Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Laminate in a bathroom

I was thinking about putting a laminate floor in my bathroom (we've done the 3 bedrooms and dining room). My only concern is around the bathroom. I am thinking about water. What I thought of doing was putting a molding strip on the floor up against the tub and then putting a clear caulking on the top (where it meets tub) and on the bottom (where it meets floor) of the strip. I will have a bathmat up against the tub so I'm not really concerned about the floor, more concerned about the kids splashing and the water coming over the side of the tub. Any suggestions?? Thanks

I'm considering doing a wood laminate bathroom floor also..

What's the general consensus on them? Anyone have experience with one? Tips?

(I've gone thru about 15 pages of posts and couldn't find anything easily using the search :)

The thing I'm wondering about is what if there's a toilet overflow? How water resistant are these floors? The stuff that Sam's sells says "water-resistant" and one of their photos shows a bathroom installation -- so that makes me feel a bit better.

Also, I assume the best way to go is to pull up the toilet and vanity and install the flooring underneath, then re-set them?

Is it ok to install over level 8" ceramic tile or pull it up first (yeah, that's kinda what I'm leaning toward also...)?

Thanks!

There are waterproof plastic laminates available that have a plastic core. Water resistant does not mean waterproof. Spills should be wiped up immediately.Engineered wood (wood laminate) and solid hardwood are not good candidates for bathrooms that get heavy use and lots of splashing of water by children. Leaks and overflowing toilets are also a major concern. Ceramic tile or vinyl floor covering are better floors in bathrooms that will be subject to surface water. Leaks and overflowing toilets beneath tile and vinyl will still be a concern. Toilet will have to be pulled for installation. Removing vanity is preferred, but some lay floor covering up to vanity.

I second twelvepole's comments. I would not consider a laminate floor for a bathroom, and would shy away from using it in the kitchen as well due to water/swelling issues. That said, I have installed a glue-together Pergo floor in one family's kitchen and they remain very pleased with it after about 3 years.

.......Removing vanity is preferred, but some lay floor covering up to vanity.

12pole,

to clairfy: you're not meaning to say that the vanity should be removed so that the laminate flooring can be installed UNDER it, are you? i thought laminate was to be installed UP TO any kind of cabinetry, and leaving an expansion gap around it, which is then hidden under baseboard or shoe moulding that's secured to the toe kick (not fastened into the flooring). :confused:

Checkout a laminate made by Mannington, called iCore.

It is the only laminate that I would install in a wet area.

Laminate installation instructions tend to vary among the different types of laminate. Each manufacturer tends to have very specific installation instructions. There are laminate products that are nailed, glued, stapled, have the option of either method, and floated. Floated floors are installed under appliances and typically installed up to cabinets with the required expansion gap.

I might get into doo-doo, but here goes.I have installed laminate in both kitchen & bathroom,I did not buy cheap stuff at all,It was so expensive I sometimes thought I could have done real wood.The kitchen has held up fine, better than expected,when spills hit the floor we wipe it up.In the bathroom the laminate looks like ceramic tile,it really looks good,it went together so well,.........I could do a commercial for them.I have no shower in this room,and I have no children in the house..(waiting for grandkids...)The room is very rich looking, 48" red mahogany wainscotting in a modified raised panelling,with a oversized bathtub set away 12" from walls,kinda looks like a judges office with a crapper in it.I put my heart & sole into this room, and I love it.Most people when they see it just stand there........and say wow. My opinion says go for it,and clean up water when is spills.

Checkout a laminate made by Mannington, called iCore.

It is the only laminate that I would install in a wet area.

Thanks everyone for your contributions.. I ordered a couple of samples of this iCore stuff and it definitely looks like the way to go for a wet area.. It's 3/8" extruded plastic with the standard "photo" of wood on the surface. Looks good and even has some slight wood texture shallow lines cut into the surface..

It's around $7/sq.ft, which is pretty expensive for laminate, but my bathroom is small :) I'm planning on laying it under the vanity (we're replacing the current one) and under the toilet as well right up to the drain collar I guess..

There aren't too many different options when it comes to foam underlay right? Guess I can use any of em with this stuff?

why put it under the vanity? save a little money & put the vanity down first & lay the floor around it. plus you won't be locking in that area of flooring.

and use only the manufacturer's recommended underlayment to avoid voiding your warranty.

it's not gonna be any huge fancy vanity -- will be small.. I'd rather have it down in case we ever decide to change vanity in future.

Gotcha on the underlayment.. thx

If it was just you and your SO, I'd say go for it, but
when you said kids, I'd say forgettaboutit.

Go with tile or lino.

