4 Great Water-Resistant Flooring Options for Kitchens, Bathrooms and Laundry Areas
If there are three areas of your home at risk for water damage, it would be the kitchen, the bathroom and the laundry room. The floor usually takes the brunt of any leaks so when it comes to replacing flooring or fixing water damage, think about some options that would be resistant to water. That includes areas of your home with excessive humidity as well. Carpet in the bathroom is a no-no. Hardwood in the laundry area? Not a great idea. Waterproof or water-resistant flooring would also be a great selling feature when it comes time to put your Okotoks home on the market.
Here are some flooring options for rooms with water and moisture present:
Vinyl
Vinyl floors are very easily cleaned and very affordable. You can order vinyl flooring by the sheet or by the tile. Versatile and available in a myriad of colours and even textures. There are new vinyl tiles on the market now that look just like wood, so you can achieve the quality look of wood in your kitchen, bathroom or laundry room but it’s completely resistant to water mishaps. Vinyl will resist water and will even prevent mould and mildew from forming. You will however want to go with high-quality vinyl to ensure that it completely withstands humidity. Vinyl in the kitchen and bathroom is not to be confused with linoleum. They are similar in application but are made of two different materials. Lino is manufactured with linseed oil and if it’s not sealed properly it will get wet and swell. Be very specific when you visit your home renovation store or flooring retailer.
Ceramic Tile
Beautiful ceramics provide a durable finish to your floor and are warmer than other types of natural material tiles. You can buy ceramic tiles in a variety of shapes, colours and styles and even match the colour of your grout to the tile colour. The floor will require sealing, but done property the floor is easy to mop up and resistant to scratching.
Stone Tiles
Some people just can’t resist the traditional look and feel of a stone tile floor. This is often an option that is just necessary to the scale and interior finish of certain homes. Stone tiles are cut from natural materials like granite or in the bathroom especially, marble. There are a variety of textures and colour options but when purchasing stone tiles, it’s very important to pick one that will not absorb water. Even though your installer will seal your stone tiles, a chore which will need to be done periodically, you should pick a material with a minimum absorption level. You may remember this from geology in school – there is non-vitreous rock, semi-vitreous stone, vitreous and finally impervious. The stone with the highest level of moisture absorption is the non-vitreous type so avoid this kind at all costs.
Concrete
No doubt your basement floor is concrete so if you have a bathroom or laundry area down there you can leave the concrete and simply dress it up. There are stains, acid etchings and stamping techniques that will make your concrete floor beautiful as well as durable and, happily, waterproof. Concrete requires very little maintenance and depending on the quality of your concrete, affordable. If you’re re-doing your basement floor and are ripping up carpet or floor tiles which may have water damage and therefore, wrecked your basement floor, consider using a self-leveling concrete product. A bit more expensive but will make sure your floor is level. Concrete is also an option for kitchen floors now – that’s how beautiful concrete has become. A further word of caution though for using concrete above grade. If your floor moves or bounces due to age or settling, pouring a concrete floor over a subfloor in the kitchen is not a good idea as movement will cause your floor to crack. But it will certainly be waterproof!