Everything you ever wanted to know about cork flooring, and then some
Update! 2/12/13
It’s been over a year since we put or cork floors in. This post has been getting quite a lot of traffic so I wanted to update readers on how they have held up. In a word- great! We have a floating cork floor that encompass or living room, dining room, kitchen, and hallway. It’s all connected. There really isn’t any signs of wear anywhere on the floor. No scratches or dents that I can find. I tended to baby the floor when we first put it in because I was worried about how it would hold up. Now I don’t baby it at all.
The only thing I can see that might be a negative for some is that there is some fading near the our sliding glass door. This is an area that gets afternoon sun directly. It’s not very noticeable. You wouldn’t notice it at all even if you are standing right at the faded area. It just blends right into the darker area smoothly. If I point it out and you look for a while you can see it. It doesn’t bother us at all. Many species of hard wood such as cherry do this as well. You can see some pictures of it below.
As far as maintenance goes I sweep and mop it every other week. More often when needed but it usually doesn’t need it. It never looks dirty. The cork really does hide any dirt on it’s surface. It’s been the easiest floor to maintain that I’ve ever owned. I do keep felt pads on the feet of all our furniture. I replace them when they fall off or go missing. Not sure if this is really necessary but it makes me feel better. That’s been it for maintenance. I may look at the Bona brand floor polish once a year to keep the finish looking as good as it does now. The Bona floor polish for wood floors is perfect for cork floors. They are wood after all.
In our bathroom we put down glue down cork tiles. These are thick flexible cork tiles that come unfinished. They went down really easy. I used a contact adhesive meant for sheet vinyl floors to stick them down. It worked great. I finished the cork with 4 coats of Polyurethane. So far so good. They feel great in the bathroom. The floors are never cold and are nice to walk on with bare feet. I don’t worry at all about water on them as they are impervious to water. They should be very durable.
We are thinking about a few more locations in the house for cork. Our bedroom will probably be next. We can’t wait to take out the carpet. We are not carpet people and the carpet in our bedroom is gross. We’re not quite ready to do it so we haven’t decided if we’re going to go with floating or glue down. My experience is that one isn’t that much more difficult than the other. They offer different benefits. It might come down to a matter of cost. We’ll price out both options and see which one is more economical.
Would we do it again? Yes we would. We can’t imagine a floor we’d like better. The look has really grown on us. The warmth of the cork really works in our family room. It’s our favorite place in the house in part because of the floors. They have the look of hardwood floors but are softer, warmer, and in some ways more durable. We can’t wait to put more in.
Below are a few updated pictures of our floors after a year of wear:
- You can see the sliding glass door here. The cork has faded a bit in this area. It’s hard to notice though because it blends in as you move farther away from the door.
- This is a close up of the faded cork.
Cork Flooring Resources and Information
In my quest to know everything there is to know about cork floors before we made a commitment to them, I did a lot of research. I didn’t find any one resource that had everything I needed to know, so I decided to make one. I tend to over research things so you can benifit from my over-zealousness here. I’ve broken the post up with the jump links below so you can skip to the part that interests you most.
If you want a shorter (and she thinks sweeter) version, you can read Rita’s post about why we picked cork.
Quick Jump Links:
- Why Cork?
- What is It?
- Properties
- Advantages
- Refinishing
- Types of Finish
- Brands
- Installation
- Videos
- Colorfastness
- Care
- Bathrooms and Kitchens
- Links to Discussions on Cork Floors
- Here’s our living room before we bought the house. I’m over on the chair already calculating how much flooring we’d need to get rid of this carpet!
Why Cork?
We have 3 kids who don’t like to wipe their feet and 2 wiener dogs who can’t manage to stay potty trained. Light carpet was a non-starter for us. Luckily we were able to get the house for a price that would allow us to squeeze just enough money out for replacing the carpet.
As we thought about what we wanted in a floor we both knew we did not want new carpet. We both love the look and feel of hardwood floors and started out in that direction. Our needs were simple:
1. Durability– We know that whatever we decide we’ll have to live with for a long time. We don’t want a cheap temporary fix.
2. Dog proof- Well, we have those 2 wieners. They are neurotic and any big changes to their schedule and they are pooping on the floor. I’m sure if we were better pet owners this might not happen, but I don’t think we’re likely to change that very much.
3. Looks- We want something that is welcoming, informal, warm and natural. We don’t like formal dining rooms or rooms that look too “designed.” We don’t like furniture that’s too pretty to sit on. We are much more form follows function than high design.
4. Resale- We aren’t necessarily thinking of this as our forever house. I’m sure we’ll be in it 5-10 years or so. We want to make sure the floors we lay down won’t be an impediment to selling later. We’d like it if they actually add to the resale value. We were both willing to fudge on this a bit though if we find something we love that isn’t exactly resale value friendly.
That’s a pretty simple list. After checking out the sub floor during the home inspection we found out that the sub floor is particle board. That means that we had 4 options:
1. Use a floating engineered floor. The glue-less snap lock variety would work fine. It just lays on top of the sub floor. Doesn’t attach to it in any way.
2. Use a glue down floor. This is more work and messy. It also requires a more level and flat sub floor. The floating floor is more forgiving for imperfections in the sub floor.
3. Lay down plywood over the particle board and then put nail down hardwood. This is expensive, and since we were also doing the kitchen presented problems with clearance for the kick space on the lower cabinets.
4. Tear out all the particle board to see if there is a suitable substrate below and then nail down hardwood. This is also expensive and seemed like a lot of mess and time.
I was really set on nail down solid hardwood but after looking at the options I conceded that it was probably just too expensive and time-consuming an option. Especially if we could get similar benefits from a quicker, cheaper option. (As we wrote earlier, one of our guiding principles is Good enough is good enough.) With that in mind we decided to look at engineered glue-less floating floors.
This led us to examining cork as an option. We both liked the look and all the variety of colors and textures available. It did come in an engineered snap lock variety and the price point was right. As I wrote above, I tend to over-research things, so I went online and read everything there was about cork flooring. I’m certainly no expert now, but I do know a lot more than I did going in.
Cork Flooring- What is it?
- image courtesy of WE Cork, http://www.wecork.com/about-cork/
Cork flooring is actually made from the bark of the Cork Oak tree. The cork is sustainably harvested. About every 10 years or so the bark can be harvested from the tree–and then it grows back. The harvesting does not harm the tree. Most cork is grown in the area around the Mediterranean sea. The trees can be harvested after they are about 25 years old.
Click Together Floating Floor
Floating cork floors are a new product. They work much the same as other floating floors. They have an HDF (high density fiberboard) back and a thin layer of cork glued to the top. They click together with a snap together tongue and groove joint. No glue is required. More often than not they also have a thin layer of cork on the bottom that acts as an insulator. The floating cork doesn’t always work well in bathrooms because the substrate (HDF) swells and buckles when immersed in water for prolonged periods.
- Click lock tile. No glue needed. This floor “floats” over your subfloor. Image courtesy of- http://corkkevin.en.ec21.com/
Glue Down Tiles
The glue down tiles are often used in areas that get a lot of water intrusion. Glue down tiles have been around for a long time. You can often find it in turn-of-the-century libraries and churches. In fact, the Library of Congress has a tile cork floor.Bathrooms would be a place that glue down cork would work well. Cork is naturally impervious to water so it holds up well in this environment.
These tiles glue down with the same contact adhesive you’d use to lay vinyl tile. They go in fairly easy and can be easily cut with a pair of scissors or mat knife. These tiles usually come unfinished so you’ll have to put a coat of polyurethane on them after they go in. Water based poly works fine. 3 or more coats. Even the tiles that come pre-finished require an extra coat after they go in to make them waterproof. The finish seeps into the gaps and seals everything nicely.
Most specs indicate that glue down is not recommended below grade so install in basements may not work unless you get the floor tested for moisture content first. The moisture content won’t affect the cork itself as it’s impervious to moisture but it could affect glue adhesion.
- Cork glue down tiles. These require an adhesive to attach to sub-floor. They are better suited to bathrooms and other wet areas than the floating floor. They often come unfinished and need a polyurethane coating when installed.
Whether or not to use cork in bathrooms and kitchens has been a matter of controversy. A search of the web will yield many pro’s and cons. You will see stories of people having horrible results with floating floors in kitchens and bathrooms and other stories of people who’ve had them for years with no issues at all. I think it probably largely comes down to the quality of the product and how you use your floor. If you use bath mats and wipe up water from your floors after a bath I don’t see any reason floating cork shouldn’t last a long time in that area.
What are the properties of cork?
Antimicrobial- Cork resists growth of bacteria and other microorganisms. This makes it a healthy choice if there are allergy sufferers in the home.
Insulation- Cork offers insulation qualities. It’s a great sound insulator. This makes it a good choice in an upstairs room. No more sound of feet walking on floor. It also has some heat insulating properties. It stays warm in the winter. Unlike hardwood floors that can be cold on bare feet cork is wonderfully warm.
Ergonomics- Cork is great for your back! It has enough cushion that it’s like wearing cushiony sole shoes even when barefoot. This is great in a kitchen if you spend a lot of time there.
Much of these properties are due to the structure of the material. Cork has a very open cell pattern with micro air pockets. These pockets make the material spongy. This is also what gives it it’s insulating qualities. Cork will compress with force but it has a memory and will spring back to it’s original shape when the force is removed.
What are some of the advantages of a cork floor?
There are many. As mentioned above it’s a very comfortable floor. Bare feet just love it! It’s soft and cushiony. It’s also warm. It insulates both heat and noise. Cork floors are also very easy to clean. Once a week sweeping and a slightly damp mop every couple of weeks is really all that’s needed. No cleaning materials at all. Just plain water.
Cork floors are also durable. It doesn’t seem likely that something as soft as cork would be durable but a quality cork product is extremely durable. The material tends to give instead of scratch like hardwood. Also because of the nature of the material you won’t see the small scratches and nicks that will happen over time. They blend in with the material in such a way as to make them largely invisible.
