Porcelain/Ceramic Floor Tiles vs Modern Vinyl Floor Coverings vs Aqua-Step
Porcelain/Ceramic Floor Tiles
Depending on your budget and just how thorough a bathroom refurbishment or bathroom to shower room conversion you are having undertaken, you may or may not also require a new floor covering.
In some cases your existing floor covering may be fine, but in the majority of cases, if bath, wash basin and toilet are to be replaced, or if you are having a shower cubicle fitted to replace your bath, then it is more than likely that you will need to renew your existing floor covering.
Now, technically speaking floor tiles will be made from stronger porcelain rather than ceramic, however the term ceramic is often used in general to distinguish this type of floor covering from others. Porcelain floor tiles in an upstairs bathroom are always a little problematic in that they will nearly always be laid on wooden floor boarding. Unlike a solid substrate such as concrete, wooden floor boarding flexes. Wood also has a tendency to contract and expand with the seasons due to heat and humidity. All this makes tiling a bathroom a little tricky as this movement can play havoc with the bonding between the floor and the porcelain tiles and indeed the grout between the tiles themselves. I have seen numerous bathrooms with porcelain tiles, that have cracked due to the expansion and contraction of the wooden substrate over time, and even more with cracked and missing sections of grout.
For porcelain floor tiling to be done correctly and provide longevity, a plywood overlay first needs to be laid and fixed over your existing floor boarding to increase rigidity, and depending on the condition of your existing floor boarding this will need to be at least between 13mm (1/2") and 18mm (3/4"), or even as much as 22mm (1") in some extreme cases. This plywood overlay then needs to be treated with a primer that allows the surface to properly bond with the tile adhesive.
Now you may be thinking OK, fair enough, no big deal. However, look at it this way; the plywood overlay has just possibly raised your bathroom floor level by 18mm (3/4") and we’re not finished yet. A special flexible tile adhesive will then add around another 3-5mm and the tiles themselves will add a further 9mm (3/8") to 12mm (1/2"). So your bathroom threshold is now possibly 35mm (1 and 3/8") higher than the adjacent landing floor. I'm sure you will agree, this difference in floor height is considerable, and not only will this mean having to remove a substantial amount off the bottom of the bathroom door, there is also the obvious tripping hazard to consider - to say nothing of the aesthetics.
If tiling directly on to a solid substrate such as concrete, then the floor is only raised by 11 - 15mm, which is quite acceptable and will allow the fitting of an appropriate threshold trim, but this is simply not always the case when porcelain tiling on to a wooden bathroom floor.
Also consider this: a burst or leaking water or waste pipe that runs under a porcelain tiled floor would be extremely labour intensive to repair and will surely mean that the tiled floor will be completely destroyed in the process. Whereas it is far more likely that a vinyl floor covering can be carefully lifted and re-laid, and even if not the case, it would still be far, far cheaper to replace than a porcelain tiled floor.
One other point to consider is that, whilst the tiles themselves are fairly stain resistant, the relatively absorbent nature of the grout does tend to make it prone to staining from the various shampoos, conditioners, etc, that abound in bathrooms.
If you do require you bathroom floor to be porcelain tiled, then this would be done once the old bathroom suite had been removed, and prior to fitting of the new suite. This way the tiles run completely under the wash basin and toilet when they are later installed. So, unlike other floor coverings that can be laid after the rest of your bathroom refurbishment has been completed, tiling the floor cannot reasonably be left until last, nor can it simply be left until funds allow.
Of course, along with the tiles themselves, the tile adhesive and grout, all of the extra materials and the extra work involved in tiling also comes at a cost in terms of both time and money. And something else to consider about porcelain floor tiles… they can be quite cold underfoot.
I bring all of this up to make you aware of the issues with tiling a wooden bathroom floor that you may well be unaware of. And whilst I personally feel that tough, hard-wearing porcelain floor tiles undoubtedly have their place when laid on solid substrates: downstairs toilets, downstairs bathrooms or in a kitchen where they can be a great addition to that environment, I feel that their suitability in a bathroom environment on a wooden floor can be a cause for concern and is far less appealing proposition. I hasten to add, that this is just my personal view... but, that said, my views are borne from experience. Needless to say that should a client insisted on having porcelain tiles laid on a wooden floor, then I would do it... but it would be against my better judgement.
