Bathroom floor tile is a safe and easy flooring option, no matter your style or budget.
When it comes to giving your bathroom a clean and classic look that's also extremely durable, you can't beat tile floors. There are nearly endless options to fit any design aesthetic and most budgets. Even better, given tile's universal appeal, it's a smart investment that can actually boost your home's resale value. Some of the more popular tile materials include ceramic, quarry, terra cotta, and marble, and they come in a great variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and patterns. A unique bathroom tile design can make any bathroom stand out.
Pros to Tile Flooring for Bathrooms
transitional bathroom
Most tile is stain-resistant (porous marble, however, is easily stained if spills aren't quickly wiped up). For this reason, tile is a good design choice for bathroom floors, backsplashes, walls, and shower enclosures. Sealed tile and grout are also water-resistant, making it a great choice for the bathroom. Likewise, tile is scratch resistant, perfect for homes with pets. And as long as non-toxic grout and sealants are used, tile floors are great for allergy sufferers.
Cons to Tile Flooring for Bathrooms
master bathroom white subway tile floor
Design is rarely a limiting factor with tile flooring for bathrooms, but there are downsides to the flooring. It is cold underfoot, provides a hard walking surface, and offers no sound insulation. Tile is perfect for installation over a radiant floor heating system, which is a particularly smart investment in a bathroom where it's important to keep bare feet warm. Also, glossy finishes can be slick, a concern in bathrooms where slip-and-fall accidents are common. Ask your dealer about newer products designed with anti-slip surfaces or talk to your installer about applying non-slip additives on top of your floor. If you want to keep the same floor material throughout the space, it's easy to find tile to cover the floor and serve as bathroom shower tile.
Tips for Tiling Bathroom Floors
patterned tile and rich wood accents
Tile can be tricky to install for even seasoned DIYers as the process requires a special saw for cutting pieces to fit around cabinets or corners. Tiling bathroom floors can also be difficult; it can be hard to give grout a consistent and professional look. Mosaic bathroom floor and wall tiles can be purchased mounted on mesh to make spacing easier for self-installing tile. Different types of tile have different installation requirements so, if you plan to install your floor yourself, it's important to talk to your dealer and educate yourself on the material you've chosen.
More recently, snap-together tiles have hit the market. These interlocking pieces are designed to help handy homeowners create a professional-looking floor. Not all materials are available in this construction, but there are options that consist of real bathroom ceramic tile bonded to the interlocking base. Although some cutting is still required around fixtures, the no-glue installation, pre-cut edging pieces, and variety of tile sizes reduce much of the installation hassle.
Cleaning Bathroom Floor Tiles
gray bathroom
Tile is generally easy to maintain, requiring routine sweeping and damp mopping as needed. Some types of tile, including marble, need regular sealing to protect them from stains. Grout can be a bit more difficult to keep clean and is likely to discolor over time. Although tile is very durable, it can be cracked or chipped if something heavy is dropped on it. This damage is difficult to repair and almost always requires a professional.
You walk into the bathroom, and the fan is so weak it barely moves any air at all.
On the flip side, an overly powerful bathroom fan can be needlessly loud and expensive.
Well, if you plan on buying a new bathroom fan, it is important to size it correctly.
The 'size' of a bathroom fan doesn't actually refer to the physical dimensions but rather to it's CFM rating.
CFM stands for cubic feet per minute, and it basically tells you how much air the bath fan can move in one minute.
Most bathroom fans have CFM ratings in the range of 50-cfm to 130-cfm but can go as high as 200-cfm or greater.
There are a few different ways to calculate the CFM for your bathroom, but all methods try to aim for at least 8 air changes per hour. This means that the bathroom's air volume should be totally replaced at least 8 times in 60 minutes.
It's also really important to make sure that the bathroom door has a satisfactory gap on the bottom. If the bottom door gap isn't at least 5/8-inch, it will be difficult for the bathroom fan to properly do it's job because there isn't enough makeup air.
In this guide on bath fan sizing, I will go over:
the four main ways to calculate CFM (andexhaust fan size chart)
a handy CFM calculator for the most complex method
things that can affect CFM (like the duct size, motor quality)
high CFM bath fans with low noise levels
how a small vent pipe size can reduce CFM output
Four Ways To Size An Exhaust Fan (CFM)
There are 4 main ways to size a bath fan. These CFM calculations are based on the floor area, ceiling height, and additional enclosed spaces like a toilet or shower.
