A floating floor is rather a style of flooring rather than a type of product. On the other hand, your bathroom vanity can vary in length and weight depending on your preferences.
When thinking about floating floors, a greater part of maintaining and preserving planks that make up the floating floors is not to infringe or go against its nature.
Here is If You Can Put A Bathroom Vanity On A Floating Floor:
Installing a bathroom vanity on a floating floor will inhibit contraction and expansion of the same floor in different weather conditions; as such, the vanity will be overly heavy, restricting the floor’s ability to expand and compress.
Can You Use A Floating Floor In The Bathroom?
Typically, if you take steps to preserve the wood basis from moisture, floating floors can be used in bathrooms. Its biggest threat is both water and moisture, which can penetrate through the interlocking and cause buckling and lifting.
It is not unless installed in a half bath, and the joints sealed to prevent water seeping through.
As said earlier, floating floors are not a type of flooring material but a flooring installation method. The flooring materials are interlocked or glued onto each other instead of punching or gluing onto the substrate floor.
For this reason, the floor is flexible in movement. If water or moisture finds its way underneath, the planks can easily dislocate or swell in damaged areas, making the floor uneven and lacking quality.
That is because the material used, especially in laminated planks, is not waterproof. If it is like vinyl, then water damage will still occur in the long run because the bathroom is the one place that is mostly wet and moist.
In a bathroom that sees a lot of activity, damage looms close by for floating floors, but for half bathrooms, the damage might occur but not as fast as in full fletched bathrooms.
Should You Install A Bathroom Vanity Or Floating Floor First?
If you are installing cabinets or a vanity that is attached to the flooring, you will do so first. A floating floor will not be able to float beneath a cabinet.
A bathroom vanity that touches the floor is installed before the floor overlay, given that a floating floor is a modern remodeling solution.
This is especially in cases where the bathroom vanity has already been installed, and the homeowner is not in the mood to remove the fixture to pave the way for installing the floating floor.
The problem with this method is that the floor lacks a seamless flow that looks nice and pretty in the eye and which makes floating floors attractive in the first place.
But installing the fixture first is an idea that is appealing to many having the notion that the floating floor will be better off if it goes around the fixture instead of going underneath it. This way, there will be no damage surprises as a result of floating issues.
The longevity and safety of the floating floor depend mostly on the care it receives and the maintenance of water pipes in the bathroom.
Can I Put A Bathroom Vanity On Top Of Vinyl Plank Flooring?
You can install vinyl plank flooring beneath your bathroom vanity if you use the glue-down vinyl plank flooring method. Vinyl plank is a suitable material to have beneath your vanity since there’s no expansion and contraction once installed.
Vinyl flooring planks are 100% synthetic, meaning they are waterproof, durable, and easy to maintain, making them the best floating flooring solution for the bathroom. Even though they are prone to surface damage, installing a vanity on top of it requires cushioning to avoid scratches.
Vinyl planks interlock together simply instead of being glued to the substrate, and installing it right will ensure that they do not curl or chip in the edges.
For this to happen, it requires that you buy quality vinyl and quality adhesive, install it right and ensure that you keep water and moisture-related issues in check to avoid moisture damage.
Can I Put A Bathroom Vanity On Top Of The Laminate Flooring?
Installing a bathroom vanity will make it difficult for laminate flooring to expand and contract. As a result, the laminate floors should be cut to accommodate such objects.
Unlike vinyl, laminate flooring is made of wooden particles glued together using resin. The surface is hard, but the core can quickly soak in water. Between vinyl and laminate, vinyl can survive in the bathroom as opposed to laminate.
When it gets too hot, most building materials expand, and when it gets too cold, they contract, but the contraction is minimal, which is not significantly affected by the heavy fixture.
The main problem of floating floors installed in the bathroom is the risks of water and moisture damage. As the damage is irreversible, replacements might become frequent, which is detrimental to the pocket.
Concerning the bathroom vanity, the issue is not only on the flooring type alone but also the danger of the water pipe inside the bathroom vanity leaking, trickling down the cabinets and onto the floor.
Similarly, floating floors move with discipline when dry but budge and buckle when wet or have moisture.
Can Place A Vanity On A Floating Floor Cause Damage?
Even when the floating floor shifts, the movement is minimal to cause major damage unless the floor is wet; what is important is to install the vanity safely and neatly on top of the floor to avoid scratches and dents.
There is nothing without its pros and cons; floating floors have their advantages and work best when installed in free spaces devoid of water, fixtures, and heavy furniture.
It is impossible to avoid placing furniture and other fixtures on floating floors, but it can be done with utmost care.
Aside from water damage originating from water pipes inside the vanity, here are some of the injuries a floating floor can suffer when a bathroom vanity is installed on top of it;
- Floating floors expand and contract. The rhythm is broken with a heavy object sitting on top of it, and the planks are at risk of disengaging.
- The floor’s surface is polished; anything with sharp or rough edges, therefore, tends to scratch, so placing a protective soft item beneath helps protect the floor.
- The amount and quality of adhesive used on the floor determine how strong the floor is when a heavy fixture like the vanity is placed on top of it.
Can You Replace The Bathroom Floor Without Removing The Vanity?
No, it is not possible to remove the flooring, especially if the bathroom vanity is installed on top of the floor. For this reason, the bathroom vanity has to be removed first before removing the existing floating floor and replacing it with another.
This is because removing the floor while the vanity is in its place will be rough on the vanity, risking the breaking of wall sealant.
The new planks might not fall in place with the old planks. It is much work compared to leaving the vanity in place, but the replacement’s outcome will be worth it.
But there is another different scenario where the bathroom vanity was fixed first before the floating floor was installed.
The planks were installed to go around the fixture, and the edges sealed to prevent water and moisture from seeping underneath in such a scenario.
When the time comes for the floor to be replaced, the pieces are removed without touching the bathroom vanity, and replacement happens the same way.
Final Thought
People all over are looking for cheaper, easier to install, and flexible/reliable home solutions and floating floors have warmed their way into the hearts of many because it’s a solution that non-professionals can install without qualms.
The problem with floating floors is that the core is made from fiberboard, which, if soaked in water, cannot be fixed in any other way other than replacing it.
Sources
https://everythingwhat.com/can-you-install-a-vanity-on-top-of-vinyl-plank-flooring
https://readytodiy.com/can-you-put-vinyl-plank-under-around-vanity-toilet-bathtub-0052/
https://homedecorbliss.com/do-you-tile-under-the-bathroom-vanity/