Because of these issues with tiling a wooden bathroom floor, often the preferred - and in many cases, the best - option is modern vinyl or cushion flooring. And indeed there are many patterns available nowadays, many of which mimic a porcelain tiled floor, but is far warmer and ultimately costs a lot less.
Modern Vinyl and Cushion Flooring
To my mind, modern vinyl and cushion floor coverings offer many advantages over porcelain floor tiles in a bathroom environment - and particularly so if the bathroom in question is supported by a wooden floor.
To start with, this kind of floor covering is very much warmer underfoot; it's much nicer to get out of a hot shower and stand on warm cushion floor than on cold porcelain tiles. These types of vinyl floor coverings also wipe clean very easily, and of course they are totally waterproof. Furthermore, far less work is involved and fewer materials are required to lay a vinyl floor as opposed to a porcelain tile floor, so vinyl and cushion flooring does tend to work out far less costly than porcelain floor tiling. And it's also worth bearing in mind that a vinyl floor laid by a professional can be completed in just a couple of hours at most and can be walked upon immediately, unlike porcelain floor tiles that may take possibly 4 or 5 hours to cut, lay and grout and then need a few more hours to set before they can be walked upon.
Whilst I do lay porcelain floor tiles, if and when appropriate, or should my clients insist, I myself do not lay vinyl or cushion floor coverings - it's a different skill set. Because these floor coverings can be easily laid after the bathroom refurbishment or bathroom to shower room conversion is complete, I leave this job to the professionals of that particular trade.
If you do intend to have one of these floor coverings laid after I finish my work, then I would strongly recommend that you allow me to lay a thin plywood overlay before I fit your new suite. This plywood overlay would be just 4 - 6 mm, and for the sole purpose of creating a nice smooth surface on which to lay your new floor covering. This is particularly important if your existing floorboards are old, rickety and uneven.
I'm always happy to provide you with additional information or advice should you require it.
Aqua-Step Flooring
So, I really don't like the idea of porcelain floor tiles on a wooden bathroom floor and much prefer the vinyl floor covering option, but, there is another alternative. In fact, a great alternative to both a porcelain tiles and vinyl floor covering is Aqua-Step flooring. Aqua-Step bridges the gap between porcelain floor tiles and traditional vinyl floor coverings and provides a fantastic looking, fully waterproof floor.
Aqua-Step is a very hard-wearing, click-together flooring system made from rigid PVC. It is available in wood and stone designs and features a tough, durable, easy clean finish, is totally waterproof and warmer underfoot than porcelain tiles. One really great benefit to Aqua-Step flooring is that should you ever have a leak under your floor, then Aqua-Step can be lifted and re-laid without damage - the same could obviously not be said for a porcelain tiled floor. Aqua-Step is 8mm thick, and unlike porcelain tiles, does not require a thick plywood overlay before being laid, so there is never any great difference in floor heights at the door thresholds.
The more I have used this Aqua-Step flooring, the more of a fan I have become, and I would strongly urge anyone thinking of having a porcelain tiled floor in a timber floored bathroom to consider Aqua-Step as an alternative. It is tougher, more resilient than cushion/vinyl floor and has non of the drawbacks of porcelain tiles.
Though it may initially look like traditional HDF laminate flooring, being a PVC product, Aqua-Step does not swell or expand, and will never rot. If you have read my other page on hollow PVC wall covering, you will know I'm not a fan of that PVC, but Aqua-Step flooring is an altogether different story. I have now used Aqua-Step on numerous occasions and I have had absolutely no issues with this flooring. It does the job it was made to do exceptionally well, is truly fit-for-purpose, and I really can't recommend it enough. It is relatively expensive, but in my opinion, worth every penny.
