Best Flooring for a Sunroom

---

Table of Contents

• What to Consider When Choosing Sunroom Flooring
• Best Flooring for Sunrooms
• Enhance Your Sunroom with Flooring Options from 50Floor

---

Your sunroom should be comfortable, inviting, light and bright. To get a comfortable entertaining or relaxing space, don’t forget about your flooring. Sunroom flooring ties the room together, and, given how much of your wall space goes to windows, the flooring gives you the most space to express your style. You just need to know the best flooring options for sunrooms.

If you aren’t sure what flooring to put in a sunroom, we’ve got tips and suggestions to help you decide. Transform your enclosed porch space with the right flooring for your style and this useful, relaxing room.

What to Consider When Choosing Sunroom Flooring

As you gather sunroom flooring ideas, think about how you use your sunroom and the elements it gets exposure to. You’ll be able to make the right choice for your home’s style and for a flooring option that will suit your sunroom. To get the best flooring for your sunroom, look for materials that are:

• Fade-resistant
  Given their wall-to-wall windows, sunrooms face plenty of sunlight exposure. You don’t want your floors to fade with UV exposure over time. Choose a material or protective coating for your floor that prevents color fading due to sun exposure.
• Sturdy
  No matter what you use your sunroom for, you want it to have sturdy flooring. Maybe you rearrange the furniture in your sunroom often to suit your entertainment needs. Maybe you use it for storage during off-seasons. Either way, you’ll want sunroom flooring that will withstand the test of time and partial exposure to the elements.
• Moisture-resistant
  Due to the number of windows often in a sunroom, the space can become humid or exposed to moisture when it rains. Consider flooring that’s non-porous or protected from moisture so it won’t warp or become damaged after rainy seasons. If your sunroom has an outdoor exit and entrance, you’ll especially want moisture-resistant floors that hold up to people coming in with wet or muddy shoes.
• Suited to the rest of your home’s flooring
  While the flooring in your sunroom doesn’t have to match what’s in the rest of your house, you may want to consider it. You may select the same flooring and have it installed in the same direction as the flooring in the adjacent room for a cohesive look, which works well if you’re redoing floors throughout your home.
• A functional color
  If you aren’t concerned with matching your sunroom flooring to the rest of your home, you could prioritize color. Lighter colors will make your sunroom feel fresher and larger. They’ll also absorb less sunlight than dark flooring, meaning your floors will stay cool even in the hotter months. Fading is also less noticeable on lighter flooring materials, but choose something that cleans easily to avoid stains.

Another consideration when choosing sunroom flooring is climate control in the space. Your sunroom can climb to extreme temperatures, especially with plenty of windows and direct sun. Have air conditioning for the summer and heating for the winter to help maintain your flooring. Whether you use climate control in your space will help determine what flooring works best for your home.

Schedule a Free In-Home Consultation

Best Flooring for Sunrooms

Sunroom flooring is essential for your space’s comfort, functionality and style. Depending on how often you use your sunroom, what you use it for and its exposure to the elements, you have several floor options. The best flooring for your sunroom includes:

• Luxury vinyl
• Carpet
• Laminate
• Tile
• Hardwood

Take Our Quiz to Find Your Flooring Style

Vinyl Sunroom Flooring

Luxury vinyl flooring is a durable choice for your sunroom. With backing, a design layer and two protective layers, this material can resist stains, mildew, gouges, scuffs, scratches and other types of damage. Homeowners often use luxury vinyl in kitchens and bathrooms because of its water resistance, so you know it will be safe for a sunroom. Despite its resistance to certain elements, luxury vinyl can discolor or even melt in the most extreme temperatures. Keep your sunroom cool if you go with this option to help maintain its durability.

Luxury vinyl comes in a wide variety of styles and constructions, including:

• Luxury vinyl plank (LVP): LVP has the warm appearance of hardwood with colors and textures that mimic the natural material. If you want the look of hardwood but also something even more durable for your sunroom, consider LVP for its slip-, moisture- and stain-resistance.
• Luxury vinyl tile (LVT): LVT imitates the look of tile flooring in a more cost-effective option. This flooring is easy to clean and resists water and damage, like scratches or chipping.

