Bathroom flooring options compared

Porcelain, ceramic, stone and vinyl side by side

Each material behaves differently once it is down, gets wet and is walked on with bare feet every morning. This table gives the short version before the detail below.

Slip resistance: what to look for

Polished tiles look striking in a showroom but can be slippery once soap and water are involved. For a bathroom floor, look for a matt, textured or anti slip finish, and ask about the slip rating printed on the box or the manufacturer's sheet. The wetter the zone, the more grip you want.

Smaller tiles also help, because more grout lines give the foot more to hold. That is one reason mosaics or small formats are common inside walk-in shower areas, while larger tiles are used across the rest of the room. Vinyl and LVT products vary a lot, so check the grip rating rather than assuming it is safe because it feels soft.

Underfloor heating and each floor type

Tile and stone are excellent partners for underfloor heating. They conduct and hold warmth well, which takes the chill out of a hard floor and helps dry the room after a shower. The heating mat or system sits beneath the tile and its adhesive, so it has to be planned before tiling starts, not added later.

Vinyl and LVT can sit over some heating systems, but there are usually temperature limits set by the flooring manufacturer. If heating is on your list, mention it at the survey so the floor build up, the heights at the door and the choice of surface are all worked out together.

Subfloor preparation: the part you never see

Many Greater Manchester homes have suspended timber floors upstairs. Timber moves, and tiles laid straight onto floorboards will crack or lose grout as the boards flex. The usual answer is to overboard with a suitable tile backer or ply, fixed at close centres, so the surface is rigid before any adhesive goes down.

Concrete floors bring their own checks: level, dryness and any old adhesive or flooring that needs removing. Vinyl and LVT are even less forgiving here, because every bump and dip in the subfloor shows through a thin, flexible surface. Levelling compound is often part of the job on either material.

• Check for movement in timber floors before choosing tile or stone
• Allow for overboarding and levelling in the floor height at the door
• Plan underfloor heating before the floor build up is decided
• Remove old flooring and adhesive rather than covering them

Wet rooms and walk-in showers

In a wet room the floor is the shower tray, so it has to be tanked, laid to falls towards the drain and finished in a material that copes with water every day. Porcelain and suitable stone are the normal choices. Vinyl is rarely used in a true wet room because water sitting at joints and edges is exactly what it handles worst.

Where a walk-in shower uses a tray, the floor outside the tray still takes splashes. Porcelain throughout keeps one finish across the room, while vinyl can work outside the showering area if the edges are sealed properly against the tray and the walls.

How to choose for your bathroom

Start with who uses the room and how. A busy family bathroom with children splashing at bath time points towards porcelain with grip. A quieter en suite gives more freedom to choose stone for looks. A tight refit on an old timber floor may suit LVT if overboarding for tile would raise the floor too far at the door.

Then think about cleaning, warmth and how long you want the floor to last. Bring photos of floors you like to the survey, and Martin can say what each option needs underneath in your particular room before you commit to buying anything.