While pricing used to be a concern with cork floors it isn’t any longer. Cork has really come down in price the last few years and is comparable to hardwood or bamboo in terms of price. The floating floor can be a do it yourself project so you can save the big expense of installation. No fancy tools are needed and the skills can be quickly learned and mastered.
Cork flooring can be refinished! Even the floating floors can be refinished. Because the material is so soft extra care has to be taken if using a commercial drum sander. Too much pressure can sand right through the cork layer. If you are a bit more diligent you can put a fresh layer of urethane on the floors before there is a need for a heavy sanding. A light screening to rough up the surface and brushing on the new layer of urethane is all that’s needed. I’d recommend using the square sanders that take the big pads. You can find these at the big orange and blue home stores, in the rental section. They don’t cut as fast or as deep.
- Home Depot Floor Sander
There seems to be some controversy around refinishing floating cork floors. Some reference material says no way–that the wear layer is too thin and that cork is too soft. Others have said that they did it no problem. This could be due to the variation in maker’s quality of finish or the expertise of the re finisher. Unfortunately the floating cork hasn’t been around long enough for many of them to need refinishing yet. I have a few scrap pieces that I’ll use to test refinishing when the time comes. I’m thinking a light sanding to rough up the top coat and then a few thin coats of a water based poly should work just fine.
Types of Finish
There are a few different types of finish available on the market. Most seem to fall into one of two broad categories. The finish either sits on top of the floor and bonds to it, or the finish penetrates the cork. A stain would be an example of this second type. We’ll look at the first type because it’s the most common.
Surface finishes are basically a combination of some type of resin suspended in a solvent. When you apply the finish to the floor the solvent evaporates and leaves the resin behind. The water based surface finishes work largely the same. The water evaporates leaving the resin. As the finish dries there is a chemical reaction that takes place that makes the finish impervious to the original solvent. This means that the water based finish is impervious to water once dry. The oil based finish is impervious to solvents.
Here’s a link to a great article that details the differences in finish by manufacturer. If you are looking at different manufacturers and are wondering how their finishes compare then this is a great read.
Manufacturers finishes compared.
Polyurethane Finish
Polyurethane finishes are the most common. They are usually a water based finish usually applied in layers. The more layers the more durable the finish. This is often the mark of a quality cork vs economy. The economy cork just doesn’t have enough layers of poly. Polyurethane come is both water based and oil based finish. It seems that the oil is easier to apply for a DIY person but the harsh chemical smell and off gassing may be a no go for some. The water based is easy to clean up and has no harmful fumes. Which is more durable is up for debate. The conventional wisdom used to be that water based poly was inferior but this may not be the case with newer technologies. My personal experience applying a water based poly on cork was that it was fairly easy. My advice would be to apply more thin coats instead of a few thick ones.
Wax Finish
This finish is not as common. You’d find it on old glue down tiles. If you have an old house and find cork hiding under carpet you can bet that it’s probably got a wax finish. You won’t find this type of finish being done much anymore on new products as it isn’t as durable and easy as modern polyurethane. Some advantages of a wax finish include: Wax finishes can be rebuffed and re-waxed without removing the existing layer of wax. Scratches in the wax surface can be easily removed by re-waxing the affected tile, without having to refinish the entire floor. Wax floors do however have to be re-waxed every 6 to 12 months, depending on the amount of foot traffic. Some people are stripping all the old wax off their cork floors and applying a modern polyurethane for ease of care.
UV Cured Acrylic
This finish is cured by UV light instead of heat. I haven’t seen any flooring with this type of finish in person. Not sure about refinishing this type of floor either. Here is a resource with some information on acrylic urethane vs polyurethane. My basic understanding is that the low end stuff sometimes uses acrylic finishes.
Several cork brands seem to have a good reputation. We went with Wicanders for price and availability. The WE cork looked and felt almost exactly the same as the Wicanders, and if we could have gotten a better deal on it we would have been happy to go with it. The brands listed below are all good brands and should give you a great product. This is not an exhaustive list. It’s just the ones that seemed to pop up over and over again during my research.
Wicanders- http://www.wicanders.com/client/skins/geral.asp
WE Cork- http://www.wecork.com/
Torly’s- http://www.torlys.com/cork
Globus Cork- http://www.corkfloor.com/
I did run over to Home Depot and looked at the cork they had there. Don’t remember what the brand was? They offer way more on their website than they do in the store, but at the store you can get free samples to take home. It’s a great way to test out the durability of the material. Grab a few and put them through the paces I did:
- Try soaking one in water to see how it holds up.
- Take another and put a heavy table leg on it overnight to see if it dents.
- Finally take one and drag a quarter across the surface hard to see if you can scratch it.
I did all this with the Home Depot brand and frankly wasn’t impressed. I found the cork and the finish to be thin. It was easy to scratch and I could damage it with my fingernail.
This was not the case with the samples from Wicanders and WE cork, which really made me realize the importance of both cork density and quality of finish. It felt like a completely different material. The Wicanders cork did not scratch. Not even when I drug a quarter across the surface VERY hard. A table leg on the sample left a tiny indention that bounced back in about 30 minutes. After that you couldn’t tell at all that I had placed a heavy table leg on it.
Installation
Plank cork is easy to install. It goes together much the same way the snap together floating hardwood floors do. One nice difference is that most cork planks have an underlayment built in. There is a layer of cork on the bottom of the HDF substrate that acts as an underlayment. This is often all that’s needed unless the floors are going in an area where moisture may be an issue such as a concrete floor below grade. In these circumstances a water resistant underlayment may be put down before the cork. Otherwise it’s all included in the plank.
- Our cork floors going in! View from the top of the stairs into the living room.
Want to see how installation’s done? Check out these videos:
Glue Down Tiles
Click Together Floor
Not cork but the install is exactly the same.
Colorfastness?
Cork does fade in direct sunlight. The lighter colors seem to fade less than the dark. Some manufacturers are adding UV protectants to the finish to minimize the effect, but you will get some fading regardless. It’s no different than hardwood floors, really. They also react to UV light. It’s not a defect of the material as much as it’s a natural process of an organic compound.
There are a few things you can do to minimize fading:
Install a lighter colored cork. Lighter colors don’t fade as much as dark colors. (I have heard just the opposite. One rep suggested that the darker colors have a UV protection built in that make them more light-fast. Best check the particular product for that information.)
Install UV film on your windows. You can find UV film at Home Depot fairly cheaply. It has the added benefit of reducing your cooling costs.
Install drapes and blinds to cut the direct sunlight.
Move furniture and rugs periodically to prevent hard lines and edges from forming where furniture protects the floor below.
Not much else to do other than pick a cork that has a UV protection built in. I’m not going to worry too much about fading. I consider it a natural process and will live with the color change as the floor ages. We did pick a lighter color that won’t look too bad if it fades.
Care
How do you care for your floors? It’s fairly easy.
Sweep once a week or so. Make sure that sand, dirt, and other substances that could cause scratches and abrasions are removed from the floor promptly. This will protect the finish and make it last longer. Wipe up all spills right away. The cork itself is fairly impervious to spills but the HDF substrate is not. It can swell if exposed to water. You can mop the floors periodically with a slightly damp mop. Don’t flood the floor with water though. Again this could damage the substrate. A mild detergent or soap in the mop water won’t harm the floor at all. Some people use the Bona floor products designed for wood floors. This is appropriate as the cork has the same finish as wood floors.
- This is the perfect floor for our wiener dogs! Their nails don’t damage the floor at all and clean up of accidents is a snap.
Rugs and runners are a good idea, especially in high traffic areas. We have a runner in the kitchen near the sink and rugs in the high traffic areas of the dining room and living room. We also have a small rug in front of the sliding glass door to the deck.
It’s recommended to not use latex or rubber backed rugs. Check the back side of the rug. Is it scratchy? If it is then you don’t want it on your cork floors. Soft natural fibers work best.
Also, felt pads under furniture legs are a great idea. This gives your floor some protection from furniture sliding across the surface and causing scratches. I haven’t found the weight of my furniture to be a problem but some people suggest circular discs under heavy furniture to dissipate the load a bit.
I’d certainly put a catch pan under potted plants to prevent moisture from sitting on the surface of the floor for an extended period of time. Other than that there isn’t much to do! I’ve heard some people describing high heels putting divits in their cork flooring. My cork floors would not have that issue at all. I suspect this might cause issues with a lower quality product but if you bought your flooring from a reputable manufacturer you should be able to wear your heels around the house no problem.
Bathrooms and Kitchens?
There is lots of controversy about cork in kitchens and bathrooms. It seems that glue down tiles in a bathroom are a great idea all around. They are warm and impervious to water. The click down floating floors in bathrooms may not be a good idea? My big concern besides the water intrusion is how to float the floor. The toilet will be bolted down to the floating floor and will impede the ability of the floor to expand and contract. Any leakage in the wax ring under the toilet could send water into the HDF substrate that the cork is glued to. This could cause it to swell and crack. I think you could possibly get away with floating cork in a bathroom if you are good about keeping your floors dry and wiping up water right away. Otherwise they may not be a good choice.
- Here’s a view of the kitchen before we bought the house. Cork went right over the top of these. You can see the bad carpet in the dining room beyond.
- We LOVE the cork floors in our kitchen. We needed something to break up the white cabinets/white tile/white walls. (Paint is high on our to-do list!) Very comfortable to walk on and easy to clean.
In a kitchen I think it’s an easier choice. The floors really are durable. After ours were installed I had to slide the stove over the floor a few inches to get it back into its place. It did no damage to the floor at all. No scratches or anything. The refrigerator is a big heavy beast and when I move it out to clean there is no indentation in the floor where it sat.
As long as you don’t have standing water sitting on your floors you should be just fine with cork in a kitchen. I did read a few stories of homeowners who had damage to their cork floors caused by a faulty dishwasher. A dishwasher that floods a kitchen floor would ruin most any floor anyway, and I suspect a flood of water on a cork floor left overnight would be disastrous. It certainly is something to consider, but I love the cork floors in our kitchen. They are super comfortable to walk on and clean up easily. I’d install them in my kitchen again in a heartbeat.
