Pool house flooring

klanel

Silver Supporter
Jul 11, 2021
540
Athens, GA
What are some waterproof options for pool house flooring? The pool house will have a basement and I priced doing a raised structure floor (concrete slab poured on metal trays and supported by steel beams) and it was very costly. So the floor system will be traditional wood joist. The poured walls will have a shoulder at the top (see photo) that will allow the joist to be lowered from the top of the wall so that after finished, it will be at deck level. The deck will slope away from the pool house and water will be carried away by deck drains. There will be a 3/4" sheet subfloor and I need to decide on a finish flooring to go on top of that. Possible options are,...stone veneer, tile, a waterproof plank flooring, etc. It will get wet so I want to make sure whatever I use will keep the water off the subfloor.

The picture below is similar to what I will do. The foundation on the pool side will be level with the top of the poured wall and sloped away. It will be a 12" thick poured wall and have a 8" shoulder for the joist/sill plate to sit on and leave a 4" collar on the outside all around.


Any recommendations?Screenshot 2021-11-09 10.07.10 AM.png
 
I decided on non-slip Luxury Vinyl Plank for my soon-to-be-built poolhouse. The poolhouse at the community pool I use to go to had it, and it looked great, not at all slippery. It's waterproof, quiet and if you do have the odd glass item in the poolhouse - much less likely to break on LVP than on tile. But my other thought was the textured wood look tile planks. We installed those around a small area next to a wet bar we put in our basement, and they do look great. The LVP is just a little less expensive and a little softer on the feet. And maybe less slippery.
 
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Tile, but use a Ditra underlayment, by Schluter Systems under it.

Ditra, combined with Kerdi band on the seams and 4" up the walls will form a waterproof "tray" for your floor. You could flood the floor and nothing will get through. Plus the Ditra is a really nice decoupling underlayment to work with.

Everything else listed is water resistant, not waterproof. Tile, vinyl, stone, etc. All of that is water resistant - the material is not going to be damaged by water. However it is not waterproof, water will get past it to your sub floor. A Ditra underlayment, properly installed, is waterproof. It will not let water get to your subfloor.
 
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I went with Shaw flooring
I really like it but because the pool house front is open and faces south, I'd want a lighter color so it doesn't get so hot.

Ditra, combined with Kerdi band on the seams and 4" up the walls will form a waterproof "tray" for your floor.
Can you use the Ditra under the vinyl? The subfloor getting wet is my biggest concern because it will be open on the front. Between vinyl and tile, I think as far as installation goes, I'd much rather do vinyl. I've done tile many times, and every time, I say it will be my last.
 
I really like it but because the pool house front is open and faces south, I'd want a lighter color so it doesn't get so hot.


Can you use the Ditra under the vinyl? The subfloor getting wet is my biggest concern because it will be open on the front. Between vinyl and tile, I think as far as installation goes, I'd much rather do vinyl. I've done tile many times, and every time, I say it will be my last.

You can put vinyl over Ditra, in fact there is a whole manual on how to use Ditra Heat (which has a grid for underfloor electric heat in it) under LVT

But, if it came down to just Ditra (not Ditra heat) I would use Kerdi instead (same manufacturer - Schluter Systems). Kerdi is like a rubber membrane with a fleece on both sides. It is meant for showers, but you can use it on a floor. It is cheaper than Ditra, and a bit easier to work with (i think)

You would comb down a layer of loose thin set, then embed the kerdi in it. Seal your edges and joints with Kerdi Band (or strips of leftover Kerdi) and then put your LVT over that. I don't know if is approved for LVT (as opposed to Ditra) but I do not see why it would not work. Just get it flat, because LVT is going to telegraph every ripple and wave in the floor.

I have done two full Schluter bathrooms (Kerdi Showers / Tubs, Ditra floors) and a Ditra Heat kitchen floor. I like their product.
 
We've wood plank look tile with an epoxy grout. It's over concrete slab so we did not do any underlayment. It's worked great for us but we did add a water absorbent mat just inside the door to catch the bulk of drips from wet suits.
 

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