Which flooring is best for each room?

Start with the room, not the sample

It is easy to fall for a flooring sample in a showroom. The better question is what the floor has to put up with. A mudroom sees grit, salt and water. A basement sits on concrete that can be cool and damp. A kitchen gets dropped pans and spills, and a bedroom mostly gets bare feet. Choose for the room first, then for looks, and the floor will still look right in fifteen years.

The quick comparison

Prices are relative and depend on the product, the subfloor and the installation.

Solid hardwood

Solid hardwood is milled from one piece of wood, usually three quarters of an inch thick. It feels solid underfoot, can be sanded and refinished many times, and lasts the life of a house. Its weakness is movement. Solid wood swells in humid weather and shrinks in dry weather, so gaps between boards are normal in winter in dry climates. It is generally not recommended over concrete, below grade or over radiant heat. Our guide to hard water and dry air explains why humidity matters so much.

Engineered hardwood

Engineered hardwood has a real wood top layer on a core of cross-layered plywood or similar material. The cross layers resist swelling and shrinking, so it stays flatter and tighter than solid wood when humidity changes, and many products are rated for concrete subfloors and radiant heat. Wide planks, which can cup when made from solid wood, are far more stable in engineered form.

Look closely at the wear layer, the thickness of real wood on top. A thick wear layer can be sanded and refinished like solid wood. A very thin one cannot be refinished at all. Not every engineered product is rated for basements, so check before you buy.

Luxury vinyl plank and laminate

Luxury vinyl plank, often called LVP, is a waterproof plank with a printed wood or stone surface. Rigid-core versions click together over most subfloors and are among the safest choices for basements, mudrooms and rental suites. Quality varies a lot. Thicker wear layers resist scratches better, and better products have more realistic texture and variation.

Laminate uses a wood-based core with a printed layer and a hard top coat. It resists scratches well and costs less, but standing water can swell the core unless the product is specifically water resistant. Neither product can be refinished. Damaged planks are replaced.

Tile and stone

Porcelain tile is dense, waterproof and nearly indestructible, which makes it the default for bathrooms, entries and many kitchens. Large-format tiles mean fewer grout lines and a calmer look, but they need a very flat subfloor. Tile feels cold, which is why it pairs so well with in-floor heat. Natural stone such as marble, limestone and slate is beautiful and varied, but it is more porous, needs sealing, and some stones etch or scratch easily. Ask about slip resistance for wet areas.

Carpet

Carpet is warm, quiet and soft, and it still makes sense in bedrooms, theatres and basement family rooms where comfort matters most. A good pad makes as much difference as the carpet itself. Carpet does not belong in bathrooms, entries or kitchens, and it holds dust and allergens more than hard floors.

Heated floors

In-floor heat warms a room from the ground up and is the reason many people love tile in winter. Electric mats or cables suit single rooms such as bathrooms, mudrooms and kitchens. Hot water tubing, called hydronic heat, suits whole floors and basements. Tile and stone are ideal over heated floors. Engineered wood and some vinyl products work too if the manufacturer approves it, usually with a limit on surface temperature. Solid hardwood is the least suited.

Which floor where

What the subfloor needs

• Flatness. Large tiles and click flooring both need a flat subfloor, often within a small tolerance over several feet.
• Stiffness. Bouncy floors crack tile and grout, so joists sometimes need stiffening before tile goes down.
• Dryness. Concrete in basements should be tested for moisture, and a vapour barrier or underlay used where the product calls for it.
• Time. Wood flooring should acclimatize in the home at normal living conditions before installation.

Mixing floors and transitions

Most homes use two or three floors. Fewer changes look calmer, so many renovations run one wood or wood-look floor through the main living areas and use tile only at the entry, mudroom and bathrooms. Plan the transitions so the heights match, which can take careful build-up under thinner materials, and place changes at door frames or natural breaks rather than in the middle of a room.

Related guides

Our countertop comparison and tile and stone terms in the renovation dictionary help with the rest of your finishes, and our basement development cost guide covers basement floors in a full project. If your floors are old, our guide to what to check in an older home explains what may be underneath.