tile vs vinyl flooring in the bathroom

OK so i'm still debating...ceramic tile or vinyl flooring in the bathroom

ceramic is harder to put in. grout tends to mildew. and it cracks

but it LOOKS great

vinyl is easier...waterproof but doesnt look as good

any opinions??

Reply to
bpuharic
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Over the years I have used both.

Properly installed tile over a properly prepared surface of suitable thickness does not crack. A first class install will last at least 30 years. I just tore out one that was installed in 1937. No vinyl is going to last that long.

Reply to
Colbyt

tie all the way because!

Males who miss will stain vinyl and you will be doing the job again in

5 years or less.:(

new floors are work. Use concrete board!

or get a pro to do it so it lasts a long time.

the grout lines add traction on a wet floor, for this reason small tiles are prefered, pick a grout that will age gracefully.........

Reply to
hallerb

If you've seen mildew on bathroom floor grout, it's because a human was doing something very wrong.

1) Pouring water onto the floor during showers. I say "pouring" because the word signifies intent. We know there is intent because it's so easy to NOT let water hit the floor during showers. If the human does not prevent it, it means the human wanted it to happen. 2) Leaky toilet or sweating toilet tank. Easy to fix. If it's not fixed, it's because someone wanted it to happen. 3) Lousy ventilation during showers. Easy to fix. If it's not fixed, it's because someone wanted it to happen.

Fix the human problems and you'll have no mildew on your floor grout.

I said FLOOR GROUT. We're not talking about the grout in the shower itself.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

I can feel my bathroom floor flex when I lean back and forth. Joists are only 2x8, with around a 12' span. Even though subfloor in that part of house is the original diagonal 1x4, it is still pretty flexible. House isn't fancy enough to make tile worthwhile- if I splurge and redo that bath, it'll get a good grade of vinyl- no sense in putting pearl earrings on a pig.

Reply to
aemeijers

I lived in a house that had ceramic tile in the bath. ON the walls and on the floor. Hard to keep clean. I moved into a house about 5 years ago and redid the bathroom. Went to the stud walls. Had a good grade of vinyl on the floor and the fake marble for the shower. If I never see ceramic tile it will be too soon.

I guess that the looks is in the person looking at it.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

bpuharic wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Vinyl is the most practical for a moisture-intensive environment like a bathroom.

If tiles crack, then the floor is poorly-prepared and has insufficient rigidity.

If you do decide on tiles, use black grout. Any lighter color will yellow in the region of the toilet (guess why).

Reply to
Tegger

The one I ripped out including the joists was a true mudset with the carved joist tops filled with concrete 2x8 and about 12 foot. Weather had been too bad for me to haul that load to the landfill. I bet those joists were supporting at least 1000 pounds in a 25 square foot area. I went back with

2x8s but the spacing is more like 12-14" CC. Blocking at 4.5 foot and 9 foot, topped off with two layers of 23/32 plywood. It is as solid as a rock. I plan to add 1/4" hardie and tile.

My point is blocking or bridging may take the flex out of the floor. But then vinyl can also be a good choice if you live there. Tenants will destroy vinyl in 5 years or less. They are both good products.

Colbyt

Reply to
Colbyt

Oh, I agree with you- a traditional tile job over a reinforced floor is the gold standard. Just saying that on this place, I'd never get my money back out of it, and I'm a guy, and I live alone, so why bother? When I was a kid, the high-end places my old man built still sometimes got mud-bed floors, but more for entry hall slate than for bathrooms. Most places got vinyl in kitchens and baths. Did a few in Torginal, which was a nice concept, but the early stuff wasn't too durable and/or the install crew didn't have the correct training. Wear layer ground off, and the untaped seams of the underlayment telegraphed through in a couple of years.

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

Advantages of tile over vinyl:

  1. Lasts forever
  2. Grout will not mildew if you slather on the sealer
  3. I sometimes see tile for free on Craigslist. I've never seen free, used, vinyl.*
  4. Tile is "mistake friendly." If you goof, you grab and cut another tile. If you goof on a sheet of vinyl, it's back to the borg for another sheet!

--------

  • I got about 600 sq ft of free ceramic tile. Had to clean off the stuck on thinset, but that wasn't hard - just time consuming. I tiled the hall bath and kitchen with it for just the cost of the thinset, grout, and sealer. Still got a lot left!

Now here's what's interesting. The chap from whom I got the tile had it in his kitchen and family room and maybe a hallway or two. His concrete floor started cracking and heaving which started fracturing the tile. His solution? Rip out the tile and put down carpeting so the cracks wouldn't show.

Clever solution, but, I dunno...

Reply to
HeyBub

Tile is easy to keep clean if it's properly sealed. You almost never see dirt, etc., on dark floor tiles. I've got white tile in one bath and it gets dirty from the rays emitted by my eyeballs! The wine-colored floor tiles in another bath (and kitchen) don't show any dirt at all, nor do they show the drops of wine that often fall on them.

Mustard is a diffferent story.

Reply to
HeyBub

Tile isn't all that difficult.

Without a question, tile it.

Reply to
krw

Hmm. I can understand wine in the bathroom, I suppose. ...but Mustard is just too kinky!

Reply to
krw

" snipped-for-privacy@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Not if it's Grey Poupon...

Reply to
Tegger

Tile. You know you want it.

Reply to
dadiOH

Well, I learned here that ceramic tile is not waterproof. I guess the tile is but water can seep through the grout, right. I rarely get the floor wet, and the one time the bathtub overflowed, most of the water probably got through where the floor meets the bathtub (although maybe there is way to waterproof that.) If it hadn't done that, it would have gone through where the floor meets the walls. So you have to think about waterproof in the middle and maybe not at the edges.

You might be able to find a good pattern for bathrooms too. My friend put vinyl "linoleum" in the house he was selling and it looked just like laminate, until I found one spot where it was "bubbling" up for some reason. It looked like hardwood at first until I saw there was no seam between "boards".

Reply to
mm

It makes sense that you're that much of a slob.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

How does a tub overflow? Seriously. Weren't there grownups in the house?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

I've got (multi color) granite floor tiles for my kitchen counter top. Almost anything spilled, blends right in. It always looks clean, even when it's not (I'm sure is why they use them for flooring). I'm not anal about cleaning so this suits my life, and when I do clean it, it is super easy. This contrasts with the stainless steel I had before that looked a little dirty when it *was* clean. The commercial vinyl floor I had before was way too much trouble to maintain. Bathrooms are small, I'd spring for good tile.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Thies

Should have a bead of white silicone along the tub bottom. In my bathroom the tiles also run partly up the wall. Last house was floor only and woodwork at the walls. Had the toilet overflow a couple times, and it looks like the weak spots for water to escape are around the toilet base and under the vanity. Won't get through the grout.

--Vic

Reply to
Vic Smith

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