead you can place a rug or two in the bathroom for that carpeted look and feel.

• Stone floor

This tends to be really cold and slippery than any other option and not a very good idea for a bathroom. Though there are several options like marble, granite, slate, limestone, etc. the amount one spends for a stone floor is actually not commensurate with the benefits.

• Vinyl floor

This a great DIY option if you wish to give your bathroom a makeover or believe in doing things yourself whether or not your bathroom is new. These usually come in sheets and are easy to install, inexpensive, and have numerous options to choose from. On the flip side, vinyl tends to come up after sometime and look like vinyl irrespective of color and texture.