The manufacturer we chose does make a product to be used with the click together floors to seal the joints. It’s almost like rubber cement. You put it on the joint and then click the planks together. It’s supposed to improve the water tight seal. We didn’t bother. The tiles click together incredibly tight already. I didn’t think we’d need the extra protection. If someone wanted the extra peace of mind though, it’s available.
You can get it here.
- Living room all done. Walls need to be painted and new window coverings are also in the works.
That’s it. If not everything you need to know about cork flooring, it’s got to be most of what you need to know. See the links below for interesting online discussions about cork flooring. Sometimes it’s nice to hear other people’s real life experiences with a product instead of relying on the manufacturer’s claims. (And speaking of manufacturers and such, we don’t have any connections to any suppliers mentioned in this post. We aren’t big-time enough for perks or payment. Just trying to spread the wealth of everything we learned.)
Online discussions of cork floors
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/362702
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/flooring/msg0517211128399.html?12
http://www.viewpoints.com/Cork-Flooring-reviews
http://www.disboards.com/archive/index.php/t-1088685.html
Going cork: All you really need to know if you’re considering a cork floor | This (sorta) Old Life
Oct 14, 2011 @ 17:36:33
[…] Cane explains in his post about cork flooring, we knew before we bought the house that the carpet in the main living areas […]
Oct 21, 2013 @ 05:36:37
You did a great job on giving out tons of information!
We put down cork in our master bedroom 9 years ago and love it. Really good quality – I think Eurocork was the brand. We ordered it from Canada (we live in California). It looks as good as the day we finished it. We are moving and thinking of corking the entire house this time. I wasn’t sure about the kitchen but after reading your experience I do belive we will!
We have always had 2-4 dogs that are mostly inside and we live on a ranch. Since the master doesn’t get that much traffic I wasn’t so sure how doing the whole house would hold up. Now I’m feeling really good about doing it all cork!
I love your tips for rugs at the entrance and kitchen areas.
Thanks!
Linda B
Oct 22, 2013 @ 08:56:25
The cork in our kitchen is holding up very well. Looks pretty much like it did the day we put it in.
Mar 18, 2014 @ 11:09:47
what color is it, there are so many on their site, do you know exactly what you ordered-
thank you
Oct 28, 2013 @ 13:50:38
Do the nails of your dogs get caught in the cork flooring and tear it up?
Thank You
Bob
Mar 01, 2015 @ 08:58:06
I worked in a Green store for years and we did cork. The comment on weather you can use it in wet areas (kitchen bath) is how it is laid. Water will always find it’s way into the smallest crack. Glue down is not a problem BUT all plank floors weather solid wood or like clic flooring/engineered, layers of woods with a veneer of wood, cork or vinyl, it’s the wood that gets wet and then swells later to shrink. Cork itself is water proof, it won’t do that but the wood underneath it in a clic flooring will. So – all these floors must be covered with a polyurethane type product to fill in the cracks. I recommend always going green with these as the chemicals in most will make you sick over time (off gassing) AFM and Ecosafety Products have great finishes, paints, stains, etc.
Is the 70′s split-level the new ranch? (Stop laughing, we’re serious.) | This (sorta) Old Life
Oct 28, 2011 @ 11:05:15
[…] is the guy who put in our awesome cork floors, and Rick’s wife is Brooke, a lovely 30something who loves our house. What was the first […]
Dec 05, 2011 @ 00:35:33
Thank you so much for sharing your research and experience!
Dec 06, 2011 @ 10:31:58
You are welcome Maria. I had fun writing it.
Dec 30, 2011 @ 07:23:37
I am SO putting cork floors in my kitchen. Soon. Maybe today.
Dec 30, 2011 @ 08:12:30
Do it! I promise you won’t regret it. They hide a multitude of cleaning sins, and they feel great under your feet.
Jun 29, 2012 @ 04:37:25
I seriously value all of the demanding effort you’ve put into keeping this site available. I honestly hope this is around for a very long time.
dining tables recently posted..dining tables
Sep 07, 2012 @ 12:03:16
Cane, we put down cork in our renovated mobile home in 2005; it is a floating floor and so comfortable to walk and stand on, we are thrilled with it. We put a new finish on it after 3 years…it looked like a commercial floor finish and we applied it in several layers. First i washed the floor thouroughly and then colored in all the divots with brown or black markers and then applied the finish….it is the nicest floor ever.
We built a new house recently and put in a high gloss laminate floor from Armstrong and it is pretty but doesnt like to have things dropped on it or dog throw up and while it does not scratch from the dogs nails it does show every bit of dirt…i sweep at least twice a day…and wash once every two weeks…
we wish we had put in cork….but live and learn right?
Your blog is very interesting and i will be back to see what else you two are up to…cheers.
Dec 11, 2012 @ 20:25:15
Abby’s additional comments about cork in mobile home vs. newer installation of laminate flooring in house are very informative and, paired with Rita & Cane’s, are very encouraging to me as I’m seriously considering cork flooring for my kitchen which is occupied also by husband & 3 dogs. I would sure like to know exactly which line of Wicanders Cane & Rita installed and which brand and line Abby chose. I’m very curious to know which finish each of you chose. Thanks for all the helpful info.
Dec 12, 2012 @ 18:24:06
The series 100 is the residential grade; it has the WRT finish. THat’s what we used. We were told that the commercial grade couldn’t be refinished, and that it was harder than the residential. It didn’t have the same give to it. The commercial grade is super-tough, though. It probably wouldn’t need refinishing. We’re really happy with the cork we chose. It’s holding up great.
Sep 07, 2012 @ 12:05:08
oh, one more thing I forgot to mention, we put a piece of the flooring outside and left it there…it did not swell or really do anything…we could have installed it and you probably would not be able to tell it had been outside…we live on Vancouver Island…so it rains here…lots…no really, it rains lots….lol
Nov 14, 2012 @ 20:04:49
Love this post. I’m also researching cork floors to go in our future home. We are house-hunting and every place we see has carpeting or laminate floors. Ugh. Love cork. Can’t wait to try it.
Nov 15, 2012 @ 05:21:21
Good luck with the house hunting! (I loved house-hunting–it was so interesting to me to see what others had done to their homes.) And we still love our cork floors, more than a year later. We’re not carpet or laminate fans either, and cork was a really affordable alternative to hardwoods. Hope you get to try it soon.
Dec 12, 2012 @ 07:30:10
Is it a good idea to let the cork sit in the house for a couple days to acclimate to the temperature? I live in MN, and the temp outside is now 30 degrees outside. i know they remoccent it with wood and laminate flooring. 3 days.
Dec 12, 2012 @ 18:20:46
Our research said that we do need to let the cork acclimate. We let ours sit in our living room for several days, with the boxes open.
Jan 07, 2013 @ 18:37:23
great post! I have been sold on cork in the kitchen for about a year now, but the husband is not, yet. Maybe by the time we have $$ and time to tackle the reno I’ll have convinced him. Your floors look great, and I appreciate the info.
Jan 08, 2013 @ 19:38:01
Thanks for letting us know. We still love ours–and it was an economical choice, too.
Jan 11, 2013 @ 17:47:17
Cane and Rita,
Thank you so much for your wonderfully thorough and thoughtful posts on cork flooring. I’m no longer on the fence about it! I was talked out of cork once by a designer and by a contractor who knew nothing about it. Not this time!
Jan 25, 2013 @ 11:12:42
Are there any brands or flooring companies to stay away from? When I was researching Bamboo flooring, I soon found not all were equal. No one liked Lumber Liquidators.
I can’t seem to find any company/brand reviews.
Thanks
Jan 28, 2013 @ 21:01:37
Carolyn, we have the glue down tiles from Lumber Liquidators in our bathroom. I don’t think the cork is as dense as the wickanders. In a low traffic area like a bathroom it seems fine. I don’t know how it would hold up in a living room though? The brands that I listed in the post above all have very high ratings.
Jan 28, 2013 @ 17:40:40
Thank you for all of your research. I know I want glue down planks. Should I get high density cork flooring that is a little more expensive? I would be worth the extra money if it will wear better.
Jan 28, 2013 @ 17:57:15
I think the high density will wear better. The stuff they sell at Home Depot seems to be poor quality. I was able to drag my fingernail across it and really mark up the surface. I’m not sure if the Wickanders that we installed is high density but it is way more durable than the cheap Home Depot brand. Much of the durability though will be in the finish. The glue down stuff you have to finish yourself so you’ll be able to put enough coats on it to make it very durable I think.
Jan 28, 2013 @ 18:02:40
Thanks for your input. I didn’t think we would have to refinish it ourselves. Could be a messy job since it is the entire living room, dining room and kitchen. I have a Wicander sample that I can indent with my fingernail. No good that.
Jan 28, 2013 @ 18:43:06
Susan, usually the glue down tiles come unfinished. You glue them down and then finish over the top. This makes them fairly waterproof and great in kitchens and bathrooms. It’s a fairly easy job to finish them. I used a waterbased poly in my bathroom on our tiles. You can just sponge it on. Not messy at all. The cork will dent with your fingernail. It’ll spring back though. The Wickanders is good stuff that you can trust. The floating cork is great and easy to install. The benifit of the floating floor over the glue down is that with the glue down your subfloor needs to be very flat. Any imperfections will show through the tiles. With the floating floor you can get away with a subfloor that isn’t quite so flat. We have the floating floor in our kitchen for over a year and it looks just like the day it went in. No problems. Good luck!
Jan 29, 2013 @ 05:17:03
How can you tell if a product is high density? We are going with a floating floor and have received samples from:
USFloors-Natural Cork
Ifloors-APC cork, West Hollow Cork, and Woodstock
Any of the brands, or companies (or any others) that I steer clear of?
Thanks
Jan 28, 2013 @ 20:21:21
Thanks a million!
