Rreplace bathroom floor with what type of material?

Vinyl! Takes a beating, easy to maintain.

Hi Lisa. I'm Cindy. I recommend peel-and-stick tiles. We moved into our current house three years ago. The bathroom floor was terrible. We didn't have much money. So we decided to make a temporary fix and put down peel-and-stick tiles on top of the tiles already there. Our temporary fix has grown into a permanent fix. The peel-and-stick tiles still look great and I do not intend to replace them any time soon.

Lisa,

Are you taking up an old floor or just covering up what is there? I'm assuming your existing floor is wood or at least a wood subfloor. If it is in sound structural condition (i.e. no rot or softness in the floor or floor joists below, you can cover it with anything. It all depends on style and budget. There is no completely right or wrong decision here. Naomie is right about the vinyl. It comes in so many styles and price points and is easy to install yourself. It also require almost no care. You might have to add a transition strip or cut the door down to account for the new floor height. If you have structural issues, which can be common in old cottages from leaky toilets, pipes, roof, etc., you need to address that before covering anything up and potentially making it worse.

Or any kind of tile. You need something that is waterproof.

Naomie is right - vinyl will work really well. Today, vinyl comes in so many shapes, sizes and patterns. My daughter used vinyl squares and then grouted between them. They look wonderful! I've also seen them done in vinyl wood look strips. Vinyl is very easy to apply. We had an old camping trailer that we put new vinyl flooring into and it took us a weekend (we believe in taking breaks! lol) and worked very well for us.

We bought our old wood cottage 5 years ago and the main bath has 4" ceramic squares, which look nice and clean up well, but are freezing cold any time of year and you really need to use a rug when you get out of the tub/shower so that you don't slip. It's do-able, looks nice and is extremely durable.

I personally would use Luxury Vinyl Tile planks. Comes in wood look in multiple colors, is 99.9% waterproof. Cut with a razor knife, can be glued down or click 'n Lock. Win-win. Best wishes.

Structure issues. Plywood, treated or not?

You have several options but some of the less expensive options would be - linoleum, tile, peel and stick tile.

If you are replacing the subfloor (all the way down to the floor joists), the type of plywood you use depends on what is under the bathroom floor. If you are over a crawl space, then yes, pressure treated plywood. Some people would also add a vapor barrier, but there's some controversy on whether that's the best way to do it. When you take up the subfloor, check the floor joists. You may need to sister them to make your new floor strong and flat. Use at least 5/8" thick plywood or 3/4" if you plan on tiling. If you decide to tile you might want to consider a layer of cement board on top of the plywood. Keep track of all your thicknesses so you don't have too much of a problem with doors and fixtures. If you are over a basement or on a cement slab you do not need pressure treated plywood, but it can't hurt.