In the exhaust fan size chart below, you will see a quick breakdown of each method, and you can keep reading for full details on each calculation:
Bathroom Exhaust Fan Size Chart
CFM Calculation
Minimum CFM
Regular Sized Bathrooms (100-sf or less)
1-CFM Per Square Foot (minimum 50-cfm)
Bathroom With Tall Ceilings
1. Multiply floor area by the ceiling height
2. Divide By 60 (minutes)
3. Multiply by 8 (# of air changes)
Large Bathrooms (100-sf Or Higher)
Add together each fixture
Toilet = 50-CFM
Shower = 50-CFM
Bathtub = 50-CFM
Jacuzzi Tub = 100-CFM
Enclosed Areas (water closet or shower)
50-cfm (second exhaust fan)
#1. Standard Bathroom Fan Size (100-sf Or Less)
The first and most common way to size a bathroom fan is to use 1-cfm per square foot of floor area. To calculate the floor area, simply take a tape measure and multiply the length and width of the bathroom including the shower/tub areas.
This standard bathroom fan size calculation of 1-cfm per square foot is for regular sized bathrooms that are 100-SF or less. For example, if you have a bathroom that is 80-sf, then you want a bathroom fan that is at least 80-cfm.
If you have a very tiny bathroom that is less than 50-sf (such as 40-sf), you want to keep a minimum of 50-CFM. And you can always go slightly more than the recommended minimum of 1-cfm per 1-sf.
A somewhat higher CFM (like 10-20% higher) won't hurt anything, but an underpowered bath may not adequately remove the moisture needed to protect your bathroom.
If you are worried about the noise, you can buy a bath fan with a low sone rating such as 0.3-sones which is almost whisper quiet. I recently wrote a product review on the best ultra quiet bathroom fans that have very low sone ratings.
#2. Bathrooms With High Ceilings (More than 8-feet)
In addition to the standard CFM calculation, you will need to calculate CFM differently if you have a standard sized bathroom (100-sf or less) with tall ceilings.
The standard ceiling height for bathrooms is 8-feet, so if you measure your ceiling and it is 10-feet or 12-feet, you will need to factor in the increased vertical space. You can use my calculator below to find out the CFM:
And here is a breakdown and example of how the sizing calculator works:
First Step. Multiply floor SF by the ceiling height (Floor SF × Ceiling Height)
Second Step. Divide By 60 (minutes)
Third Step. Multiply by 8 (# of air changes)
As an example: if you have a bathroom with 10-ft ceilings and the floor area is 120-sf.
First Step. 120-sf × 10-ft = 1,200
Second Step. 1,200 / 60 = 20
Third Step. 20 × 8 = 160 CFM
You would need a bathroom fan that is at least 160-cfm or two bathroom fans that equal 160-cfm. You can also get a bath fan that has a slightly higher CFM (by 10-20%) than the minimum without it being a problem. I don't recommend ever going below the recommended exhaust fan CFM however.
#3. Large Bathrooms (More Than 100 Square Feet)
For larger bathrooms of 100-sf or more, we recommend that you add up the CFM based on the number of plumbing fixtures rather than calculating based on floor size.
For each toilet, shower, or bathtub, simply assign 50-cfm to each fixture. If you have a jetted tub, assign 100-cfm.
Toilet = 50-cfm
Shower = 50-cfm
Bathtub = 50-cfm
Jacuzzi Tub = 100-cfm
So if you have a bathroom with one toilet, one shower, and one jacuzzi tub—the minimum CFM required would be 200-cfm. You can either buy one bathroom fan rated at 200-cfm or you can buy 2-3 fans that add up to 200-cfm.
#4. Enclosed Areas
If you have a bathroom that has an enclosed water closet or shower, you will need to purchase a second bathroom fan just for that area.Since the toilet area or shower has a door, it will prevent the bathroom fan from ventilating that space adequately.
If you have a completely enclosed shower area, the bathroom fan will also need to be GFCI connected. Pretty much all water closets that I inspect have a bathroom fan with a light as well. Since the enclosed area is usually such a small area, going with a small 50-cfm bathroom fan is standard.
And if you absolutely don't want to install a secondary fan, it's recommended to leave the door at least partially open throughout the day. This allows the primary bathroom exhaust fan an opportunity to do its job.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few frequently asked questions that are related to sizing a bathroom fan:
Can A Bathroom Fan Be Too Strong?