Jan 29, 2013 @ 09:51:08
Carolyn, I’m not familiar with those brands. One test I did try on my samples was to put the sample under a heavy table leg overnight to see how much it would dent. After I took it out and let it sit for a couple of days to see how much it bounced back. The good ones passed this test just fine. They bounced back and looked perfect. The poor ones didn’t recover so well. The other test is to get a quarter and drag it with some force across the surface. On a good cork it should not break the cork apart. It may cause a temporary indentation or lightly scratch the finish but should not cause chunks to come up. Beyond that I’d read whatever documentation comes with the material and any web reviews you can find. Home that helps.
Feb 01, 2013 @ 16:27:59
I’m curious about the different finishes, I’d like the glue down cork, and am wondering about toxicity/pet friendlyness of the available finishes. I’m visually impaired and have a guide dog and a cat that enjoy helping me cook and clean. Really appreciate any feedback
Feb 04, 2013 @ 12:19:28
Marie, I don’t know a ton about finishes. I put down a water based polyurethane on our bathroom floors. It had virtually no odor at all and seems to be durable enough. I don’t expect it would be problematic for pets at all. The water based poly is low in VOC and is an easy to apply finish for homeowners. There may be some finishes that are more green but for a cost and ease of use finish I’d recommend this.
Feb 07, 2013 @ 11:17:02
I’d strongly recommend against using prefinished cork click panels (as opposed to site finished solid cork) in a kitchen or a bathroom with a shower. Because no polyurethane or other sealant protects the seams in the cork, you cannot mop your floors. Unless you have exceptionally tidy habits, most people need to clean their floors. Additionally, we found that the cork does not survive in traffic areas (hallways, staircase landings) with 70 lb dogs. Their claws dig in to change directions and eventually the soft cork dents or chunks out. I just finished taking 400 sf of cork click panel out of our kitchen to try to salvage for use in an office that doesn’t have high traffic. Again, my personal experience is that cork is completely unsuited for traffic, dirt, or moisture.
Feb 07, 2013 @ 13:21:39
Thanks for sharing your experience Keith. I think the quality varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. I got a sample of Wickanders commercial grade cork and I can tell you that I could not scratch the surface no matter how hard I tried. The finish was like iron. We went with the consumer grade because it was softer and had more give to it. I agree that the click together pre finished cork is probably not a great idea in a bathroom. The cork would hold up fine. It’s the substrate that isn’t OK with water intrusion. It can swell and break apart if soaked in water repeatedly. We put glue down in our bathroom and floating click together cork in the rest of the house including the kitchen. After a year I can say that the floors in our house look just as they did the day we put them in. The only thing I see is some fading in front of our sliding glass door to our back deck. This is common and what happens with natural materials like cork. You wouldn’t notice the fading until I pointed it out to you. Doesn’t bother us at all. As for big dogs I’ve read quite a few reviews by people with big dogs that both corroborate and contradict your experience. I think it’s mostly due to density of the cork and the quality of the finish. That’s why I always recommend that people buy from reputable well reviewed manufacturers for pre finished cork. Not to pile on Home Depot but I found their click cork to be low quality. It felt low density and the sample I had fell apart with not too much effort. My best advice is to always order a sample and put it to the test to see how it holds up.
Feb 15, 2013 @ 17:28:05
Your kitchen floor is gorgeous! Which color of the Wicanders is it? It’s so hard to tell on a computer screen.
Feb 15, 2013 @ 21:54:50
Sarah, best I can remember it was the Originals Harmony.
Feb 15, 2013 @ 17:33:10
I forgot to ask if you encountered any examples of the oiled cork. I’ve found mention of a safflower based oil that gets rubbed into unfinished tiles. The site claims it’s the most natural feel and finish for cork and can be reapplied to any spot that needs more finish. The whole floor would need to be re-oiled in 6-12months. My floor will be low impact, so I’m considering it. The manufacturer is Jelinek cork.
Feb 15, 2013 @ 21:59:20
I haven’t seen an oil finish in person. From what I can tell this is an older type of finish that predates polyurethane. I think it’s usually waxed as well? I think the downside is that it requires more frequent maintenance. I’d love to see some in person though. Be sure to let us know if you go that route. I’d love to see pictures.
Mar 03, 2013 @ 01:02:18
Did you compare your Wicanders WRT floor to their polyurethane finished floor? I’m interested in the PU finish and wonder if it will hold up as well as your WRT finish has held up so far. I have a young child and am looking for the floor to be durable, non-toxic, and super comfortable. The color of your floor is one we are considering as well, so I am glad to see your updated pictures. Thanks! It’s hard to find enough pictures of the various colors (actually installed on a floor!) online.
Mar 03, 2013 @ 20:02:01
Tara,
I just found this really helpful resources on the different manufacturers finishes. Not sure why I didn’t find this sooner but it’s a great resource.
http://www.naturalinteriors.com/2010/10/cork-2010-style/#more-590
Mar 21, 2013 @ 11:08:59
Where did you buy the Wicanders flooring? We live in Carlisle, PA. Can’t find a dealer.
Mar 23, 2013 @ 08:30:32
We got it from Rug Bug Eco Flooring in Portland: http://rugbugecoflooring.com
Oct 23, 2013 @ 08:26:50
Hi Ron, Did you ever find a Wicanders dealer? We live in Mechanicsburg. I can’t find it anywhere.
BTW thanks, great article on cork floors. My wife has been pushing for it so I am doing research.
Matt recently posted..Lerch RV Website Re-design
Mar 27, 2013 @ 01:04:00
I really appreciate the effort you have put in to present your research on Cork Flooring!! Great post!!
May 09, 2013 @ 08:14:28
We are seriously considering cork flooring in our whole house as soon as we can afford it. Thanks for all of your great information in one place! I would also make the choice to put the glue down tiles in our bathroom as we have 4 children and that floor seems to stay wet. I know that you have to finish those tiles but I am wanting to know if you put any additional finish on your flooring planks that you put in the rest of your house once you got them all installed? Also, our house is on a concrete cement slab (one of reasons we would like cork) and I am wondering if we will need to place something between the concrete and the flooring before putting down the floating floor. I imagine that the glue down tiles in the bathroom can be placed right on the linoleum. A big factor for us in choosing a cork floor is making sure there are no PVC’s, formaldehyde, and little to no VOC’s used in the flooring. That information is not the easiest to find at times.
May 09, 2013 @ 14:50:00
Brittany,
Most click together pre finished cork does not need an additional coat of finish. Some people will apply a coat of poly as an extra measure though. We didn’t put anything on ours. The commercial finish on them is very durable.
Most click together floating cork floors come with an underlayment built in. Usually there is a thin layer of cork on the bottom which acts as an underlayment and provides some insulating qualities as well. On a concrete slab some people will put down a plastic vapor barrier if the slab has some moisture content. People don’t realize it but concrete is porous and if the ground has a high water content it can seep up through the concrete. If the concrete is below grade then a vapor barrier is needed. If it’s above grade then it depends on the moisture content. The vapor barrier is super cheap and very easy to install so it’s cheap insurance.
Gluing tiles right on top of linoleum should work fine unless the linoleum has a pattern or deep texture. Those will transfer right to the cork. If it’s flat and clean then the right glue should stick the cork down no problem. Water based Polyurethane for glue down cork is very low on VOC. It’s easy to apply and has virtually no odor going down.
Apr 08, 2013 @ 08:41:57
Hi,
Found this website and really appreciate all the information here.
We are contemplating putting in a cork floor in our 3 season cabin in Northern Wisconsin. We like all the things we are hearing about cork. We have found a floating/locking panel that we really like.
My greatest fear though is that our cabin goes unheated in the winter and temps can drop well below zero at times. Manufacturers don’t want to warranty any of their flooring in those cases.
However, I’ve found many comments on the web by people in similar circumstances that have put down laminates/engineered floors and not had a problem.
I wouldn’t think these cork panels would be any different.
Anyone out there have thoughts/knowledge on this?
Thank you!
Apr 08, 2013 @ 09:37:57
Tim, I wouldn’t expect that cork would have a harder time than any other type of floating floor. As long as it’s installed with the proper room for expansion and contraction I wouldn’t think it’d be a problem.
Apr 09, 2013 @ 21:12:07
Hello,
We have significant fading on our Braga cork floors that we purchased from Lowes about five years ago. We never applied any type of additional finish. We would like to restain them to match their original color (or close to it) to match areas under the rug that haven’t faded.
Any suggestions as to what type / brand of of stain to use?
Many thanks!
Brad
May 02, 2013 @ 13:51:27
That sounds like a tough job Brad. Since stain is meant to soak into the material and not float on top you’ll have some issues. You might get away with a poly with stain built in. Most likely poly is what your finish is now so a poly with stain would probably at least adhere with no problems. I have no idea if it would be streaky or how it would look. If you have any scrap pieces from your install you could test it. Or if you don’t you can get free sample pieces from the Depot or Lowes. Grab one and a small can of polyshades and see how it works. Floor guys would recommend a light sanding to get better adhesion.
Ours have faded as well but we are living with it as it doesn’t bother us at all. Good luck!
May 02, 2013 @ 12:15:23
Hi Rita, Cane and all the other helpful folks who have added to this website,
We have a small home 50′ from a lake waterfront that has 20 year old industrial carpeting throughout. Put that in because our kids were little and didn’t want anyone slipping and falling on wet or sandy floors when they raced in, soaking wet, from the lake! Kids are grown (still race in wet from the lake – lol – along with many now-very-tall friends!) and carpet needs replacing. MOST of the kids now know they can’t come in dripping (just wet, that’s ok), but water on the floor is still a concern, as is sand (sandy road, sandy driveway, etc). And our screenporch, also carpeted in indoor/outdoor, does get wet when it rains. Add to that a resident dog (small and just one at present — and yes, I know all about small dog accidents) and indoor-outdoor cat and 60+ homeowners (fair backs/knees) and we have interesting requirements.
I would again go back to the carpet — it’s served us well — except for one important fact. We have allergies. And my 28 year old son’s can be a problem in a small home with carpet. And this is his favorite place to be in the summer (close to his work, but allergies now prevent his staying many nights). So I’m delighted to find your website with all its additional comments.
