Hardwood options in large master bath

[Cabinet Monkey]

has anyone tried Ipe hardwood flooring in a bath?  Wonder how that would do?

Just a general thought I want my bathroom to look good but function and longevity are my primary concern.  Compared to other rooms you just don't spend that much time in there and the potential of water damage is higher than most other rooms.

Ipe will wear just fine on a bath floor.  Plenty of docks in the Upstate are clad with it.

It’s extremely hard and durable. And, not only will you pay a premium for the material , you’ll also pay a hefty sum for it to be milled into finished flooring and having it finished.  

I also believe it’s on the CITES list now too, which means more $$$.



Pretty much any solid wood floor properly finished will survive your lifetime in a bathroom.  If there is a major flood , even a tile floor is no guarantee of a floor that will require no repair.   I’ve see projects in which the subfloor heaved once it got saturated when the water made it through the tile and underlayment layer

[crokett™]

No offense taken.  Fair question.  

Yes, I am actually looking for definitive reasons not to do H/W as well as canvassing for any other ideas that may be out there.  I freely admit I have a bias towards doing H/W, but I am honestly open to understanding the experiences of others here.  I great respect this community and have learned a lot from you all.  

The work involved for doing tile is not worth it to me.  I do not want to do it because I will not like the result.  My assessment of this space is that tile will not be the best solution even if it is the standard, accepted solution.  I don't want a heated subfloor, nor the hardness of tile on the feet/back for a space that should be cozy and inviting for lounging as well as showering, tooth brushing, and "make-up-ing".  

I would look for ways to help address the issues I had with tile, rather than install a wood floor in a bathroom.   You can heat the floor, you can add bath mats (which you will want anyway because wet wood floors are slippery).  You can add area rugs.  You can install wood grain looking tile.   I have never lounged in a bathroom, nor do I want to.    

Have you considered resale?  I wouldn't want a house with wood floors in a bathroom.  Aside from I'd have to redo them or pay to have them done, what other questionable decisions did the homeowner make when they owned the house?  there's a difference between matters of taste (the color on the wall or the color of the kitchen counters) and function (hardwood in a bathroom).  If I saw that I'd be taking a very close look at the rest of the house and wondering what was done that I can't see.

[Cabinet Monkey]

I would look for ways to help address the issues I had with tile, rather than install a wood floor in a bathroom.   You can heat the floor, you can add bath mats (which you will want anyway because wet wood floors are slippery).  You can add area rugs.  You can install wood grain looking tile.   I have never lounged in a bathroom, nor do I want to.    

All well and good except that wood floors kinda negate the need for heating strips in the floor .  You can add mats & rugs on any type of floor.  Heck, I've seen persian rugs on dirt and sand floors before.  And no matter how good your wood tile and install is it NEVER looks like the real thing any more than a floating wood floor or LVP looks like tile even though manuf. go to great lengths to convince us otherwise.

[quote pid="8207013" dateline="1731424377"]
Have you considered resale?  I wouldn't want a house with wood floors in a bathroom.  Aside from I'd have to redo them or pay to have them done, what other questionable decisions did the homeowner make when they owned the house?  there's a difference between matters of taste (the color on the wall or the color of the kitchen counters) and function (hardwood in a bathroom).  If I saw that I'd be taking a very close look at the rest of the house and wondering what was done that I can't see.

Spoken like a true HouseFlipper.  Who cares what YOU would buy or not.  Worrying (in the abstract) what a specific buyer would want or buy is a recipe for a nervous breakdown.  Maybe you wouldn't like the house with the gorgeous partial overlay hickory cabinets cause they are out of fashion and have arched tops, or maybe you don't like houses with cedar siding cause you think cementious siding is the ne plus ultra.  Or the home is full of carpet and you adore hardwood floors.........but not the skinny, ubiquitous type - only wide plank will do. 


Not only are these aesthetic choices but functional ones too. 