The short answer is yes. If the bathroom fan is significantly stronger than the recommended CFM, there is a chance it will cause backdrafting in the home. Backdrafting occurs when there are gas appliances in the home, and the powerful fan creates negative air pressure.
The negative air pressure can pull back in noxious gases back into the home from the gas appliances (instead of going outside) such as hazardous carbon monoxide. However, if you just increase the CFM 10-25% from the standard CFM recommendations, it should not be problem.
Can The Duct Size Affect CFM?
The quality of your duct absolutely can affect the CFM output of your bathroom fan. New bath fans will tell you the vent pipe size (diameter) that needs to be used such as 3-inch, 4-inch, or 6-inch. The best ducts for bathroom fans also tend to be pre-insulated which helps reduce noise and prevents condensation.
If the bathroom fan is rated for 130-cfm with a 6-inch duct, but you only have 3-inch installed, it will decrease the CFM performance.In addition to the duct size, the number of bends, overall length, and metal vs. foil type of duct can have an impact on CFM.
What If I Am Concerned About Noise?
Bathroom fans come with a noise rating called sones. Anything that is 1.0 sone or less is considered quiet. In fact, a bathroom fan with a 0.3 sone rating can be difficult to know that it's even on which is why they have LED indicator lights. A bathroom fan that is 3-4 sones is pretty loud. My guide on bathroom fan sones details how it works.
A higher CFM bath fan will likely have a higher sone rating, but not all. Higher quality bathroom fans tend to also have premium motors (variable speed and ECM) that can significantly reduce noise.
Are There Bathroom Fans With Difference Speeds Or CFMs?
A lot of the bath fans made by Panasonic have a speed selector feature which means you can choose between three different CFMs such as 50/80/110. There is a little switch on the housing that allows you to choose which CFM you want.
There are also bathroom fans with variable speed motors that start off on a slow speed when you first turn on the fan, and if it detects high moisture, it will kick into a higher speed. These fans have humidity sensors so they can automatically turn on or off as well. You can read my review on the best bathroom fans with humidity sensors here.
16 Single Sink Vanities for the Master Bathroom (+ The Pair I Ordered!)
The master bathroom is still untouched with half-ripped up tile and sub-flooring as the current primary situation. We haven't started the remodel just yet as we're waiting on insurance approvals and such, and I still am not 100% committed to exactly what I want to do. However… even without having clear direction, I've already ordered replacement vanities and they should arrive before the end of the week! While we are going ahead and using this whole flood thing as an opportunity to make upgrades to the master bathroom since so much construction will already be taking place, we won't be changing the actual footprint of the space. Instead of one long, double-sink vanity, we will continue to have two separate his and hers vanities, in their current respective locations. With wall space limitations, the longest the spaces would maybe accomodate is around 50-52″. A 48 inch bathroom vanity is a common size and by far easier to find something that's more than 50″ but less than 60″. After searching for hours and days, I landed on a pair of vanities that again — while I have no idea my specific design plan — I loved. Today, I'm sharing 16 favorite 48 inch bathroom vanities (plus a few that have a few extra inches!) that I came across during my searches that fit the bill in terms of design, function and storage.
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Why am I looking to order a vanity instead of having one built?
My initial thought here was I'm going to have a lot of logistics to manage in terms of all the bathroom *things* that have to be ordered and there's a lot of components to vanities — from the sink and countertops to faucets, backsplash, cabinets, etc. I wanted fewer decisions to make and I also didn't want to go through the process of picking paint, slabs of hard materials for countertops, sinks, etc. All those items add up, too, and while my 48 inch bathroom vanities ended up costing a little more than I expected, there are so many gorgeous bathroom vanities that are affordable and come with just about everything except the faucet.
What am I looking for in a 48 inch bathroom vanity?
My biggest requirement for new vanities was to find something that had drawer storage. My current vanity has a single slim drawer, seemingly no deeper than the width of a quarter, and one cabinet. It has a cutout for a seat currently, but I never use it. So, it's basically like I just have a chunk of vanity missing. Any "special" features would be a perk and I also love the look of vanities with feet, for a more furniture feel. I also want a centered sink. I went through a similar search process when we made over our small powder room — you can see the reveal of that space HERE and a post dedicated to selecting a small (16 – 24″) vanity HERE. There's several considerations I list out in that post from backsplash and faucets to how the vanity will actually be used.
