Laminate or Hardwood floor in a master bath?
We walked through a model home at our county fair last night and I wouldn't consider it to be a high end house but I thought it was interesting that they used laminate in the master bathroom. I liked the look and since we were already second guessing our tile selection for that room it got me thinking. Has anyone here used laminate or a real hardwood floor in a master bath?
I wouldn't do laminate again
Matt-
In our previous house we gutted and remodeled the second floor to the studs. A major reason for the remodel was to add a master bath and larger closet.
We went with an Armstrong laminate floor in the Master Bath that was designed for kithchens and baths. It was "water resistant" and had a green colored substrate. I went so far as to glue all the seams and put silicone caulk around the edges to seal against water running under the floor in the expansion spaces under the 3/4 wide base I installed to hide the larger than normal expansion joint. I made every effort to we make it an optimal install. We also ran an exhaust fan when showering to help avoid excess moisture.
We sold the house about a year later and the floor was holding up, but had some swelling near the shower where water seeped somehow. I wouldn't do it again based on our experience, even with all the extra steps we took. It was also cold in our WI winters. We love our Master Bath heated tile floor in comparison.