Bathroom flooring options...

[Gordon Henderson]

I'm just after an idea of what to put down on the bathroom floor after recently stripping everything put & installing a new bathroom...

Previously were old varnished cork tiles (which I removed the hard way) and carpet on top of that (yuk).... I was thinking of some thick cushion-floor vinyl type material, but the floorboards aren't really that good - not too even and a bit rough on-top with the occasional gouge caused by my enthusiasm to remove the cork tiles...

Laminate flooring? I hear there's stuff suitable for bathroom use now, but I'm not convinced. What does it need under it?

It would be nice to be able to get to the floorboards if desperately required - the plumbing runs under the floor.

Below the floor is a gap then the ceiling attached to the floor is lath & plaster and below that - nothing - an alleyway at the side of the house, so it's a bit on the cold side in winter, which is why I thought the vinyl might be an option, but after seeing the state of the floorboards, I suspect I'd have to lay down something flat first.

Anyone with any alternatives? All suggestions gratefully received!

Thanks,

Gordon

[Snowman]

I'm just in the same situation, so will look with interest at replies.

I was looking B&Q (sorry!) last night and was quite taken with some laminate type flooring that looks like ceramic tiles and claims to be water resistant. It doesn't need glueing and locks together, but it will need a flat surface and some underlay.

Peter.

[Gordon Henderson]

I may investigate these flooring types further. I suspect the requirement of a flat surface might trip me up though )-:

I guess I could always stick down cork tiles again... (Not!)

Gordon

[Kalico]

Lay thin plywood over your boards and then the vinyl.

The ply can be nailed down using short tacks and should keep things level and stable for the lino.

Rob

Replace 'spam' with 'org' to reply

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

That's exactly what I'll be doing once the decoration is finished :)

Cheers Dan.

[Simon Stroud]

Hello Gordon,

As others have mentioned, a nice layer of, say, 6mm WBP ply fixed to the floor would provide an excellent base for vinyl or, if you are a little more adventurous, something like vinyl "tiles" such as Karndean or (vastly more expensive) Amtico.

I have fitted Karndean flooring in both our recent bathrooms and have been very pleased with the results.

You can see some of my previous posts on the subject via Google:

?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&frame=right&th=7bafc82e7743b1a5&seekm=a7d88u%24lum%241%40paris.btinternet.com#link8However this doesn't satisfy your requirement for possible future access under the floor.

One other point - for this type of floor the ply needs to be SCREWED down and all screwheads/gaps/cracks filled and sanded and the whole lot given a coat or two of PVA. For ordinary vinyl you probably don't have to be quite as careful with the preparation.

Good luck.

Regards, Simon.

[Chris J Dixon]

And the maintenance access beneath it?

Chris

[adder]

Why would you need it?

[Gordon Henderson]

Access to the pipes under the floorboards "just in case".

I guess I'm just a bit paranoid... 2 x 22mm pipes come into the bathroom under the door, then make a right turn and lie into notches cut into the joists. Theres a pair of push-fit Ts to 15mm leading to the sink which I installed, then another set of soldered Ts to 15mm leading to where the sink used to be (I've capped these with soldered caps) then they come above the floor under the bath there I've Td (push-fit) them off to 15mm to the shower, then they have a right-angle (push-fit) to a flexy hose to the bath taps. So far so good and I'm happy with my plumbing, but ...

I guess I'm fortunate in that underneath is an alleyway, so if they do leak then it's not going to ruin any rooms...

SWIMBO is the type who just steps out of the bath dripping wet, so whatever it is, it's going to have to be well sealed anyway.

Thanks for all the suggestions so-far!

Gordon

[Capitol]

Always fit a suspended ceiling below bathrooms.

Regards Capitol

[Gordon Henderson]

Excellent idea, but in my case, thehouse is ~260 years old and where the bathroom is, it's over an alleyway (which used to be used for horse drawn carts to get in & out) and the ceiling is about 4m above the ground...

After reading the replies here and a few private emails, I think I'm going to go for a laminate type flooring - which could be lifted in an emergency. I do have isolation-valves fitted where the water supply to the bathroom leaves the airing cupboard though.

Cheers,

Gordon