I have two questions for everyone — (1) Can you feel sand on your feet on cork flooring? That’s a REAL problem for me on any hard surface as I HATE the feel of dirty floors and I walk barefoot whenever possible. (Sand just disappears into carpet.) I’m a decent housekeeper, but not into daily mopping/vacuuming (once a week usually). (2) Just how slippery IS cork on feet with socks?
I guess a third question would be whether or not we should even consider cork on the screen porch. Can’t keep the rain out. Dries out quickly (once it stops raining), but certainly can get wet!
Thanks again for the running and very helpful commentary!!
Lynda
May 02, 2013 @ 13:47:26
Lynda,
You will be able to feel the sand on your feet if you have cork floors. The floors are soft but any grit on the floor will be felt with bare feet. If you are putting the tiles in a place that gets wet I’d think the glue down cork would hold up better than the click together floating flooring. The cork itself is impervious to water and would fare well. It’s the substrate that the click floors are glued to that swells when wet.
Cork is less slippery than hardwood floors. Slipperiness is like old linoleum floors probably. One of our children loves to run across the room in his socks and slide as far as he can. He can slide pretty far!
I only mop our floors twice a month. They never look dirty. Even if they are.
May 02, 2013 @ 22:43:31
Looks like some parts of the house is made of one coat stucco products, in fact that is good as insulator as well.
May 06, 2013 @ 06:37:49
Fantastic resource, thank you!! I am having trouble figuring out whether you can do self-install, click-lock with 12 x 12 tiles at all? We want a checkerboard pattern. Is it only the planks that come in the click-lock style?
thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!
May 06, 2013 @ 12:13:49
Laura, I haven’t seen any click together cork in square shape. All the square tiles I’ve seen are glue down.
May 26, 2013 @ 13:06:30
I just did my guest bedroom and ordered a bit extra, as suggested. Well, I did not need the extra so I have a bit left over, enough to do my guest powder room. I understand the issues but a cork floor in the bathroom is a better way to use extra cork than having them in storage. Question, did you lay the cork floor fist and then install toilet/vanity over cork floor (nicer looking). Or did you put the cork floor in after the toilet, (treimming the floor and using silicon) to avoid the toilet crushing and damaging the cork floor. I think I have read both ways. What did you do.
May 26, 2013 @ 15:47:10
Brad, definitely put the cork down first and then install the toilet over the top. If you are installing a floating floor the floor should go up to the vanity and not under it as it won’t be able to float. I’d caulk very well along the edge where the cork touches the tub or shower to prevent water from getting under the cork there. Good luck!
Jun 26, 2013 @ 23:10:46
Cane – My husband uses a wheelchair. You mentioned the need to put down rugs in high traffic areas but rugs get in the way of a wheelchair. Do you think cork flooring can handle the wear and tear of constant wheelchair traffic? Why the need for rugs in high traffic areas? Is cork not durable enough for high traffic?
Jun 27, 2013 @ 16:03:22
Kate, a good quality cork with a good quality finish should be just fine with wheelchair traffic. I don’t think the rubber wheels would cause any problems at all. Rugs in high traffic areas are recommended for most any flooring installation.
Jul 23, 2013 @ 09:35:02
I have recently installed a floating cork floor over a plywood subfloor with a vapor barrier. My client is very chemical-sensitive, and it has been a month since install. The off-gassing is very bad – my client entered her home and had a very bad asthma attack right away. The room has been sealed off from the rest of the house, leaving the door open to the outside since she returned. The smell is quite noticeable to me, but for her, it is making the room unusable. We are talking about taking the floor up. I left the packages of flooring open in her house for 3 weeks before installing, and the smell was not significant.
Does anyone have any suggestions how to get the off-gassing to speed up? We have agreed to wait until September to give the floor a chance – it LOOKS great. Darn.
Sep 22, 2013 @ 18:10:05
That is strange Hanna. Ours had no odor at all. Not sure where the odor would come from as they are pre finished? What brand of cork was installed?
Aug 08, 2013 @ 17:04:55
Hi there,
I’m closing on a home next week. My house was built in 1917, so I assumed the floors under the carpet were probably hardwood. Well, I checked and there is cork under the carpet. I don’t know if it’s over hardwood or not. After reading your blog about the benefits of cork, I’m thinking of keeping the cork however, the texture of the floor seems to be unfinished.
Do I have to finish the floors? I don’t have a lot of experience with cork floors, so I don’t know how it would look unfinished.
Thanks! -Anita
Aug 13, 2013 @ 12:35:57
Anita,
If the cork floors are early they are likely finished with wax. This will require some effort to refinish. In either case cork will need a finish on it. Polyurethane is the best as it is durable and easy. Wax was what was used before the invention of poly. It works well and old wax finished cork is still around in good shape. The issue with wax is that you have to reapply more often than with poly. If your floor does have wax on it you can’t simply apply polyurethane over the top. The wax would have to be removed.
Aug 13, 2013 @ 18:12:06
Okay, luckily I know someone who specializes in flooring. I don’t think it has wax on it but I’ll have to pull up the carpet to be sure.
Thanks!
Aug 18, 2013 @ 16:30:18
We just finished installing cork floors in our newly renovated kitchen and living room. I found this site full of great info while we were shopping for flooring. We are thrilled with the way it looks and feels. Everyone who comes to visit comments how great it looks. We went with US Floors-New Earth Collection- Vineta Alba. It comes in planks 4 1/8″ x 35 5/8″ x 13/32″. I liked this look because it still looks like cork, but nothing like a bulletin board, which some samples looked like, also the plank style makes it look less like linoleum in a large room. My husband was able to put it in easily, once he got going. Our only issue/disappointment was that we were also doing a split stairway and landing. The US floors rep told our supplier a couple of different things about what we needed. We were told, they sold stair treads dyed to match the flooring, and fit with our flooring. They didn’t sell bull noses. We were told that the cork wouldn’t wear well on the stairs. We were told the stair treads were oak. We ordered that. We got bullnoses only, and they were bamboo. That in its self wouldn’t have been an issue, but the joints to the bullnose and the flooring were two different profiles! Fortunately, when we took up the carpet on the stairs, they were a hard wood and in great condition, so we returned what we bought, and stained the stair treads to match the flooring. I believe the US floors rep just didn’t know anything about stairs, and sent us the wrong stuff. If we had gotten the right bullnoses, we’d have continued with that.
We’ve only had the floor for a month, so I don’t know how it will hold up, but I do love it. It comes with “Endura AR Abrasion resistant finish, lifetime wear & structure warranties, 5 year light/medium commercial wear warranty and is GREENGUARD Children & schools IAQ Certified. ” I have pictures of it, but can’t see any place to add those.
Thanks for all the info here!!
Feb 04, 2014 @ 14:40:14
Hi Carol: i am about to install planks from the same company and am anxious how you like it after a few months. Thanks so much! g
Feb 04, 2014 @ 14:41:30
PS My email is geral64@aol.com if you would like to replay directly. I forgot to add the comment alert above but a reply to this should trigger an email. Thank you in advance.
Feb 04, 2014 @ 15:29:32
GC We love them. I love the way it looks. I can’t tell you about how they hold up for every day wear and tear, since we put them in our summer house. I can tell you a few things though, since we check the place frequently. My biggest pleasant surprise is that the gaps between the planks haven’t gotten noticeably larger. I’m surprised since my husband put the floor in when it was miserably hot, and we winterize the house, so right now there is no heat and it’s been freezing! Also I checked the floor under our furniture to see if I needed to move it to avoid dents, and there weren’t any. I really love it, it’s one of the things we did that pleases me most. We got tons of compliments from people who came over to check out the final project. I hope this helps.
Feb 04, 2014 @ 15:37:42
Carolyn: Thank you so much. This is very helpful. I’ll be installing in Florida in a full-time lake house, so I guess my seams will be permanently swelled.
I have a landing with a one-step sunken living room (a weird renovation that enclosed a courtyard). I was going to raise the substrate but I’m thinking about keeping the drop. That means give single steps (entryways) into the room. Your experience is very helpful. I have US Cork with Endura and was perplexed about how to bullnose. I’m guessing it will have to be oak bullnose prepared on site to fit the profile of the cork plank. I’ll let you know how it goes.
To the owners of the blog, Cane and Rita: This has been so instructive. Thank you. I will be checking in regularly. Geraldine
Feb 04, 2014 @ 16:00:24
Sounds like you have a plan. With the wood stained, it looks nice. It’s not trying to look the same as the floor, but compliments it. It would be interesting to find out from where you bought the floor, what they would sell you to use in that situation. We bought our floor from a local lumber yard, and had them talk to their US floors rep about the stairs. I feel the rep didn’t know much about what was offered for stairs. We definitely received bullnoses that didn’t match the profile of our flooring at all.
Sep 08, 2013 @ 10:54:27
Thank you so much for this post! Like you, I tend to research research research, especially if there’s big $$ involved – but your post saved me a lot of time and answered many of the questions I had. I’ve admired (and wanted) cork floors for years but hubby has always talked me out of it because we have larger dogs. Now we’re renovating a kitchen and are forced to change the floor – cork just makes the most sense. Thanks to your advice, I was able to find a sample of a Torlys cork flooring that I could take home and really abuse to see how it will stand up (I’m in Canada, and Torlys is Canadian, so they’ve cornered the market up here). The display board at Home Depot looked like crap! I (and apparently many others before me) managed to damage it with only a small amount of pressure with my fingernail!! Day 2 of beating up the Torlys board (lowest grade they have, as that was the only board he had to give me) and I’m impressed! Looks like a cork floor is finally in my future!! Thanks again!
Sep 12, 2013 @ 10:39:53
Yep, there really is a big quality difference out there. I had the same experience with the Home Depot stuff. It’s a shame because they are such a big market and they are probably skewing people’s opinion of cork.