Carpet in Sunrooms

If you want a cozy feel to your sunroom, consider adding carpet. Carpet may be better suited for sunrooms that don’t exit to the outdoors since you won’t want to deal with mud or water. Still, there are durable and easy-to-clean varieties that can withstand a bit of exposure, like:

• Berber carpet: This durable choice is ideal for high-traffic areas. If you use your sunroom year-round or it features access to the outside, choose this easy-to-clean carpet variety. Berber features uncut loops of material, and in traditional styles, the fabric is a bit stiffer, making it feel like an outdoor carpet that’s ideal for sunrooms. Modern options allow for soft fibers, making Berber a great choice for a multi-purpose sunroom that functions as an office or entertainment space.
• Saxony carpet: A smooth and soft carpet, Saxony can have a formal or informal feel. It’s a long-lasting choice and cleans easily, but given how soft and warm it can feel, you may want to use this carpeting in a four-season sunroom that you use even when it’s cold outside.

Carpet is a smart option for sunrooms without climate control since it’s more resistant to heat. It could also make your sunroom more comfortable in cooler temperatures.

Laminate for Sunroom Floors

Get the look of hardwood or traditional tile with cost-effective and durable laminate flooring. It’s harder than natural alternatives, making it resilient to wear and tear. If your sunroom gets a lot of foot traffic or serves as a playroom for kids, laminate may be the way to go. Laminate is also known to be more fade-resistant than luxury vinyl. That makes laminate suitable for sunrooms with plenty of windows and exposure to sunlight, but you’ll still need to climate control the room to protect this material.

For sunrooms that serve as mudrooms and get exposure to moisture through the elements, go for the next generation of laminate flooring. Waterproof laminate flooring features a design layer and three additional water-resistant layers. The individual planks have a tight locking design, which means spills can’t get between the boards and cause damage.

Tile for Sunrooms

Although porcelain and ceramic tile were popular flooring options years ago, luxury vinyl tile has become one of the top choices among today’s homeowners for various living spaces, including sunrooms. Advances in technology have enabled luxury vinyl tile to replicate the look of hardwood and other natural materials at significantly lower costs. LVT is available in many different patterns and colors, allowing you to get one step closer to the sunroom of your dreams.

Because this flooring offers more benefits than porcelain and ceramic, 50Floor features LVT as our exclusive product line for tile floors, ensuring each customer receives a cost-effective, long-lasting product.

Some of the primary benefits of choosing LVT for your sunroom include:

Maintaining your sunroom flooring, particularly when using Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT), can be a breeze with the right approach. Here’s a comprehensive guide to keeping your LVT flooring in pristine condition, combining the inherent benefits of the material with practical maintenance tips.

• Low maintenance requirements: You can easily wipe up minor spills on LVT with a soft cloth. Regular maintenance is minimal with LVT floors, often requiring light sweeping or a damp mop. To further protect your flooring, consider these additional steps:
  • Install sunshades on your windows and doors to prevent fading caused by direct sunlight, which is especially important in sunrooms.
  • Manage moisture effectively by promptly clearing any standing water. Although LVT is resistant to moisture, it’s not designed to withstand prolonged exposure to water. Using a wet vac or broom can help you keep the area dry and prevent water damage.
• Durability: LVT’s scientifically advanced structure makes it resistant to high foot traffic, minor scratches, scuffs, stains, and liquids, allowing homeowners to enjoy many years of reliability. To maintain this durability:
  • Follow the manufacturer’s care and maintenance instructions carefully to ensure that you are using the correct cleaning methods and products that will not damage your flooring.
  • Regular cleaning is essential; vacuum or mop your LVT flooring regularly to remove dirt and debris. This prevents buildup that can make cleaning more difficult over time and potentially mar the floor’s appearance.
• Climate Control: Keep in mind that, if you install LVT in a sunroom, having climate control is important to prevent the room from getting too hot, which could affect the flooring. Ensuring a stable environment will help in maintaining the integrity and appearance of your LVT flooring.
• Affordability: Lower material costs and streamlined installation make LVT much more affordable than flooring options like ceramic tile or natural hardwood.

By adhering to these guidelines, you ensure that your sunroom remains a beautiful and functional space year-round. Enjoy the lasting beauty and durability of your LVT flooring with minimal effort, thanks to its excellent design and your diligent care.

When selecting LVT for your sunroom, it is crucial to consider specific features that cater to the unique conditions of such a space:

• Rigid Core Construction: Opt for LVT with a rigid core. This feature ensures the tiles remain stable and even, despite the changing weather conditions typical in sunroom environments.
• Float Installation Method: Choose a floating floor rather than adhesive options to avoid issues related to the adhesive reacting to extreme temperatures, which could cause the tiles to crack, separate from the subfloor, or slide.
• Appropriate Thickness and Wear Layer: Ensure your LVT is approximately 5 mm thick with a wear layer of about 20 mil. This thickness helps in handling the typical traffic and sunlight exposure in a sunroom.
• Warranty Specific to Sunroom Use: Verify that sunroom usage is included in your warranty. It is essential not to assume that all properties of LVT are covered under a standard warranty for any location.