Favorite 48 inch bathroom vanities
Like I mentioned, when I started my search, I had zero clue in terms of direction. I wasn't sure if I wanted a bathroom vanity finish in white, black, wood, or maybe even a color. Then, I started gravitating towards black after seeing THIS black 52″ vanity… unfortunately, with a long lead time, it ruled itself out. Ultimately, I found the vanity that checked all the boxes. I sat with the price a bit before submitting my order and now I can't wait to get it in! Read on to see which 48 inch bathroom vanity I went with, more vanities I loved along the way, and some of the cool features of some of the cabinets I've included in the post.
The vanity I went with? Or better yet, the pair of vanities I went with? Number 1! It's actually listed for the same price on Amazon (HERE) and Wayfair (HERE) and both ship free. Both have always been great in terms of customer service so I would feel comfortable ordering from either. The price had me a little bit because it was a fair amount more than others I had looked at. Plus, as I mentioned before, this isn't a remodel we were planning to take on. But, it was one of those things that when I saw it, I wanted it… so I did it. It's a 48 inch bathroom vanity that actually comes in three colors — white, black and midnight blue — I ordered the white. (Number 10 is a peek of the black finish — also stunning!) It also has good reviews across the internet and comes with a few options on countertops. It has a Carrara marble option but I selected the white granite. It has lots of drawer space and I love the gold feet and and gold details. It also has a power source inside the cabinet with USB and outlet functionality. I plan to store my hair dryer and curling irons inside the pullout, inside the cabinet and I love I have extended outlet space that will hopefully maintain some order. I also really like that the bottom drawers are deep double drawers with faux single fronts, to store more tall toiletries and hair products.
Vanity
Number 3 is less than half the price of the vanities I ordered, is clean and sleek, and has smart storage for days! I love that he top "drawer" that is typically a faux wasn't wasted and they incorporated a pull-down cubby. Also, I'm digging the deep double-drawer-front bottom drawer and that the cabinets have shelves.
Vanity
But the coolest feature is that it has built in organizers. It comes in this blue color but also a black and a gray HERE.
Number 6 focused on drawers in a major way, too! Along with the cabinet, there are nine functional drawers in this 48 inch bathroom vanity. It comes in four colors, including white, gray, black and blue.
Vanity
Number 7 almost had me. That Tiffany/robin's egg blue is gorgeous and so pretty for a bathroom. And, that gold hardware that accents it is just delicious. It has a perfect 5* rating of consumer reviews and, it's just… stunning. It also comes with middle drawers that are extra deep but ultimately, I still just wasn't totally sure with the direction I wanted to go in the bathroom and I knew this would make me commit to an aesthetic 100%. Like most of the vanities in this post, it does ship free 😉
Vanity
I love the color of Number 8 and I also love that it has nine functioning drawers! It comes in three colors, has 5* reviews, and also ships free.
Vanity
Number 9 is actually 49″ — it's stunning and unique and comes in three cabinet finishes, two countertop finishes, and both silver and gold hardware. While it looks like it's only cabinets, it actually does have a slide out drawer inside the center. It even has a built-in organizer and a spot for hair tools! But, with me wanting to go big on drawer space, it didn't have quite the drawer space I was looking for…
Vanity
Number 11 is a favorite! It actually comes in four colors and three sizes, up to 72″, is one of the most affordable vanities in this post, and ships free. But, what I'm really crushing on are those organizers! Some of these bathroom vanities with organizers are a rare find that aren't typical unless you have something custom built. The storage in this 48 inch vanity is awesome.
Vanity
I really like the gray wood finish on Number 16 — this 48″ bathroom vanity and it actually comes in 42″ and 36″, as well. There's lots of storage opportunity and while the hardware on this one is sturdy, there's a lot of possibilities in switching to something a little funkier.
Vanity
I'll be sharing a full design plan for the master bathroom soon — to make sure you catch all the updates and ultimately, the reveal, be sure to subscribe to emails at the bottom of the post!
House plans with Jack & Jill bathroom represent an important request we receive from our customers with 2 children (or teenagers) or more. Whether basic with a toilet/sink/shower, or a full bathroom with bath tub, your teens will enjoy the privacy of a bathroom that they do not need to share with the parents or guests. As most parents are aware, as children grow, so to does the time that they monopolize the bathroom! Keep in mind that it is often possible to convert plans with a large family bathroom into 2 smaller bathrooms.
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