Sep 11, 2013 @ 11:27:27
I have a question about the old cork tiles. We have them in our church. We were thinking of sanding and refinishing them, but wondered if that would defeat the purpose of sound absorption? Also, the tiles are under the pews, so just to clean them or sand them is an issue of how to get to them. Any suggestions on how to clean them? They have been down for many years and some places are really dirty looking.
Sep 12, 2013 @ 10:38:05
Joan,
If the tiles are really old. (50 years or so) then they probably have a wax finish. In that case a wax stripper followed by applying more wax would be the way to go. Your best bet would be to get a pro to come in and let you know what the finish is. Sanding may not be necessary.
Sep 17, 2013 @ 22:54:22
Hi Cane,
Thanks for all the work you two put into this helpful page. I’m just beginning to research cork as an alternative to the laminate flooring we have now. I’m becoming ever more concerned about the chemical compounds in the laminate flooring and would like to replace it.
I see quite a bit of discussion here about finishing the cork flooring with polyurethane or other finishes. Is this necessary with cork flooring? I am hoping to avoid this extra work and the possible chemical issues related to finishing. For the same reason, I’m leaning in favor of the floating cork to avoid the glue. Any comments you might have about these two issues would be appreciated.
How easy is it to cut/shape the cork to fit around corners, into closet doorways, etc.?
We have a concrete pad underneath our flooring. We would be pulling the laminate flooring and laying the cork over the concrete. Is a vapor barrier necessary? What materials would this be made of?
Which model is this flooring (not the company name but the version of flooring)?
Thanks again for all of your work. Your floors are absolutely beautiful.
Wayne
Sep 18, 2013 @ 16:36:26
If you are using click together cork flooring it really isn’t necessary to apply more finish. Some people do to make it more water tight. I wouldn’t worry about it at all though. We’ve had it in our kitchen for a couple of years and it’s held up fine. You can cut it easily enough with a jigsaw so no problem cutting for doorways and closets. Vapor barrier may be necessary depending on the moisture content of the concrete. If it’s below grade then for sure vapor barrier. The vapor barrier is simply a plastic sheet placed over the concrete that the floating floor sits on. It keeps the moisture from the slab from entering the floating floor. Go to Home Depot and ask them to see some. It’s not expensive and super easy to lay down.
Oct 01, 2013 @ 06:56:38
We have a floating cork floor in kitchen and family room, Lisbon Rossio. It was professionally installed using a manufacturer’s recommended underlayment. After a few months of normal use, we started noticing seam swell, where the seams became puckered and dimpled. The condition has worsened over time, to the point where we have to either refinish or replace. I am inclined to try refinishing as a last resort, but I’m concerned that it might just be a waste of time and energy. The project will require the use of a drum sander, because the seams are so swollen and uneven. After sanding, I would like to use a polyurethane stain product to eliminate a step and minimize cost. Have you had any experience or feedback in refinishing Lisbon Rossio?
Oct 01, 2013 @ 13:04:33
Seems like this condition should be fixed under warranty? The joints on cork floors are a bit oversized to allow some compression where the cork meets in order to create a better seal. I’d imagine if the measurements are a bit off you’d get some puckering. As far as I know they are refinishable. I’d try an experiment in a closet or under an appliance where it won’t be seen. You can hand sand a seam to get it flat and try some fresh polly. Good luck!
Oct 06, 2013 @ 19:14:22
Great post, thanks for sharing! When you do the upstairs I am really curious to know if it really is quiet.
Also, the thing I don’t usually like about floating floors is how clickety clackety they are to walk on, with a heal for example. Are the cork one really that quiet, they don’t clickety clack?
Oct 07, 2013 @ 18:12:54
Cork is super quiet. The floor has a give to it that makes it more quiet than hardwood for sure.
Oct 08, 2013 @ 13:42:52
Thank you for your research. We’re just starting the remodeling process and I’m doing my research now. Your blog was very helpful. We have two large dogs and a cat. All love to chase each other and we’re concerned that any wood floor would stand up to the abuse. Also, did you use it for your staircase as well?
Oct 10, 2013 @ 13:44:00
Cynthia,
We did not use for our staircase. I know that some people do and I’d have no problem with having it on our staircase from a durability perspective. We just decided to go a different way. How the cork will handle large dogs is really a matter of the quality of the finish. I’d suggest you get a sample of the exact brand and type you plan to install and put it through some stress tests to see how easy is scratches. I can say that the Wickanders floor we put in would not be a problem with large dogs. The finish has proven very durable. I’m convinced that the commercial grade of Wicanders cork could not be damaged by anything at all. The finish is impossible to scratch.
Oct 10, 2013 @ 14:33:02
We had the stair issue when we were doing our floor in Cork. We choose a flooring from US Floors, Venita Alba. We put the flooring in the kitchen/living room and a hallway. Our stairs has a landing 1/2 down which we did in cork. We asked about how we’d handle the stairs. The US Floors rep told us this: They do not sell cork stair treads or bullnoses since the cork won’t hold up well,. They sell oak ones stained to match the flooring color. We decided to order them thinking that they’d be easier to install since they would have the locking profiles to match. That’s what we ordered when we ordered the flooring. What we got were Bullnoses, made of Bamboo, stained to match…kind of, and the profiles were completely different for the flooring we ordered. Clearly our rep didn’t know anything about stairs and their products. Fortunately for us, when we removed the carpeting from the stairs, there were a hard wood steps which we then stained to match, and we returned all the stairing products.
Oct 16, 2013 @ 22:25:58
I am renovating/rebuilding a very, very small bungalow and am using radiate floor heating. In your investigation of cork flooring did you come across an information on how the cork flooring would work with radiate floor heating. I will be installing new flooring in the kitchen area and bathroom. Both areas had a lot of wood rot and were taken down to the floor joist. The bedroom and living area still have the original wood flooring I would like to keep. I have replaced everything else, it seems.
I like the idea of cork flooring, but was concern about the natural cell structure of cork. I live in a rural area of North Carolina with gravel driveway/road and the dust and dirt that makes it’s way into my house is unbelievable. Plus three inside/outside dogs between 50 & 70 pounds. I love fresh air and keep my windows open as much as possible.
Any advice or knowledge you share with me is greatly appreciated.
I love Houzz app, but those people spend more on a bathroom than I will spend on my entire house.
Thank you, love that you a willing to share you knowledge.
Bridget
Oct 22, 2013 @ 09:17:13
Bridget, looks like the short answer is yes you can install cork over radiant floor heating. Here’s a discussion that’s relevant and full of good useful info
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/flooring/msg0115042331964.html As far as dust and dirt goes cork will wear as well as any other wood. Keep it as clean as possible. Dirt and grime will wear down the finish faster. This will mean a shorter time until a refinish is needed. If you buy a good quality product though it has a very tough finish layer. Cheapo cork usually has a much thinner finish on top that won’t last as well. You do get what you pay for. Some people go the extra step of adding a couple of coats of Poly to pre finished cork after install to give it more wear resistance.
Oct 19, 2013 @ 20:17:14
Do you think cork floor would be okay in a mobile home? I mean, is it even possible to install it in a trailer?
Thanks,
Rachel
Oct 22, 2013 @ 08:59:28
No problem putting cork in a mobile home. Just make sure the sub floor is very flat if putting down glue down tiles. Any bumps will telegraph through the cork. Floating cork will hide an uneven subfloor.
Oct 28, 2013 @ 13:56:54
Do the nails from your digs get caught it the cork flooring and pull up?
Thank You
Bob
Oct 28, 2013 @ 14:57:25
Hasn’t been a problem for us Bob. Our dogs are mini wiener dogs though. I don’t have any experience with large dogs. The quality of the finish and density of the cork is going to make all the difference.
Nov 01, 2013 @ 10:27:02
This and the tile in Calgary are without doubt the most appealing flooring options that I’ve come across so far. I think we’re leaning towards the cork, though, after reading this! Thanks.
Nov 12, 2013 @ 16:30:31
We’re just finishing our tenth year with cork flooring in an active beach house frequented by our 9 Grandkids, their parents and four dogs in the 60 to 80 lb range. We have some pretty worn traffic spots and would like to find a qualified refinisher. Ours is a floating click type (Euro cork) over a concrete slab. We’re on South Puget Sound. Do you know of any refinishers?
Nov 25, 2013 @ 10:56:46
Sorry Bill,
I don’t know of any refinishers for Cork. I’d be curious as to how your refinishing turned out though. Please update us if you get it done. Thanks!
Nov 25, 2013 @ 10:39:01
I am looking into new flooring to replace the mismatched foyer/ LR/ DR/ hall we have lived with for 11 years. We recently pus marmoleum down in our kitchen for aesthetic’s and sustainability’s sake. I love it, and have been considering what type of wood to put down in the rest of the house that needs updating. I was surprised to learn that cork is much durable than I thought, so wound up here. I like that Wicanders offers products to heal seal the joints of the plank click flooring, since we have dogs – I think I’d want to seal against any wet indoor accidents.
I looked at installationSubfloor prep instructions in their website and it does say “All type of concrete, wooden and ceramic surfaces must be completely dry. Never install Wicanders® floating floors with CORKLOC® without using a PE moisture barrier film with a minimum thickness of 0,2 mm (.008”).” SO even though it doesn’t require a cushioned underlayment, you did have to use a plastic film, correct?
Our subfloor is two layers of wood over a crawlspace (heart pine and plywood in different areas) in our 1920s house.
Thanks!
Nov 25, 2013 @ 10:55:27
Kate,
We did not put in a moisture barrier. It wasn’t needed for us as our floors are on a second story of our home. It doesn’t sound like you’d need one vapor barrier unless you have moisture problems with your subfloor. The vapor barrier is super cheap and easy to install though so the peace of mind may be worth it.
Nov 25, 2013 @ 11:20:25
Thanks for your quick reply!
We don’t have moisture issues that I’m aware of, but if we install a floating floor we might put a vapor barrier down just in case as several brands seem to require it. It seems like it wouldn’t hurt anything!
