3 Bathroom Flooring Ideas Explored: Refurbish Or Vinyl Or Tile

Jan 8, 2012 by Frank Scherer

When it comes to bathroom flooring ideas you may have already found something out. That is that in in spite of your bathrooms relatively small size compared to other rooms in your home, it’s definitely not cheap to have a flooring contractor do the job for you. So now you’re probably mulling around the idea of doing the job yourself.

Not to worry though, because today thanks to the Internet there’s reams of information that you can access to walk you step by step through your project. Then there’s yet another “big plus” in your favor, and that is that all the tools and materials you’ll need are readily available over the net or at your local hardware store.

Even so, as you’re mulling over all your bathroom flooring ideas, try keep something else thing in mind. That is that you’re going to be doing a whole lot more than just replacing the flooring. Far more than just taking out the old floor, and putting down a new one.

You see, for starters the toilet will have to be disconnected, and removed for the the job which really isn’t that big a problem. However, if you have cabinetry that’s sitting on top of the existing flooring in your bathroom, it too has to be removed, along with any plumbing that’s contained in it. The sink, etc.

Now if that sounds like a hassle just keep on reading because it gets even worse than that. This is because you’re also going to have to remove all the baseboards along your walls, and if you can’t get them off intact, and their broken, this also means cutting and installing new baseboard. Now if all that still hasn’t deterred you, keep on reading because there’s more.

This is because if you think that you can get your baseboards off your walls using a flat-bar and hammer without bashing up the sheet rock, and the paint directly above you’re sadly mistaken. It is possible but it’s a very difficult task, so chances are that you can also throw in having to at least do a thorough caulking and touch-up paint job on the walls above the baseboard.

The Easiest of Bathroom Flooring Ideas

So this brings us to by far the easiest bathroom flooring idea, and that is to refurbish what you already have. For instance if you have a hardwood bathroom floor that’s discolored and looking old and dated, chances are that it just needs to be stripped and refinished. A job that’s a fraction of the cost of replacement, and it will leave you with what is for all intents and purposes a brand-new hardwood floor.

Or if it’s a tile floor that’s looking worn and dated, chances are your problem really is that it’s old degraded grout, and perhaps one more cracked tiles that’s the issue. Having the old grout scraped out and replaced along with broken tiles isn’t major. It’s a quick job that you can have contractor come in and do for you, or you can do yourself if you’re up to it.

Learn About Do It Yourself Tile Flooring Repair

Tile repair tools includes small scraper, large and small grout saws, utility knife, small gauge grout saw, straight edge razor and large scraper with hook edge.

There’s great instructional do-it-yourself-sites, videos and DVDs available online now that walk you “step-by-step” through grout and tile repair. It’s easy. If you can mix up a bowl of flour, and smear it around on something, then you have the skills and knowledge that takes to replace a tile, and redo grout. You can also pick up some more tips and pointers on DIY tile and grout repair by visiting

On the other hand, if you’re determined to tear out what you have and replace it with a brand-new bathroom floor, your next choice in bathroom flooring ideas is to go with a one piece vinyl floor system. There’s some amazing looking products out there too, including some that almost perfectly mimic the look, feel, and texture of real ceramic tile, and hardwood.

Forget About Stick Down Vinyl Tiles

Don’t even consider those self adhering vinyl stick down tiles though. They look great in the pictures on the net, but really over the long-term, unless they’re installed in ideal conditions they can be problematic. Your bathroom with its ambient moisture is not ideal conditions. Also don’t kid yourself because they can be tricky to apply for professional looking results.

So there’s some tricks to know before you take a crack at a do-it-yourself vinyl bathroom floor. Things can make the difference between a professional looking job once it’s completed, and work that you’ll have to do over again. Other than that though, once you know these little things the actual work itself basically involves gluing a big vinyl sheet down to the floor, and that’s pretty much it.

Getting Vinyl Flooring Right the First Time

The first thing you need to know for instance is that the walls in your bathroom are probably a little bit out of square, and alignment. So if you go in there with a tape measure, and a notepad, and measure out the dimensions of your bathroom then transfer those in the dimensions to your sheet of vinyl flooring you’ll end up with material that won’t fit precisely.

Rather, what you need to do is take your measurements and then add about an inch or two all the way around the perimeter of your bathroom floor. An inch or two that you’ll end up trimming off for a custom fit. It’s the only way to do it, and trying to save time by measuring for an exact fit will only leave you holding a sheet of wasted material.

Ceramic Tile Flooring Looks Great

So this brings us to the third of the three bathroom flooring ideas, and that is to go with ceramic tile, and there’s no dodging around the fact that a new ceramic tile floor looks fantastic. Even so, it is more labor-intensive, the materials also cost more than vinyl, and also there’s for sure more opportunities for you to make mistakes when installing tile. Even so, practice makes perfect, and there isn’t a mistake that you can’t fix.

Will Your Floor Structure Support Tile?

So your first big tip here is to check underneath your home, “if it’s not a concrete slab” to make sure that the structural underpinning is sturdy enough to support a tile floor. Now it’s not the weight of the tile that’s the problem here. Rather it has to be strong enough, so it doesn’t shake and bounce when people walk on it because this will lead to the grout cracking, and falling out.

Now if you’re floor joists are installed 16 inches on center apart from one another then you’re in luck because your floor has what it needs to properly support a ceramic tile floor. However, if the joists are two foot on center you’re going to have to lay down another sheet of plywood prior to beginning the actual tile work.

Than your second hot tip here is to not get carried away with visions of “complex patterns, and designs” in your tile work. You’ll only be creating problems for yourself and turning what would otherwise be a simple job into a potential fiasco. Also remember that the smaller the tiles you use, the longer it will take for you to complete your job.

Stick To Your Budget When Tile Shopping

Then when you’re shopping for tiles, as you walk down the aisle looking at the samples, it’s just so easy to keep on moving up and up and up to “more expensive, more wonderful” looking tiles. You;ll walk into the store expecting to spend maybe two, three or maybe four dollars per tile, and there you are standing with a $25 polished granite tile in your hand.

Put it down, and go right back to the start of the aisle and stick to those three or four dollar tiles because once you’re done with your job it will look fantastic. Remember every time you move up to more expensive tile while going over your options, the difference in cost is multiplied by every unit that has to go down on your floor.

The Bottom Line

So in the end, the bottom line here, is that there are or whole lot more options than what’s listed above when it comes to bathroom flooring ideas. However, vinyl and ceramic tile happen to be the two most straightforward and easy do options out of them all. Also there’s loads of information products that you can refer to online to help you out, and don’t forget that any mistakes that you make will be learning experiences that can be redone.