I do always keep samples of Aqua-Step flooring to show potential clients, but for more details check out their website at :
Aqua-Step Flooring
Depending on your budget and just how thorough a bathroom refurbishment or bathroom to shower room conversion you are having undertaken, you may or may not also require a new floor covering.
In some cases your existing floor covering may be fine, but in the majority of cases, if bath, wash basin and toilet are to be replaced, or if you are having a shower cubicle fitted to replace your bath, then it is more than likely that you will need to renew your existing floor covering.
Now, technically speaking floor tiles will be made from stronger porcelain rather than ceramic, however the term ceramic is often used in general to distinguish this type of floor covering from others. Porcelain floor tiles in an upstairs bathroom are always a little problematic in that they will nearly always be laid on wooden floor boarding. Unlike a solid substrate such as concrete, wooden floor boarding flexes. Wood also has a tendency to contract and expand with the seasons due to heat and humidity. All this makes tiling a bathroom a little tricky as this movement can play havoc with the bonding between the floor and the porcelain tiles and indeed the grout between the tiles themselves. I have seen numerous bathrooms with porcelain tiles, that have cracked due to the expansion and contraction of the wooden substrate over time, and even more with cracked and missing sections of grout.
For porcelain floor tiling to be done correctly and provide longevity, a plywood overlay first needs to be laid and fixed over your existing floor boarding to increase rigidity, and depending on the condition of your existing floor boarding this will need to be at least between 13mm (1/2") and 18mm (3/4"), or even as much as 22mm (1") in some extreme cases. This plywood overlay then needs to be treated with a primer that allows the surface to properly bond with the tile adhesive.
Now you may be thinking OK, fair enough, no big deal. However, look at it this way; the plywood overlay has just possibly raised your bathroom floor level by 18mm (3/4") and we’re not finished yet. A special flexible tile adhesive will then add around another 3-5mm and the tiles themselves will add a further 9mm (3/8") to 12mm (1/2"). So your bathroom threshold is now possibly 35mm (1 and 3/8") higher than the adjacent landing floor. I'm sure you will agree, this difference in floor height is considerable, and not only will this mean having to remove a substantial amount off the bottom of the bathroom door, there is also the obvious tripping hazard to consider - to say nothing of the aesthetics.
If tiling directly on to a solid substrate such as concrete, then the floor is only raised by 11 - 15mm, which is quite acceptable and will allow the fitting of an appropriate threshold trim, but this is simply not always the case when porcelain tiling on to a wooden bathroom floor.
Also consider this: a burst or leaking water or waste pipe that runs under a porcelain tiled floor would be extremely labour intensive to repair and will surely mean that the tiled floor will be completely destroyed in the process. Whereas it is far more likely that a vinyl floor covering can be carefully lifted and re-laid, and even if not the case, it would still be far, far cheaper to replace than a porcelain tiled floor.
One other point to consider is that, whilst the tiles themselves are fairly stain resistant, the relatively absorbent nature of the grout does tend to make it prone to staining from the various shampoos, conditioners, etc, that abound in bathrooms.
If you do require you bathroom floor to be porcelain tiled, then this would be done once the old bathroom suite had been removed, and prior to fitting of the new suite. This way the tiles run completely under the wash basin and toilet when they are later installed. So, unlike other floor coverings that can be laid after the rest of your bathroom refurbishment has been completed, tiling the floor cannot reasonably be left until last, nor can it simply be left until funds allow.
Of course, along with the tiles themselves, the tile adhesive and grout, all of the extra materials and the extra work involved in tiling also comes at a cost in terms of both time and money. And something else to consider about porcelain floor tiles… they can be quite cold underfoot.
I bring all of this up to make you aware of the issues with tiling a wooden bathroom floor that you may well be unaware of. And whilst I personally feel that tough, hard-wearing porcelain floor tiles undoubtedly have their place when laid on solid substrates: downstairs toilets, downstairs bathrooms or in a kitchen where they can be a great addition to that environment, I feel that their suitability in a bathroom environment on a wooden floor can be a cause for concern and is far less appealing proposition. I hasten to add, that this is just my personal view... but, that said, my views are borne from experience. Needless to say that should a client insisted on having porcelain tiles laid on a wooden floor, then I would do it... but it would be against my better judgement.