And while good advice to wonder what's in the walls hidden, that (and the work that was performed ) has little or even NOTHING to do with the previous occupant's floor covering choice.  Your ideal tile floored bathroom may be hiding sharkbite fittings concealed in the walls , improperly vented waste stacks, a concealed electrical splice in the wall that's not even in a junction box or a poorly offset watercloset flange under the toilet.  Or my personal favorite , a joist that was cut away under the center of a marble shower because the plumber could be bothered to run the drain pipe to the main farther away.


I've seen them all in tile baths in homes costing $1m and up.



Bottom line is: get what YOU want , not what you think SOMEBODY ELSE will !

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[crokett™]

The problem for me isn't the floor covering choice per se. Wood vs tile is not the issue by itself. You are correct, the choices are both functional and aesthetic. The issue is the choice of the floor covering in an area where it doesn't belong (IMO). I prefer wood to tile, just not in a bathroom. While it is aesthetically pleasing wood is not the best place for it functionally. "Properly finished" wood floors can be, assuming the installer/finisher didn't make a mistake, and the homeowner is willing to do the maintenance. Or just install tile and don't worry about it. For functional reasons I would not put wall to wall carpet in a bathroom. I've seen it done. I would not put carpet in an entryway/foyer/mud room. Cedar vs Plank vs Vinyl would give me pause only as to whether I felt like I wanted to do the maintenance on it and can I observe whether the previous house owner had done the proper maintenance.

So yeah, I'd question the rest of the house if I saw wood floors in a bathroom, assuming that house had undergone renovations.

I'd have less of an issue with say Ipe, Cypress or maybe Cedar which are rot resistant but I'd still wonder a little. I'd have to think hard about whether I wanted to maintain a bathroom floor.

[Cabinet Monkey]

The problem for me isn't the floor covering choice per se.  Wood vs tile is not the issue by itself.  You are correct, the choices are both functional and aesthetic. The issue is the choice of the floor covering in an area where it doesn't belong (IMO).    I prefer wood to tile, just not in a bathroom.  While it is aesthetically pleasing wood is not the best place for it functionally.  "Properly finished" wood floors can be, assuming the installer/finisher didn't make a mistake, and the homeowner is willing to do the maintenance.  Or just install tile and don't worry about it.  For functional reasons I would not put wall to wall carpet in a bathroom.  I've seen it done.  I would not put carpet in an entryway/foyer/mud room.    Cedar vs Plank vs Vinyl would give me pause only as to whether I felt like I wanted to do the maintenance on it and can I observe whether the previous house owner had done the proper maintenance. 

So yeah, I'd question the rest of the house if I saw wood floors in a bathroom, assuming that house had undergone renovations.

I'd have less of an issue with say Ipe, Cypress or maybe Cedar which are rot resistant but I'd still wonder a little.  I'd have to think hard about whether I wanted to maintain a bathroom floor.

You say just install tile and don't worry about it.............pffft.  

except ya gotta worry the installer/finisher didn't make a mistake, and the homeowner is willing to do the maintenance.   It's not a perfect medium either.    And I can assure you over half of the tile shower floors I see are installed incorrectly and are a petri dish underneath that tile you so love.  Don't you worry about that ?

Your preconceived notions, preferences, and bias aside -  if someone wants solid wood floor in their bathroom they should do it and not lose any sleep over it.   You make some valid points, but not all of them are correct nor should one weigh your  preference more than their own.

[oscarMadison]

Ipe will wear just fine on a bath floor.  Plenty of docks in the Upstate are clad with it.

It’s extremely hard and durable. And, not only will you pay a premium for the material , you’ll also pay a hefty sum for it to be milled into finished flooring and having it finished.  

I also believe it’s on the CITES list now too, which means more $$$.



Pretty much any solid wood floor properly finished will survive your lifetime in a bathroom.  If there is a major flood , even a tile floor is no guarantee of a floor that will require no repair.   I’ve see projects in which the subfloor heaved once it got saturated when the water made it through the tile and underlayment layer

after you mention it,  I checked and it is on CITES.  Hadn't thought much about price since my bathroom is small, wasn't thinking about the OP's bath.  The boardwalks are one reason I thought of it when reading this thread. Pretty amazing how long some of the boards have been there.

[blackhat]

The master bath in my house has managed just fine with 2 1/4 x 3/4 oak for the past 100 years.