I installed laminate in a bathroom. I do have kids. The water eventually got under the laminate flooring and is buckling. Poor decision on my part. We are going to live with it for the time being. If you can afford tile or wood then I would go with it. Both may cost a bit mroe but add true value to the home. I will install one or the other next time.

The iCore stuff mentioned above is definitely the stuff to go with for wet areas. It's all extruded plastic..

If you can afford tile or wood then I would go with it..........I will install one or the other next time.


wood is as bad of a choice as regular laminate for wet bathrooms. it too would buckle if subjected to a lot of water.

icore or tile [or sheet vinyl] = :thumbup: .

I have a friend who put it in his kitchen. His dishwasher leaked for quite a while before he noticed that the floor was buckeling. That was how he figured out the dishwasher was leaking! So I wouldn't recommend it anywhere that there is potential for a water leak.

Guys as someone stated, water resistant does not mean water proof. If your toilet overflows, dishwasher leaks or you get a flood and your limate floor is submersed, your floor will be destroyed. Its the nature of the product. It doesnt matter if its the top end and most expensive.

Check the fine print in the manufacturers warranty. None of them cover submersion - the water warranty allows only topical water exposure like spills, and regular household stuff.

But if you protect the floor with mats and wipe up spills, you shouldn't have a problem.

My waterproof icore is being shipped from ifloor.com today.. Will post some pics and tell my story once after it's installed :)

Is the Icor material water "proof"? Just curious. I have seen problems with laminates in kitchens when they get wet and I don't want that problem in my bathroom.

I installed 3/4" prefinished oak flooring in my kitchen and it has held up very well so far. It's been over four years. It doesn't get wet though and we don't have a dishwasher.

i think so....

iCore® is Advanced Composite Flooring, an entirely new category of hard surface flooring that's ideal for commercial installations in retail/restaurants, healthcare, education and hospitality spaces. Featuring new technology, exclusive to Mannington Commercial, iCore® has an extruded synthetic core that is impervious to moisture and incorporates unique sound-dampening chambers for a quieter sound underfoot than other floors.

From the Mannington website (http://www.mannington.com/commercial/floorOptions/main_collectionsStyles_carpet.asp?business_unit_id=2&surface_type_id=3&flooring_type_id=13&gsa_contract=&mainstreet=&lifecare=&collection_id=) .

still waiting for ifloor to get it to me (ordered on Dec 14th)... It's supposedly backordered (but I'd have never known that if it weren't for the calls I've made to ifloor.com's customer service). Their site shows it as in stock, etc..

Next online floor purchase will probably not be from ifloor...

There is nothing wrong with Laminate in the bathroom, if you follow a few procedures:

Use an end moulding against the tub, making sure that you use silicone to seal the fit at the tub. Around the toilet stub, fill any voids with silicone also.
Before installing the baseboard, fill the gap between the walls with a good silicone also.

One of the most common problems with Laminate in bathrooms is the fact that the toilet is sitting on laminate with resilient pad and that allows the toilet to rock, causing the wax seal to fail, ussually in about 1-2 years.

I recommend that under the toilet you use a non resilient product such as cork, and make sure that you use an extended toilet seal, as the distance from the existing floor to the toilet now is higher, and you need to make up that distance. You could go as far as applying another flange on top of the existing.

Hope this helps.

Hans, Gov't certified installer.

Finally got my flooring from ifloor.com about 2 weeks ago (they actually gave me an incredible discount for having to go through so much trouble and waiting -- they're definitely keeping me as a customer!)

As promised here are a couple pics of the floor (Mannington iCore, "maple") installed in my bathroom. I also put in a new sink/faucet, Toto Ultramax toilet (incredible), and linen closet. My wife and I are thrilled with the results!


http://img277.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bath15he.jpg

http://img277.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bath22mg.jpg

(that piece of wood by the back of the cabinet was a scrap just leaning there)

Wow, from the photos it looks pretty good. What's it feel like under bare feet? After reading about it I thought it would be like that composite decking material (Trex?)

Thanks, yeah it looks great in person.. It's nothing like trex, but nothing like real wood either aside from the look -- which is strikingly realistic considering there's not a trace of real wood in it.

It's installed on a concrete slab with some green underlayment from HD (about 3/16" thick) and it's much much warmer than the tile we had previously. Feels great walking on, but I've never lived in a place with hardwood or laminates, so I couldn't compare it to anything.

Looks great but why install "wood" in your bathroom and leave carpet in the hall?

thanks.. umm i dunno how to answer ur other question. When someone has tile installed in their kitchen or bathroom, does that mean the rest of their house should be tile? :)

people walk pretty quickly and pretty often down hallways which makes wood ones very noisy and potentially dangerous (slips), so a lot of people have carpet in hallways & on stairs, with wood in other areas. :)