Bathroom with a wood look plank floor, a glass shower and a freestanding tub.

Bathroom flooring

Floors chosen for a wet room, not borrowed from a dry one

A bathroom floor gets standing water, steam and the occasional overflow. The material has to be genuinely waterproof, not merely water resistant, and the two are not the same thing.

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The options

What actually holds up in a bathroom

Porcelain and ceramic tile remain the most popular answer, and for good reason. These are the alternatives worth considering next to it.

Bathroom vanity with a stone top, beside a wood look plank floor. — **Wood look plank**Porcelain or a waterproof core plank gives you the look of timber in a room where solid wood should not go.

Bathroom with large format grey floor tile, a freestanding tub and a glass shower with a mosaic floor. — **Large format tile**Fewer grout lines across a small floor, which is less to clean and makes the room read larger.

Bathroom with a pale large format floor, a floating vanity and a curbless glass shower. — **Carried into the shower**Running the same floor through a curbless entry removes the threshold and the edge that collects dirt.

Bathroom with marble look wall tile, a freestanding tub and a glass shower. — **Warm underfoot**Tile is cold unless it is heated. Worth deciding before the floor goes down, not after.

Porcelain and ceramic tile

The default, and the most water and wear resistant of the lot.

Cold underfoot unless you heat it. Grout choice matters more than most people expect.

Waterproof core vinyl

Fully waterproof through the body of the plank.

Warmer and quieter than tile, and forgiving if something gets dropped.

Rigid core engineered hardwood

A waterproof rigid core with a real wood wear layer.

Wood in a room where solid wood should not go.

Water resistant laminate

Hard wearing, wide pattern range, lower cost.

Resistant rather than waterproof. Fine for a powder room, not for a family bathroom floor.

Wood look and marble look

Porcelain that reads as timber or stone.

The look without the maintenance. Popular for a reason.

Stencilled and patterned

Designer patterns for a small floor.

A powder room is the right place to be bold. It is a small area and a big effect.

Worth knowing

Two questions that decide the floor

Which room is it for?

A powder room, a guest bath, a busy family bathroom and a main suite all get different answers.

Traffic and how much water actually lands on the floor are what change the recommendation.

Waterproof or water resistant?

Waterproof means the material itself will not be damaged by standing water. Water resistant means it copes with splashes.

In a bathroom the distinction is the whole decision.

Bathroom with a glass shower, a freestanding tub and a wood floor, lit by a stained glass window.

Virtual Studio

See a floor with the tile and vanity

Bathroom surfaces are chosen against each other and a floor alone tells you very little. Combine floor, wall tile and vanity in the visualizer, then come and hold the samples.

Open Virtual Studio Visit the showroom

Free to use. The samples are on the floor in Laguna Hills.

Get a real number for your bathroom floor

We check the subfloor and the waterproofing, then price it in writing before anything is ordered.

Get My Free Estimate (949) 540-8797