New solid pine boards over concrete floor in bathroom?

[jase the space]

I have seen concerns raised about solid wood floors in bathrooms due to moisture.

I was originally going to lay travertine floor tiles but have decided that these are too cold - yes I know you can add underfloor heating but that is extra outlay and running cost. I like the idea of a naturally warm wooden floor.

Is this a total No-no in a bathroom or can it be done successfully?

Would a DPM over the concrete followed by underlay and a floating 20mm thick pine floor (glued at the tongue and groove) be OK if it were stained and sealed with 3 coats of Aqualac?

Will I still get the joints pulling apart due to expansion/constraction of the wood with the seasons and moisture content of the air?

What do I do at the edges of the room? Presumably I should leave an expansion gap but does this open the underfloor up to humidity and moisture?

Would engineered wood floor be better?

Am I really setting myself up for a fall here?

Any help much appreciated.

 

[WoodYouLike]

He Jase

Wood-Engineered flooring would definitely be a better choice, more stable than solid. You should leave an expansion gap, place skirtingboards over it and seal (transparent silicon) top and bottom of skirting. Depending on how you install the floor (removing toilet pan etc first, or going 'around' it) seal that too.

Hope this helps.

 

[jase the space]

Thanks.

I was going to remove WC and sink/pedestal before laying floor. But I do have a bath in the room which I was going to lay the floot around (not under). What do I do about the exposed edge of the floor that will be under the bath behind the nath panels? Is it OK to leave this exposed to the air under the bath or should it be capped off somehow?

There will be some new tiles put on the wall and the intention was to tile right down to the wooden floor w/o skirting. Could I use sealant here OK? Presumably grouting that gap would be a bad idea as it is less flexible.

So solid wood is a definite no-no in the bath then?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Your thought about the bath are ok (make sure you glue all the T&G's of the boards completely also for a kind of extra sealant, plus it will stop the floor 'walking' open = creating gaps).
Best practise with wooden flooring is to do all the 'wet' work (including tiling) before you install the floor, but if you are careful it will be alright, any spills have to removed immediately, even when you cover the floor with dust sheets).

In our opinion solid flooring (on top of existing underfloor) is a NO NO in any wet areas, be it bathrooms, toilets, utility areas and even kitchens. But that is us