Dec 19, 2013 @ 06:50:11
If there’s a more detailed article on cork flooring on the web I’d be extremely surprised, great job. I’m currently writing an article on cork flooring and I will be linking to this for sure.
Already posted on Facebook.
Please keep updating us.
Jamie
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Jan 02, 2014 @ 00:43:13
Beautiful wood floors! san go
Jan 08, 2014 @ 11:40:12
Well done on a great blog! Wish there were more like these on the web. Thank you for the ton of information. I got almost all my questions answered. Just one more: The house we renovating has carpets. Should I leave the carpets and install the cork flooring over it or should I rather remove the carpets first. Your advise would be highly appreciated.
Kind Regard
Mieder (South Africa)
Jan 08, 2014 @ 20:37:53
Hi Mieder–Thank you for your kind words. You’ll need to tear up the carpet first, and the carpet pad. You’ll also want to remove any carpet tacks and staples. The best thing to do is talk with whoever you’re buying the cork from to make sure that you’re following all the manufacturer’s guidelines for installation.
Jan 12, 2014 @ 06:36:09
Awesome page! Thank you for putting this together.
I’m considering remodeling our powder room with the cork flooring. Do you recommend that I removed the toilet and the sink cabinet? The sink cabinet is one of those cabinets that sits on 4 feet like a piece of furniture.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Feb 05, 2014 @ 14:29:37
Yes, remove the toilet and cabinet first. Use glue down tiles in a bathroom. Floating cork won’t hold up well.
Jan 13, 2014 @ 07:21:54
Just what I was looking for. I’m in my 80’s and need to Reno my home. I want to get rid of the carpets and have been thinking about cork for some time. The information you provided covers everything for me. Now I now what to look for when I change the flooring. Thank you.
Jan 13, 2014 @ 21:33:33
We are about to put in about 520 sq feet of floating cork in kitchen, dining room, hall and perimeter of living room with carpet in middle. Having trouble finding transition pieces for where cork will meet the carpet in living room and for thresholds where hallway cork meets carpeted bedrooms. Also , what have you done on stairs? Do you know if cork stair tread nose hold up? Also what to do at the top of stairs where stairs meets cork. Trying to avoid a tripping hazard of bump. Paniced in Paw Paw
Feb 05, 2014 @ 14:30:45
Our stairs do not have cork. We used bamboo thresholds everywhere we have a transition. We liked the way they look next to the cork.
Jan 28, 2014 @ 10:23:40
Cane, our home was built in 1952. We have discovered cork under all but kitchen. How can I tell if it was finished with wax or poly? It is in very good shape except for the edges where the carpet strips were attached with tons of nails. Any suggestions for the inch or inch and a half around the edge?
Feb 11, 2014 @ 14:47:57
Ann,
Cork that old is most likely finished with wax. You can actually fill any nail holes with wood putty. It won’t be an exact color match but will work fine. At Home Depot you can buy wood filler in different colors so you may find a decent match.
Jan 29, 2014 @ 20:12:06
My wife really wants to remodel the kitchen. We’ve heard a lot about Dannburg. Are you familiar with them and their services?
Feb 02, 2014 @ 16:01:52
You will have some serious thinking to do before you make the final decision on what’s the best flooring option for stairs. Think of the family members (their preferences), their age group (risk and health factor) who will be using those staircases each day. Giving due consideration with these factors, you will find the answer to your stair decorating needs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8246030
Feb 02, 2014 @ 16:27:57
We had a stair quandary also. Initially we were told that they don’t make cork stairs because they don’t hold up well. We could order oak treads that were stained to match our floor. When we ordered that, we got something completely different; we got bullnoses that were made of bamboo and stained to match, kind of. The profiles of our flooring and the bullnoses didn’t match, so I think there was a mistake made. We kept enough of the bullnose to use at the two landing areas, and my husband made the profiles fit so they were flush. For the rest of the stairs, we got lucky, what had been under the carpet was hardwood, so we sanded them down and stained them to match our flooring.
We got oak thresholds and also stained those to match for the areas we had to transition to different flooring. This has all worked very well.
Feb 04, 2014 @ 14:08:26
Thank you for such a helpful resource! We are considering putting a floating cork floor in our basement. We have never had any water issues, but it sounds like the vapor barrier is a good idea just in case. Just wondering if a cork floor will give enough cushion for a basement since we will be putting it over concrete? Or will the cork just take on the hardness do the concrete?
Feb 07, 2014 @ 06:56:23
Don’t forget to put a moisture barrier down under the cork. Cork will definitely have more give than the cement
Feb 07, 2014 @ 09:52:58
We just passed our tenth anniversary with a heavily used floating Euro-cork floor on a concrete slab. We live on a sandy beach, 9 Grandkids, up to 4 large dogs depending on who’s visiting. The underfoot feel is great and always has been. We should have refinished the floor at about year seven, and have now worn through the surface in several spots and will probably replace the floor. The cork has been great excerpt for the, sun fading, the wear-through and the fact we’ve been unable to find a refinisher. Euro Cork in Vancouver B.C. Couldn’t find one either. My advice: at year 7 find someone to put on a new layer of tough urethane coating.
Feb 12, 2014 @ 08:52:03
The cork will make a huge difference over concrete. It’ll be much warmer and softer on the feet. A vapor barrier is a must. They are cheap and easy to install though.
Feb 11, 2014 @ 14:13:18
Are there any rugs or rug pads that should not be used on a cork floor? (Thanks for all the good info you’ve provided and sorry if I overlooked an answer that was provided earlier to a similar question.)
Feb 11, 2014 @ 14:44:14
For some reason rubber back is a no go on cork. Wool or poly fiber are OK. Nothing plasticky or sctratchy.
Feb 25, 2014 @ 08:34:32
Ugh…wiener potty training!!!! We have a wiener and an old border collie and they’re HELL on our carpets. I’m looooooooving this cork. Thank you for such a thorough post!!
We have tile in the hallways and kitchen (that is giving our old bolder collie a hard time because his feet are constantly slipping out from under him). One question. You put the cork over your tile in the kitchen? But I noticed you ended up with a seamless transition into the carpeted areas……our kitchen/dining/living is all one great room with a tile/carpet transition. Will i need to build up the carpeted areas to meet the height of the tile?
Yours looks absolutely fantastic. I’m SOLD!
(super to know about the noise too, we were worried that with such a large room and cathedral ceilings that the noise would bounce! and with two little boys + 2 dogs, that would be soooooo fun
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Mar 02, 2014 @ 13:48:07
If you have a floating cork to carpet transition a carpet guy can roll the carpet edge and have it but up against the cork with no transition. If you are going to do it yourself you can find transitions of all different types that are designed for transitioning floors of different levels. We particularly liked the bamboo transitions with the cork. We used those to transition to the bedrooms that have carpet. The transitions can’t be seen with the doors closed because we put them inside the doorways.
Mar 19, 2014 @ 09:11:18
After doing some research and reading your blog we decided to take the plunge with cork flooring from Wicanders for our house remodel. We planning on putting the cork throughout the entire house except for the bathrooms. We decided on the Traces Spice design which is only available as a floating floor. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and i’m getting nervous about how to keep the layout clean and minimizing transitions. I was reviewing the manufactures specs and 35 feet is the longest length they recommend without a transition. We have a rather long living room/dining room (45ft) that butts up against our kitchen (18ft) creating an “L” shape. I don’t mind too much putting transitions at bedrooms doorways but in open spaces I think it’ll look funny. Did you guys have any issues with this? I was disappointed to find out that Wicanders does not manufacture transitions. What company did you guys choose for transitions? Do you have any pictures of how your floor was installed around entry doors? Is there special trim piece to cover the gap between the threshold and flooring?
Thank you for your great post!
Mar 31, 2014 @ 13:51:20
Abe,
We have the same L shape with our living room and dining room. We didn’t use a transition and decided to run the cork longer than the manufacturer’s specs. We’ve had no problems with it at all in that regard. We even have it continuously from the dining room to the kitchen and down the hallway. 3 rooms and a long hallway in all. All connected with no transitions. Our installers didn’t think it was an issue so we took them at their word. We’re glad we did because the floor is so much better without transitions. Where we have transitions from the hallways to the bedrooms we used bamboo. You can find the bamboo transitions at Home Depot. They look great with cork.
Apr 08, 2014 @ 21:49:03
Greetings from Tampa, Fl., Cane and Rita,
I’ve spent the last few hours reading over your blog and I must say that I am quite impressed with what you’ve created here. Thank you for all of the effort you’ve put forth in providing us information about cork flooring. This is, by far, the best blog I’ve run across on the web. Again, nice work! I love the pictures that you’ve posted. Your floor looks great and I love the color that you selected.
Best of luck,
Gary
Apr 09, 2014 @ 13:09:46
Cane,
Thank you for your input. I would really like to install it transition free. I will need to talk with my installer and see what he says.
May 03, 2014 @ 15:40:06
Cork flooring has become a very popular option for a number of different applications and the lifespan is one of the main reasons why. One of the important considerations with cork flooring will lasts is what kind of conditions the cork is installed in.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8455384
May 29, 2014 @ 19:00:24
Thank you so much for the information in your blog. It covered a number of questions I had. I recently built a studio apartment above my house that I moved into and then moved my Mother into the space I had occupied. She has a heavy foot and a loud television in the evening. A soundproofing alternative for the floor is what first drew me to consider cork flooring. Since then I have been amazed at the variety of colors and patterns. I also have a 12 year old Lab who in her advanced years is not as active as she once was but I know there will be a puppy in the future so durability was a factor. I am also not a take your shoes off at the door kinda girl. Reading this I have learned ‘you get what you pay for’ certainly applies. Currently I have a painted sub-floor while I made up my mind on final flooring choices. Thank you and all of the contributors to your blog for your experiences and knowledge.
Jun 01, 2014 @ 09:06:57
Thanks, Staci. We’re currently living with painted subfloor, too! (in our bedroom) I agree with the idea that you get what you pay for. It’s been nearly 3 years since we installed the flooring we talked about in this post, and it’s holding up great. We’re so happy we went with this.
