Why Vinyl Floors Are Great in Bathrooms
Whether you’re planning to change the flooring as part of your existing bathroom remodel, or you’re planning a new bathroom from scratch, vinyl flooring is an option that you should consider. I would categorize vinyl flooring as a tile alternative.
Generally speaking tile is the gold standard, whether its porcelain, stone, or even ceramic. However, there are plenty of scenarios where installing tile isn’t always the most practical. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on the benefits of plank vinyl flooring.
#1 – Limitless Style Options
Vinyl plank flooring is a segment of the floor market that has quickly expanded over recent years. The products from years ago are not the same as today as the manufacturers are constantly improving the technology used in these products. Additionally, there are virtually limitless options when it comes to styles, and colors, and finishes.
#2 – Cost of Vinyl Flooring
Just like nearly any other building product, there is a wide range in pricing for vinyl flooring. A quick look online will turn up vinyl plank flooring options for as little as $1 per square foot, and sometimes less. There are also higher end vinyl plank flooring products that exceed $5 per foot. If you are on a really tight budget you can elect to go with a really inexpensive vinyl flooring, but if you can afford to spend a little more, I would.
But enough about the cost of the actual flooring itself, because that’s not actually where the biggest savings is.
#3 – Major Cost Savings
You get your biggest savings on demolition labor, tools, and disposal costs, dust prevention, and cleaning as well as the additional materials needed to install tile like thinset mortar, grout, tile spacers, backerboard. You also save on installation labor because the vinyl installation is much easier and faster.
#4 – DIY is Okay to Try
Because there are less components and factors involved with installing most plank vinyl flooring, its harder to mess up. And if you mess up, you can just pull those pieces up and call a pro. Tile on the other hand involves more consideration and factors to ensure that its installed correctly and therefore has a much steeper learning curve. Additionally, if you don’t install it correctly, and you want your project to look professional- you will much higher waste cost because you have to tear out or demolish the area that you tried to do on your own before you can start over or call a pro.
#5 – Easy to Change
Let’s be honest, styles and trends change as well as our tastes. Plank vinyl flooring has a huge advantage over regular floor tile because it can very easily be removed and replaced with a different type of flooring. This is due to the fact that most plank vinyl flooring is installed with a floating installation. This means the vinyl planks are not held to the floor by glue, nails, or screws. The pieces are connected to each other, and for most products the pieces lock together. So, when you’re ready to remove the floor you typically will only need to remove the shoe molding from the perimeter of the bathroom in order to free the floor and it can simply be picked up piece by piece the same way it was installed.
#6 – Easy to repair
If for some reason you damage some of the vinyl planks are installation you can easily replace the damage vinyl planks using the same process described above for floor removal. Tile repairs are more of an art, and even then, there is no guarantee that the grout that you use to complete the repair will be an “exact” match. And that holds true even if it’s the same brand and color as the original.
#7 – Less Dust
Some homeowners have allergies and respiratory issues. They may be more sensitive to any dust caused or stirred up by the renovation. Now, if you are not living in the home during the renovation, this may be less of an issue, but if you are, dust control is going to be an ongoing process for the duration of the project.
If you are completing a bathroom renovation where you are installing tile, you will almost always have to remove the existing flooring. This demolition typically causes tons of dust and will need to be controlled.
And, whether your renovating or planning a new bathroom from scratch, the tiling process also very dusty. Typically, regardless of the type of subfloor that you have, you will have to use thinset mortar and grout. Both of these products are generally sold in powder form and must be mixed with water before they can be installed. And you guessed it, The mixing process for each of these products causes dust! Now, in nearly all tile installation projects, you will have to cut some tiles to make them all fit in order to maintain your pattern. Some types of tiles can easily be scoured and broken for installation. However, most tile installers use a tile saw. That’s right, even if they cut the tiles outside, the tiles will still have dust on them. The tile installer will have dust on himself as well.
# 8 – Less DownTime
Vinyl plank flooring is a project that doesn’t require any real downtime. Whether its finished in a day, or it takes two days, you can typically walk on it, without a problem. If you are installing real tile you will have to wait 24 hours for the tile to dry, you will have to wait another 24 hours for the grout to dry once its installed. And that’s if you don’t have to install any type of cement backerboard. If you do, add another day. That’s up to 3 days in just wait time, during which you cannot use the floor, which means that the bathroom is closed.
#9 – Easier to Clean
Vinyl plank flooring in a bathroom makes perfect sense because it’s easy to clean. A wet mop will generally be all that’s necessary for most cleanings. Tile can be easy to clean in the beginning, but over time can become harder to clean, especially the grout lines. This can sometimes require scrubbing with a small brush and in some extreme cases professional cleaning.
#10 – Less Sensitive to Movement
Vinyl plank flooring is an good option for floors that are not be rigid enough for tile. The vinyl planks are flexible and will not crack if they move or shift. This is important because many older homes with wood framed flooring systems (i.e. not built on a concrete slab) have more “bounce” in the floors than newer houses. This bounce is called deflection. All floors move to some degree. But if there is too much it can cause the mortar, grout, and tile to crack and come loose.
#11 – Temporary Solution
Let’s say that you know that you want to install floor tile as part of a larger bathroom remodel project. You aren’t quite ready to do the big project, but you want to improve the look of the floors in the meantime until you are ready. Vinyl flooring can be an excellent option if you existing floors are in good condition because you can install the vinyl right on top of the existing floors. This saves on demolition, cleanup, dust, time…. Basically ALL the reasons listed above.
Conclusion
You have limitless options when you decide to remodel a bathroom. Don’t feel like you are limited to any particular type of building product. Take a look at the options that are available and make a decision based on your overall goals. Vinyl plank flooring gives you flexibility regarding the overall condition of the existing floors. It is DIY-friendly and you can complete the project with minimal disruptions to the work areas. Installation should not create much dust. You save big on demo labor, demo disposal, post-completion cleanup time, bathroom downtime. Finally, its easy to change out vinyl plank flooring if and when you change your mind, or as the design trends change. And did I mention that vinyl is easy to clean and maintain? Even if you are on the fence about vinyl flooring, you have to admit that it checks a whole lotta boxes!