Because of these issues with tiling a wooden bathroom floor, often the preferred - and in many cases, the best - option is modern vinyl or cushion flooring. And indeed there are many patterns available nowadays, many of which mimic a porcelain tiled floor, but is far warmer and ultimately costs a lot less.
Modern Vinyl and Cushion Flooring
To my mind, modern vinyl and cushion floor coverings offer many advantages over porcelain floor tiles in a bathroom environment - and particularly so if the bathroom in question is supported by a wooden floor.
To start with, this kind of floor covering is very much warmer underfoot; it's much nicer to get out of a hot shower and stand on warm cushion floor than on cold porcelain tiles. These types of vinyl floor coverings also wipe clean very easily, and of course they are totally waterproof. Furthermore, far less work is involved and fewer materials are required to lay a vinyl floor as opposed to a porcelain tile floor, so vinyl and cushion flooring does tend to work out far less costly than porcelain floor tiling. And it's also worth bearing in mind that a vinyl floor laid by a professional can be completed in just a couple of hours at most and can be walked upon immediately, unlike porcelain floor tiles that may take possibly 4 or 5 hours to cut, lay and grout and then need a few more hours to set before they can be walked upon.
Whilst I do lay porcelain floor tiles, if and when appropriate, or should my clients insist, I myself do not lay vinyl or cushion floor coverings - it's a different skill set. Because these floor coverings can be easily laid after the bathroom refurbishment or bathroom to shower room conversion is complete, I leave this job to the professionals of that particular trade.
If you do intend to have one of these floor coverings laid after I finish my work, then I would strongly recommend that you allow me to lay a thin plywood overlay before I fit your new suite. This plywood overlay would be just 4 - 6 mm, and for the sole purpose of creating a nice smooth surface on which to lay your new floor covering. This is particularly important if your existing floorboards are old, rickety and uneven.
I'm always happy to provide you with additional information or advice should you require it.
Aqua-Step Flooring
So, I really don't like the idea of porcelain floor tiles on a wooden bathroom floor and much prefer the vinyl floor covering option, but, there is another alternative. In fact, a great alternative to both a porcelain tiles and vinyl floor covering is Aqua-Step flooring. Aqua-Step bridges the gap between porcelain floor tiles and traditional vinyl floor coverings and provides a fantastic looking, fully waterproof floor.
Aqua-Step is a very hard-wearing, click-together flooring system made from rigid PVC. It is available in wood and stone designs and features a tough, durable, easy clean finish, is totally waterproof and warmer underfoot than porcelain tiles. One really great benefit to Aqua-Step flooring is that should you ever have a leak under your floor, then Aqua-Step can be lifted and re-laid without damage - the same could obviously not be said for a porcelain tiled floor. Aqua-Step is 8mm thick, and unlike porcelain tiles, does not require a thick plywood overlay before being laid, so there is never any great difference in floor heights at the door thresholds.
The more I have used this Aqua-Step flooring, the more of a fan I have become, and I would strongly urge anyone thinking of having a porcelain tiled floor in a timber floored bathroom to consider Aqua-Step as an alternative. It is tougher, more resilient than cushion/vinyl floor and has non of the drawbacks of porcelain tiles.
Though it may initially look like traditional HDF laminate flooring, being a PVC product, Aqua-Step does not swell or expand, and will never rot. If you have read my other page on hollow PVC wall covering, you will know I'm not a fan of that PVC, but Aqua-Step flooring is an altogether different story. I have now used Aqua-Step on numerous occasions and I have had absolutely no issues with this flooring. It does the job it was made to do exceptionally well, is truly fit-for-purpose, and I really can't recommend it enough. It is relatively expensive, but in my opinion, worth every penny.
I do always keep samples of Aqua-Step flooring to show potential clients, but for more details check out their website at :
Aqua-Step Flooring
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