Jun 12, 2014 @ 20:26:57
I just recently purchased enough cork to put in main living room and all the bedrooms, I’m very excited to get it installed. I have been toying with the idea of also putting it through the kitchen, dining and family room and after reading this blog I’m eve more intrigued. The question I have is if anyone knows how it would do in the family room that will be opening to a pool we plan to put in next year and if you know of any problems with it? Also, has anyone had a damaged piece and popped it out and replaced it? Fantastic blog!!!
Jun 13, 2014 @ 06:07:47
Amy, I have cork in my kitchen, adjoining dining room and living room, also down my main hallway. It’s been in for just four months be we are so pleased with it. It feels great under foot, quieter than hardwood, hardly shows dirt and so easy to care for. We would do it again in a heart beat. It buts up to a sun room and then that goes out to our pool. Keep a good waterhog rug at the door and don’t let the kids come in with wet suits on to the cork, though it does dry easily. I’ve not had to replace any planks yet, but have spares just in case for the future. You can see photos of our project here (before and afters and plenty of the cork) https://mcgeathkitchenprojectprogression.shutterfly.com/
Jul 08, 2014 @ 06:57:00
I found this article really interesting. It’s kind of funny that I had never really thought about where cork came from before. I guess I had always just assumed that it was some type of processed wood, but not bark from a specific species of tree. Thanks for the info!
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Jul 25, 2014 @ 10:24:40
Do you know whether there is any problem using cork over a radiant heating system?
Aug 10, 2014 @ 22:30:53
Info I found online via Wickanders-
es, cork flooring can be used over radiant floor heating systems.
Due to the insulation properties of the cork floor will heat up more slowly than conventional laminates or wood floors, providing a slower release of heat over time.
The surface temperature of the subfloor must not exceed 28°C (82°F).
Remember that rugs or mats placed on top of the floor may function as heat accumulators and will increase the floor surface temperature more than the maximum surface temperature recommended (must not exceed 20 – 22ºC).
Jul 27, 2014 @ 10:16:03
I know some of them have told you already but I want to say it again, you did a very decent job in giving information about the cork floor. This is definitely Cork Floor 101. I agree about the rearrangement of the furniture every now and then. Kalia Floors
Aug 19, 2014 @ 04:49:11
I found a great website if you are looking for more ideas: http://www.archiexpo.com/tab/cork-floor.html
Aug 26, 2014 @ 00:18:48
What a lovely site you have. I hoping someone would take the time to right me back. I have a renter waiting to move into my guest house in a week. About an hour ago I decided to look under the linoleum to see what we would be taking up tommorrow.. so when my son gets here in a few days he can just put the new linoleum in. I thought I’d have a heart attack. It’s dark brown (cork color — please let it be cork . but it’s some what soft and has holes in it. now It’s been there, maybe twenty five to thirty years. Maybe I just tore it to pieces. OR and Please let it not be what I hope it isn’t — the redwood underneath with termite damage. I left it alone and decided maybe we should put the linoleum on top of this what ever it is. I hope it’s cork and what they used to soften the walk on the linoleum but I don’t know. Wish it looked like the stuff on your lovely site. If you have a good guess at what it is I’d be so greateful to hear it. he’s coming in a few days and I’d love someones input so I can deal with it before he gets here. Thank you.
Aug 26, 2014 @ 21:18:30
I really can’t tell what you’ve got going on under that floor, but even if I did we wouldn’t be qualified to give advice. Sounds like you should have someone who knows about flooring and/or pests come and check it out. Don’t think it would be a good idea to put new flooring over wood that’s infested with termites.
Sep 07, 2014 @ 21:53:45
Great information. We are building a new home. My husband is a carpet fan and I am not. We have two cats, a 4 year old boy and I have allergies so cork is looking like a really nice option. As far as maintenance goes, I read a lot of comments about sweeping and mopping every other week. What about vacuuming? I never sweep. I use my vacuum on my vinyl and hardwood flooring.
Oct 12, 2014 @ 10:34:21
I have a lovely cork floor, faded in places but still looking good, but it was recently badly dented by careless builders, so I’m thinking about relaying it. Do you think I could lay new tiles over the top, or should I take the old ones up? Taking them up would be messy I imagine, as the original ones are glued down, and I’d be left with a rough surface which would then have to be re-levelled. If I overlaid them, do you think I would have to sand the old ones down or abrade them somehow to form a key? In one of your rooms, I think you said that you laid tiles over existing vinyl ones? If it works on vinyl, I should think it would work with cork. Any advice would be gratefully received.
Oct 29, 2014 @ 09:34:55
Thanks for the great blog; reading all the posts and related replies has been super-informative! One person asked you which Wicanders product in particular you installed (I’m not sure you answered), and I have the same question. Or rather, did you install one with their urethane finish or WRT (“wear-resistant-technology”) finish? I’m assuming one is more durable than the other? Also, some manufacturers refer to planks with a square edge and some to a bevel edge. Which edge treatment do your cork planks have, and if you know, does one edge treatment have benefits over the other? (Or is it purely an aesthetic difference?)
Nov 01, 2014 @ 11:40:00
Thank you so much for the excellent reporting! We’re renovating a pre-manufactured (“mobile”) home and cork floors are now leading our list of considerations. We really appreciate all of this information in one place!
Nov 06, 2014 @ 17:21:17
Hi Cane,
Thank you for giving such a copmrehensive summary of your cork experience! I’m just wondering whether you have any pictures of your glue down cork tiles in the bathroom? We are wanting to get glue down cork and where we are (Australia) the price for supply and installation is excessive ($150sqm) but I have found some tiles supply only for a good price ($35sqm) so I would love to see how your DIY laying turned out!
Thanks,
Jesse
Nov 06, 2014 @ 18:22:01
What’s so interesting about your site is that we seem to have identical decorating tastes.
Your old kitchen is almost exactly like the kitchen we designed in our previous home, where we installed the same vinyl floor and white ceramic tile counters with a green accent stripe around the perimeter.
We’ve been researching cork for our present home and love the Wicanders Harmony glueless planks… so when we saw your old/new kitchen photos, we decided it had to be an omen, telling us to use cork too.
Sadly, the first flooring company we called about ordering Wicanders planks immediately stated that they don’t recommend cork in kitchens because they’ve experienced problems with those installations… which suggests they’re probably not the right company to do our kitchen.
In any case, we’re determined to install cork and will keep calling until we find the right flooring contractor to do the job.
Thanks Very Much for giving us the confidence to use cork in our new kitchen.
Nov 10, 2014 @ 05:11:53
Incredible article! May I say that these pictures are amazing! I want to put cork floor at home, so thank you a lot! Regards!
Dec 01, 2014 @ 23:48:03
Nice info Cane! We really appreciate your efforts on Cork Flooring, Thanks for sharing….
Dec 16, 2014 @ 04:44:01
Thanks a lot for sharing these information about the cork flooring! I am going to renovate my kitchen next year and I was wondering what kind of flooring to put but now I think I decided that it will be cork. Thanks!
Dec 18, 2014 @ 16:49:33
Hi,
GREAT page and thanks so much for the useful information. I noticed you had cork in front of your open fire place. My question is how is it coping? Do embers and sparks burn or mark it? We have cork tiles in our kitchen and dining room which has been down for, I reckon probably 40 years, and it has been resurfaced once in that time and it still looks amazing. Sure it has a few dings and dents but like antique furniture it adds character.
Thanks !
Dec 26, 2014 @ 01:25:11
Thank you for sharing your info. I truly appreciate your efforts and I will be waiting for your further write ups thank you once again.
Feb 02, 2015 @ 06:31:33
I was told that US Floors cork flooring is made by Wicanders. Does anyone know this to be true?
Feb 17, 2015 @ 08:36:19
We are opting for 12X12 solid cork glue-down tiles for our full bath remodel. Should we put the cork under the stall shower base before installing the shower or just caulk at the seam? Thanks for all the super useful info here!
Mar 08, 2015 @ 14:32:41
Hello, what a great article with tons of info. We have just installed cork floor in baby’s nursery. We painted it with all the recommended coats, but it became crazy slippery! Like a skate rink. I don’t allow baby there unless barefoot. Is there anything we can apply to improve the grip/friction? Many thanks.
Mar 26, 2015 @ 18:50:36
Thank you for all the great information on cork flooring. I would like your opinion on the flexibility of the cork flooring. We have an uneven floor — like a bit of a wave — and it would be too costly to make it perfectly level. We are hoping the floating cork flooring would be flexible enough to give rather than crack. What do you think?
Apr 09, 2015 @ 23:19:22
What a great information source you are. I learned so much and decided on glue down cork flooring for much of our new home when planning it last year. Now we are about ready to install and I have a question. We are planning to use Globus Cork glue down planks. We will apply polyurethane finish (several coats) after installation to maximize durability as we have an Irish Wolfhound. The Globus Cork website recommends “•Refresh the finish on the cork tiles on a regular basis using our floor polish products. Apply every few months for a residential installation and more frequently for a commercial installation. Frequency is dependent upon usage.” You don’t mention applying a polish or anything else every few months. Is this necessary or just selling a product? Thanks for all the information so far. Appreciate your input on this recommendation.
Apr 15, 2015 @ 05:37:33
Ten years ago we had a floating cork floor installed in our kitchen. We have loved it and been so proud to show it off! It was laid on top of plywood with a plastic vapor barrier. Recently our dishwasher had a leak! The porous “under layer” of the cork tiles soaked up the moisture. The tiles lifted up and contracted. What a mess! But we still want to replace the floor with cork. I did a lot of research ten years ago. Now there is so much more information available. Now I read that glue-down cork tiles should be used in a kitchen. That might have avoided the problem that we have – but – I thought that cork tiles expanded and retracted with temperature and humidity changes. Do the glue-downs have a slight space between tiles to allow for expansion? If not wouldn’t they pop up at the seams?
Apr 22, 2015 @ 11:24:02
What is the best way to clean cork floors and what cleaners do you use??