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Cork floor installation

Whether it is a classic or contemporary style of the house, cork floor will enrich any design. Cork flooring is an excellent eco-friendly alternative to the traditional hardwood floor. Using proper installation technique will ensure trouble free and long lasting performance of the floor.

Depend on the type of a product, cork floor can be installed whether as floating or glue down method.

Engineered cork is click and lock or floating floor and does not require attachment to the subfloor.

Solid tiles of cork floor have to be attached to the subfloor with a special adhesive. It is required by the manufacturer to allow adhesive to set about 24-48 hours before attaching baseboards or molding or actually use the room where the cork floor has just been installed. All mosaic cork has to be glued down and after installation grouted. The surface has to be extremely well prepared – clean and flat. Mosaic cork can be easily installed even in wet areas such as showers. Glue down method is a time consuming process and labor cost for the installation higher. Once cork floor is installed some manufacturers recommend and/or require applying the top layer of the finish unless the floor is not pre-sealed. Application of finish will seal all seams and protect the floor from moisture and other impacts.

Cork floor can have a natural appearance with only clear protective sealer applied on the surface, as well as it can be stained or painted in any color to match with a room design. It is also recommended to re-apply additional coats of finish once in awhile about every 4-5 years in order to protect the cork flooring from the stresses of the normal home foot traffic as well as keep the water from penetrating the surface.

Most of the cork flooring is an engineered product and the floating type of installation is commonly used. It is not that complicated and can be relatively easy performed as do it yourself project what helps to save on installation cost.

Cork floor can be installed on any types of the subfloor in residential and even commercial buildings. It is durable flooring option and has a unique ability to resume the original form after some impacts, unlike any other flooring material. Even thought cork is relatively resistant to impacts it can be damaged. Scratches and not deep dents can be eliminated by sanding and applying new coat of finish on the surface. If the floor was heavily abused than damaged pieces need to be replaced.