Replies

1. 
   CJohn | Jan 20, 2004 03:16am | #1

   I have installed cork flooring and it was not difficult to install. Be sure to use the recommended adhesive as it has a tracer in it so if you have a warranty issue you will be covered. You may find that it will not be as durable as a wood floor.

2. 
   DaveRicheson | Jan 20, 2004 03:36am | #2

   Do a search over at Breaktime. You should get a ton pf hits on it.

   Been discussed there at least four or five times in the last couple of years.

   Dave

3. 
   Steinmetz | Jan 20, 2004 06:00am | #3

   Buzz,  soft, quiet,  not good with high heels,smells like burnt keilbasy  Suitable for bulletin boards and beer coasters.

   Also used on doors for soundproofing.  Stein. inside walls and doors for ice boxes and cold storage facilities.

   I once drilled holes through a100+ year old  cold storage wall to install a sliding firedoor and the stuff poured out. It was in July and despite having had no refrigeration, I had to work with coat and gloves.  Stein.

   
   

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   Edited 1/19/2004 10:03:06 PM ET by steinmetz

4. 
   Blueline | Jan 20, 2004 07:22am | #4

       Yes I have and we  loved it. Installation can be compared to installing an engineered wood floor. Ours had a 5-mil poly overlay for durability, it has a sound deadening quality as well as being cool under foot in the summer and warmish in the winter. Durability is fine in my opinion, we dropped pots and pans with very little indentation. We had absolutely no problem with odors probably due to the overlayment and am going to install another system when we remodel our kitchen in our new house. Good luck with your decision.

5. 
   alanplanesaw | Jan 21, 2004 03:56am | #5

   One of the houses my dad designed and had built when I was a kid had cork flooring in the hallway and bedrooms.  It was great.  Relatively soft.  Don't recall any smell.  I liked it.

   Alan - planesaw

6. 
   mudman | Jan 21, 2004 08:13am | #6

   I've installed it in bathrooms. Have doubts about its long term wear in a high traffic area. In a kitchen I would expect 5 years out of it. Though I admit I have no first hand experience in regaurds to high traffic situations, just my gut feeling after handeling it. I love it in the bath room, and intend to install it in mine!

   MIke

7. 
   IanDG | Jan 21, 2004 09:46am | #7

   The wear on the floor should take place on the top coat of the varnish -- use a good waterbase poly and the UV resistance will help to stop fading as well.
   It will dent under impact but recovers quickly as long as the surface isn't damaged.
   It takes stain very well and can be painted and stencilled.
   As long as you maintain the coating it should last as long as a hardwood floor.

   IanDG

1. 
   UncleDunc | Jan 21, 2004 06:00pm | #8

   >> As long as you maintain the coating it should last as long as a hardwood floor.

   I agree. I spent some time in the early 70's in a hospital that used to be a tuberculosis hospital. It had cork flooring in some of the older parts of the building because the TB patients used to spend so much time in bed that their feet lost all their calluses and they needed the smooth, cushy floor to walk on. Trying to calculate the age from the style of the building and when modern antibiotics knocked out TB, I'd say those floors were at least 40 years old, and maybe twice that.

2. 
   mudman | Jan 22, 2004 08:15am | #9

   Ian,

      Can it be refinished after the finish wears? and am I right in assuming that the finish will not last as long on a spongy wood like cork compaired to oak?

   Mike

1. 
   floorguy | Jan 22, 2004 08:33am | #10

   Cork flooring can be sanded and refinished although with less aggresive floor sanders and using 80 or 100 grit as the coarse sandpaper. It sands very easily. Coat it with a high grade water base finish. I recommend a finish made be Last N Last with aluminum oxide in it. This finish is available for public sales from some quality paint stores. We're talking $70 per gallon (approx. 400 sq. ft. coverage per gallon) and this finish has crosslinking additive. Don't mess with the cheaper water base finishes available for use right out of the can as they are not as durable. Good Luck, Floorman   

2. 
   IanDG | Jan 22, 2004 09:58am | #11

   Mike,On any floor coating, the top coat is a sacrificial layer and should be recoated as soon as it wears and if you use a waterbase coating this is well within DIY capabilities.Generally the coating seems to last longer on cork as, being more resilient, it flexes rather than abrades.

   IanDG