Laminate flooring in bathrooms

clarabella23

Hi everyone! just wondered if anyone knew if laminate flooring in a bathroom would be ok? Had a couple of different opinions, someone mentioned about a waterproof underlay, someone else told me it was likely to swell up because of the condensation...
Just thought it was worth asking, hopefully some clever person on here may be able to help!
Thanks, claire

penrhyn

Even the water resistant laminate flooring will start to swell at the joints if left wet for any length of time.
You might mitigate this by using a PVA adhesive on the joints.
Personally I think its best avoided, and better to use ceramic tiles or a decent vinyl floor.

olias

Hi,
Normal laminate is a no no, as you are right in saying that it will swell up. Also laminate is actuallty just a 'photo' of wood, laminated onto a manmade material, the wet can therefore cause it to delaminate.

I might be wrong but I think there is now a laminate that has been designed for wet areas such as bathrooms. Your best bet is to go to a diy shed and look at the range and discuss it with them. If you buy a product that states it's designed for a bathroom environment and it fails, you will then have some come back.

Olias

clarabella23

Thanks, sounds like its back to floor tiles for me! was going to with them originally, but thought i'd try and save a bit of money as i only like the expensive ones!

millie

We used Tile Loc laminate flooring from B & Q in our bathroom, It says suitable for bathrooms. We only use a walk in shower very rarely the bath and have no children so there is not much water splashed around, I don't know how much water it would stand up to, but it has been down in our house for 3 years and looks as good as new.

TomsMom

I've recently been looking into this as I can't decide what to have on my bathroom floor, other than I don't want tiles (can't be doing with bare feet on cold tiles for nightly trips to the loo!).

With normal and splashproof laminate, it's the joints that let it down. We know a flooring shop that wont sell laminate for bathroom use. Everyone we've asked (professional-wise) has advised against it.

There is a waterproof bathroom laminate called AquaStep which has a pvc core rather than the normal HDF core. There are only a few wood wood types but they might suit you.

I've decided to try a find a nice vinyl for our bathroom.

27col

I put down some leftover laminate flooring in our bathroom. It is beginning to swell slightly in a couple of places. There only the two of us and we are very careful about splashes. I'm afraid that it is not really suitable and I will be replacing it at some stage.. However I will be interested in any laminate product that promises to to work in a bathroom.

TomsMom

27col wrote: »

However I will be interested in any laminate product that promises to to work in a bathroom.

Have you checked out the link in my post above yours - described as a waterproof bathroom laminate.

ormus

there are a number of laminates that say they are designed for kitchens/bathrooms.
i just wouldnt use nor trust any of em.
tiles are the best IMHO. (do the job once).

thechippy

I fit flooring all the time.
Most "aqualocks" are ok, providing any standing water is mopped up quite quickly.
However, tiles are superior very time. A bit more money, but well worth it........;)