Additionally, keep in mind that installing climate control in your sunroom can prevent excessive heat, which might otherwise impact the performance and lifespan of your flooring.

By focusing on these tailored features, you can ensure that your LVT flooring will not only be cost-effective and low maintenance but also durable and suitable for the specific demands of a sunroom setting.

Hardwoods for Sunroom Floors

A natural and classic choice, hardwood flooring could make your sunroom feel like a bonus room in your house rather than an enclosed porch. Get even more use out of your sunroom and protect the investment in your hardwood floors with climate control. Wood floors expand with heat and contract with cold, which could lead to warping over time. Maintain a comfortable temperature for your sunroom, and your floors can stay in better condition.

Hardwood flooring comes in many stains and sizes, with different types of wood grain for more natural and textured or smooth and subtle looks. It has a flexible style that suits anything from rustic homes to modern designs, making it a stylish addition to any sunroom. It’s durable and long-lasting, but if you do select hardwood, be sure to have it treated to prevent moisture and UV damage with time. You could also choose an engineered hardwood flooring that’s less susceptible to moisture damage than other hardwood styles, which will be suitable for your sunroom.

Choosing the Perfect Flooring for Your Sunroom

Transforming your sunroom into the ultimate retreat is all about starting from the ground up. If you’re considering this upgrade, our experts offer valuable insights to help you select the ideal floors that blend beauty with resilience. Here’s how you can make an informed choice.

Understanding the Importance of Material and Build

In environments like sunrooms, which face significant temperature shifts and high levels of exposure to sunlight, choosing the right flooring material is crucial. 50Floor recommends using vinyl plank flooring.

Modern iterations of this material are celebrated for their hard-wearing qualities, noise-reduction abilities, and even waterproof features. Beyond mere functionality, these flooring options beautifully imitate more sensitive materials such as real hardwood, allowing you to achieve that natural aesthetic without the worry of quick wear and tear.

Key Features to Consider

• Rigid Core Construction: To combat changing weather conditions, a rigid core helps maintain stability and uniformity, keeping your floor even and intact.
• Installation Method: Opt for a floating installation method as opposed to adhesive if longevity is a concern. Adhesives can fail due to temperature fluctuations, leading to costly repairs or replacements.
• Thickness and Durability: A thickness of about 5 mm and a wear layer of approximately 20 mil will offer robust protection and longevity. This setup ensures that your floors stand up against frequent use and environmental elements.

Check the Warranty

It’s essential to verify that the flooring warranty covers sunroom installation. Specific terms should state the suitability for use in a sunroom to ensure that you are not only choosing the right properties but also securing your investment against potential future issues.

By following these detailed guidelines from 50Floor, you can confidently choose flooring that is as functional as it is beautiful, making your sunroom a perfect blend of nature and comfort all year round.

How Can I Get Inspired and Find the Right Flooring for My Sunroom?

 

Finding the perfect flooring for your sunroom can seem overwhelming, but with 50Floor, it’s both inspiring and straightforward! Here’s how you can get started:

Step 1: Discover and Get Inspired

Dive into a world of possibilities with the detailed resources provided by 50Floor. Explore the latest flooring trends, renovation tips, and carefully curated expert recommendations specifically tailored by a knowledgeable team with over 150 years of combined industry experience. Whether it’s beautiful hardwoods or durable tiles, inspiration is just a click away.

Step 2: Plan Your Project

Utilize the 50Floor to pinpoint styles that match your lifestyle and aesthetic preferences. This helpful tool can lead you to your favorite products and connect you with expert advice tailored to your specific needs. Planning is made easy with their intuitive resources right at your fingertips.

Step 3: Choose and Order

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, order samples to see and feel the quality of the flooring in the context of your own home. Subsequently, request a quote from 50Floor. This gives you a clear idea of the cost and helps in finalizing your decision.

Step 4: Final Steps

If you have any lingering doubts or need more information, the experts at 50Floor are ready to help. They provide in-depth answers to common questions and offer guidance on how to select the best flooring option that suits both the style and functional needs of your sunroom.

With a few easy steps, 50Floor makes it possible to transform your sunroom into a space that’s both functional and stylish. Start your journey to beautiful floors today!