Can I Use Vinyl In The Laundry?
Laundries, like bathrooms and Kitchens, tend to get a little wet regularly. So the flooring material must be suitable for the damp conditions. As laundries are functional rather than decorative (we don’t often invite visitors to see the laundry) we usually don’t get too fancy with laundry floors. Often the laundry is just bare concrete. But if we want something soft for bare feet, and if we do care about the appearance, then there are some inexpensive and attractive floor options.
Floor Tiles
A few people will go to the trouble of tiling the laundry floor. Ceramic tiles are extremely waterproof, but so is the concrete underneath the tiles. So there is little functional advantage. Decent tiles are also quite cheap, but they take time or money to install correctly. Install tiles if you like the look of them, but don’t think they do anything that bare concrete cannot do. Both are cold under the feet.
Vinyl plank floors are inexpensive and look great. Furthermore, they are easy to install and waterproof vinyl is readily available. So vinyl works well as a floating floor in a laundry This is especially good for a DIY project.
Vinyl planks can be manufactured to look like timber or stone, which makes any room look quite luxurious. So your laundry can look quite upper class.
Imitation Floating Timber Floors
Floating timber floors will not really work in wet areas, but imitation timber in the form of vinyl planks works quite nicely.
Floating floors are not attached to the sub-floor, in this case concrete. They sit snugly on top of the concrete, being held in place by their weight and the way the planks interlock with eachother. They are much softer underfoot than most other floors and provide some sound insulation.
If we put vinyl planks over concrete we should first have the concrete sealed, or have a vapour barrier between the vinyl and the concrete underneath. This prevents any moisture problems short of a flood.
Laundry Doors
The laundry door will be subjected to some moisture along the bottom edge. To prevent this edge from damage we suggest having a gap as the bottom of the door, perhaps 3 cm, with a rubber door sweep fitted to prevent drafts (and pests) from entering the house.
Founded in 1990, Kawana Flooring is the flagship location for Kawana Flooring. A fully independent, family run business, Kawana Flooring is your go-to flooring supplier on the Sunshine Coast.
