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Need flooring ideas for bathroom

Jerreemon

Hello,

I am converting an existing room into a laundry/toilet/bathroom (I am keeping the shower in the same place).

My concern is having floorboards (on a slab) in a wet area.

Ideally would rip up the floors and tile but budget won't allow. Any other ideas?

I was thinking micro cement.

Cheers,

Bed Ground floor.jpg Jerry

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EricL

Hello @Jerreemon

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about flooring ideas.

I propose removing your timber flooring and replacing it with Hybrid Flooring Planks. It's 100 percent waterproof and can be installed in high moisture areas including kitchens, laundries and bathrooms. Please note that this flooring can't be installed inside the shower cubicle itself. There is also the option of installing Vinyl Sheeting, the timber flooring will need to be removed before the vinyl sheeting is laid down on the concrete floor.

Aside from tiles, these are the only materials I can think of that are strong enough to withstand the heavy moisture of the bathroom area.

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Nailbag

Hi @Jerreemon

What @EricL has suggested is an excellent solution. The only other one other than tiles which are out is to polish the slab floor if you like that look. You can hire concrete polishers and then protect it with a non-slip sealant.

Nailbag

Dave-1

Evening @Jerreemon

Mmmmm I will have to bow out on knowledge of this one, I would also suggest to follow @EricL 's suggestions as he is a wealth of knowledge 🙂

Dave

MitchellMc

Hi @Jerreemon,

I just wanted to touch on whether the floor area outside the shower cubicle has had a waterproofing membrane applied under the timber flooring as per building standards for wet areas. It's something to bear in mind if you are adding additional flooring. Although the Hybrid Vinyl Planks @EricL has suggested are waterproof, they do not exempt the substrate from needing a waterproof membrane.

I just wanted to raise this in case the area hasn't been waterproofed under the timber flooring as it could cause a headache in the future if you needed to pull everything up to apply one.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Jerreemon

Hi All,

Bit of an update to an older post.

Our home has a quirky room out the back which the previous owners added a shower into it, which is on a lower level to the whole house. Access is done via outside the house.

I am going to convert this to a laundry/bathroom, keeping the shower and installing a sink and toilet in the room. This photo is a bit of an old 1, the shower has a shower door which fully encloses the shower.

I know it's not ideal to have floorboards in a wet area, although this shower will be more of a guest shower, so won't get much use.

Budget doesn't allow for the floorboards to be ripped up, new subfloor and then tiled, although I know this is preferred.

What options do I have for flooring?

The floorboards are in a good condition with no moisture damage as the shower in this space has never been used.

Vinyl over the top?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Dave-1

Good Evening @Jerreemon

My mums bathroom is a Lino/vinyl and has held up nicely over the past 7-8 years since she had the old one replaced.

Dave

JacobZ

Hi @Jerreemon,

Thank you for your question.

Unfortunately, if you were to convert this space to a bathroom, to fit in line with the National Construction Code Part 10.2 Wet area waterproofing and Australian Standards AS 3740 (Waterproofing of Wet Areas), you would need to reline the room with a suitable fibre cement product such as Villaboard, apply a waterproof membrane and then put an appropriate floor covering over the top. Luckily, there is no need to remove the existing hardwood flooring, but you will need to attach fibre cement sheeting over the top.

I understand that this may be outside of your budget, but I can't recommend moving forward with this project without the necessary waterproofing in place.

Without these steps, there is no flooring solution that I can recommend that would make the room in line with the relevant standards and codes.

If the room was lined and waterproofed, you could use hybrid waterproof flooring or vinyl sheeting outside of the shower, or you could tile the room.

Allow me to tag some of our helpful members to see if they have any advice to offer, @Nailbag, @Jewelleryrescue, @Adam_W.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

Jerreemon

Thanks Jacob!

villa board over timber seems, waterproof membrane and tiles seem like a good solution. Have you got an installation guide for this to go direct over timber floors?

i was under the assumption I’d have to rip up the floorboards and then put something like James Hardie secura flooring on.

JacobZ

Hi @Jerreemon,

Apologies, I've gotten my products slightly mistaken.

For floors, you should use James Hardie Ceramic Tile Underlay Flooring, following the Ceramic Tile Underlay Install Guide and for walls, you should use Villaboard following the Villaboard Lining Installation Guide.

The tile underlay is covered in dots which lay out the nailing pattern for the underlay. You should hand nail Paslode 25 x 2.0mm 500g Galvanised Fibre Cement Nails into every dot on the sheet.

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

Jerreemon

Thanks Jacob.

According to the james hardie installation guide, they recommend using James Hardie Joint sealant, however this isn't sold in bunnings.

Is this product an equivalent?

https://www.bunnings.com.au/crommelin-300ml-hybrid-ms-polyurethane-sealant_p0356878

Im also going to waterproof this area following this guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmrFUgI1C58.

Can you confirm if I have the appropriate products?

https://www.bunnings.com.au/crommelin-4l-one-coat-rapid-under-tile-waterproofing-membrane_p0356888

https://www.bunnings.com.au/crommelin-1l-waterproofing-membrane-surface-primer_p0356877

https://www.bunnings.com.au/crommelin-200mm-x-20m-reinforcing-fabric_p0356886

Cheers

MitchellMc

Hi @Jerreemon,

The Crommelin 300ml Hybrid MS Polyurethane Sealant is suitable for the James Hardie ceramic tile underlay. It's an equivalent product.

All the others are appropriate products, too.

The only thing I'll point out is that in some locations, a professional waterproofer could be required, and you might need them to sign off on the job for insurance purposes. So, it's best to check your local regulations and with your insurance provider before attempting D.I.Y. waterproofing.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Jerreemon

Thanks everyone for your responses. It has helped me immeasurably.

I had a tiler in recently to quote up the job.

He recommended using liquid nails when installing https://www.bunnings.com.au/james-hardie-1800-x-1200-x-6mm-2-16m-ceramic-tile-underlay-flooring_p0716142 and then to nail it into the timber floors.

The installation guide does not mention using liquid nails.

Is liquid nails appropriate to use along with nails?

Cheers

Nailbag

Liquid nails would not be required @Jerreemon just the underlay brads when fixing to timber flooring. The sheets have dots to indicate where the brads are positioned.

Nailbag

JacobZ

Hi @Jerreemon,

As @Nailbag has mentioned, liquid nails are not required, simply nail on every single dot to ensure it is fixed in place correctly.

In the Ceramic Tile Underlay Install Guide, it mentions on page 7, step 3, that "If fixing to hardwood floors, adhesive is not necessary."

It's always best to follow the manufacturer's instruction guide closely to ensure a quality install, so I suggest you forego using liquid nails.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

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