What floor do you recommend?

[ToExtendOrNotToExtend]

I am going to lay new floors in every room, what type of floor do you recommend in different rooms? Laminate, vinyl, engineered wood or tile?

Is tile a must for bathrooms? Is laminate/engineered wood waterproof enough for the kitchen? Is vinyl waterproof enough for the bathrooms?

I am not considering expensive floors such as Amtico and I don't have underfloor heating.

Thank you

Different flooring works in different rooms for different reasons so there isn't a straightforward answer to this.
We've had ceramic tiling in kitchen and utility with resin grouting, very very durable, and fairly expensive click vinyl in a cloakroom which seems durable and fine so far, planning click wood effect laminate in dining room and vinyl in bathrooms but have looked at a lot of different styles and finishes. We have regular central heating and the vinyl's warmer than the tiling unsurprisingly.

We have bamboo throughout downstairs. We're coming to the end of having a new kitchen fitted, and have had quickstep waterproof wood effect laminate laid. It looks really lovely. In the old kitchen, we had Marmoleum which was lovely and lasted 20 years.

There are laminate tiles available for bathrooms now. Are they actually water resisted enough?

We have vinyl downstairs and in bathrooms. It's glued down and the subfloor was prepared prior to fitting. It's very easy to maintain and doesn't feel cold underfoot. However we dropped a sharp knife in the kitchen which damaged it somewhat. Next time we're going for lvt as a single tile can be replaced if damaged. There are much cheaper options for lvt than amtico OP.

I have porcelain tiles in the bathroom, downstairs toilet, conservatory (dining room), hallway and kitchen. Everywhere else is carpeted in the same carpet.

We have ceramic tiles in the kitchen, hall and loo and laundry room downstairs. We have underfloor heating in all these areas and it’s warm. The two lounges and dining room are engineered wood and solid oak. One lounge has underfloor heating and the other two rooms are conventional radiator.

Upstairs all bedrooms are carpeted. Bathrooms are tiled (3) and one is engineered wood. We don’t splash a lot and the bathrooms with baths are tiled.

In the kitchen I wouldn’t have engineered wood. The wear and tear will show. I’ve just had Amtico put down in my holiday house. That’s a great alternative needing little upkeep. It’s a warm house with underfloor heating all over. Where I still have engineered wood it needs sanding and refinishing so it’s not really practical for high traffic areas.

I use wood on ground and carpet on stairs and bedrooms. Tile in bathroom. I have used water resistant laminate in kitchens/and bathrooms and good quality looks great. I've also used rubber in bathrooms but it was textured and difficult to clean.
My last house I used pale vinyl tile in the kitchen and never again - it looked great to begin with but man it held on to dirt like you wouldn't believe!

We have solid wood stairs but landings are carpeted. Our wood on the stairs has lasted without any treatment for 12 years. It’s perfect. I’m not sure why our wood in our holiday house has marked where the dining chairs move in and out and has definitely lost its surface at the French window access area.

LVT in kitchen and utility, warm, stuff doesn’t break when dropped. Carpet in bedrooms. Hall, living room and dining room are varnished original floorboards.

Upstairs the bathrooms are tile, had vinyl in old house which lasted 10 years till had to take up for repairs, I preferred the vinyl to the tile we have now. We put underfloor electric heating in bathrooms, cheap to run in small space, cheap to install and I think you put under LVT.

I think decisions also depend on age and value of the house. Some types of flooring are just not suitable for very expensive or very old houses.

Vinyl planks.
We have them upstairs in every room and they are warm and easy to clean
We have laminate downstairs but when we redo the kitchen and do a few other things next year we will replace that with vinyl as well

If you have different floors in different rooms, do you get the same floor level?
For example, vinyl is thinner than wood, engineered wood and laminate.

Sorry can’t help with that as we have the same all through

Another vote for vinyl planks. We were set on wood but are so glad the flooring company convinced us to try vinyl. They're even textured like wood.

I know someone with wood effect ceramic tiles on their kitchen floor and they're really badly chipped in lots of places after only a few years.

I have ceramic tiles and have had for 12 years. No chips! Anywhere. My house is worth a lot of money! No vinyl plank would be suitable.

@ToExtendOrNotToExtend

If you have different floors in different rooms, do you get the same floor level? For example, vinyl is thinner than wood, engineered wood and laminate.

Talk to the person laying the floors, the prep is all. The lvt in the bathroom and the kitchen tiling are not nearby (currently hideous carpeted hall in between), but as far as I can tell are on a level. Both were prepared and cured before laying the floor.

I have ceramic tiles and have had for 12 years. No chips! Anywhere. My house is worth a lot of money! No vinyl plank would be suitable

Too right. Could you imagine putting vinyl flooring down in an expensive house? Oh the humanity!

“Oh the humanity”? What does that mean? Have you ever been into a several million £ house with laminate floors? Unless it’s a doer upper or about to be bulldozed? There are floors that are cheap and cheerful and those that are not. It’s that simple. So of course value comes into it. Why wouldn’t it? Why would you spend £150 m2 on flooring for a house worth £100,000 when cheap and cheerful is just fine? You would be mad to do that.

Yes. Levels need to be taken and the floor dug out if they are too high. You don’t want a silly “step” between floors. So doing the work at the same time is best and don’t let builders fob you off. They can level floors!

@TizerorFizz

I have ceramic tiles and have had for 12 years. No chips! Anywhere. My house is worth a lot of money! No vinyl plank would be suitable.

What’s the cut off point of your house value vs being allowed to have vinyl planks? Asking for a friend I mean if it’s £500k that’s a small house in London but a big house in Yorkshire I’m a bit confused

It’s really perception isn’t it? It would be a flat in London and obviously at the lower end of the market. I talked about value. If you have a beautiful house with a fantastic large kitchen and a house with wonderful original features, do you expect laminate floors? Anywhere? LVT maybe in loos etc. but not laminate.

It’s not Perception it’s snobbery

Not really. I don’t think people with beautiful period properties want laminate flooring. It’s that simple. You really don’t see it in them and certainly not in listed buildings. If I am a snob so he it! I don’t really care but like heritage conservators I do care about using suitable snd appropriate finishes in houses. If people want to ruin a period house they own, that’s up to them. I would call them some other name, but I won’t!

Ooooo we’ve just been through all this. We went for engineered wood flooring throughout, including kitchen, plus sheet vinyl in the bathrooms and utility. I don’t like tiles on floor, so cold barefoot!

We are v pleased with our choice, my only comments would be that brushed wood is much hrder to clean than smooth (get smooth!!) and also the vinyl got scratched in the utility when moving white goods. So I do regret it in there.

Watch out for everyone recommending karndean/amtico, we felt huge pressure from the builders to use this, I think it’s easy and quick to lay.

Amtico isn’t easier to lay. Especially if you have a pattern. I do think it’s a brilliant product but it’s expensive. Ceramic tiles really need underfloor heating. Then they are wonderful. Engineered wood does need looking after in highly trafficked areas. The finish will wear.

We had a leak in the bathroom that destroyed the laminate as it soaked up the water. I would recommend avoiding that and doing tiles from that experience. If you are having underfloor heating then avoid solid wood as it insulates too well.