Cork Flooring - Comments
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Hi Jen, Your ideas sound wonderful! As far as your concerns about high-traffic (or sitting!) areas, it does well in all areas, using the right precautions. * Felt pads under chairs and some furniture is important. * Furniture casters should be placed under heavy furniture -- piano, dresser -- and furniture with hard or pointed "feet" -- antique sewing machine case.
And put several coats of water-based polyurethane -- Diamond Coat Varathane PolyurethaneVarathane Diamond Coat Polyurethane, formulated for floors on top of the cork before baseboards are installed.
And yes, it really can bounce back from a 200-lb man sitting at the table for a two-hour wine-tasting dinner. ;~) Sliding chairs out from sitting at the table works fine, assuming the various precautions (above) have been taken.
Have no fear, Wine corks are not compressed as tightly and don't have protective coatings on them. My sister used to "skate" around the house in her socks, something we can't do as well with our bamboo or oak.
I'd suggest glue-down cork and use Bostik's Best adhesive. It'll be great! Hope the info helps.
The Flooring Lady at August 29, 2008 09:44 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at August 29, 2008 09:44 PMThank you so much for addressing all of my concerns and for your specific recommendations. Cork it is!
Warm regards, Jen
Jen at August 30, 2008 10:23 PM
Posted by: Jen at August 30, 2008 10:23 PMLOL! Thanks Jen, and you're most welcome. Glad I could help address your concerns!
The Flooring Lady at August 31, 2008 12:15 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at August 31, 2008 12:15 PMWe recently had cork flooring installed in our kitchen/entrance hallway and had the cork in our basement for about 8 months (still in boxes covered in plastic). I'm concerned that it might not be acclimated because we didn't open the boxes. Should I worry because it was in our house so long before installation. Also, our floor wasn't completely level and there is a noticeable hump near the fridge. Will this eventually crack the planks that aren't level. The planks were placed over the old floor but they removed the old flooring in the higher area. Lastly, the installers took out the cork three times because 1) they cut wires on our security system, 2) didn't realize it extended to the front hallway and 3) worked on reducing the hump a second time. Does anyone know if there's a limit to how many times the planks can be taken apart and reinserted. Does this weaken the joing? I've never posted before so apologize if I'm asking too many questions in one e-mail. Thanks.
Lucy
Lucy at September 6, 2008 10:06 PM
Posted by: Lucy at September 6, 2008 10:06 PMHi Lucy,
No problem with asking so many questions - that's what this site is here for! I'll try to answer them in order.
The flooring should have been taken out of the boxes to acclimate, or at least had the plastic opened up. You should be ok though, since the floor was laid and taken back up if I'm understanding you correctly.
I think the hump in the floor needs to be addresses. Any new floor you put down needs to be installed on a level floor or else there's probably going to be some sort of issue arise down the road. See if your installer can put down a leveling agent of some kind.
Taking the planks apart a few times, hopefully won't hurt the joints. It's really hard to say since I can't actually see it. Most interlock flooring products are pretty sturdy. I'd check to see if there's any noticeable wear on the interlocking parts. If they're showing wear then I'd insist on the installers having to bear the expense of more new flooring to ensure that this isn't a problem. I'd also insist that the floor be level. This part might cost you more, depending upon if the installers knew that they'd be dealing with the hump. If the installers are the ones that removed the old flooring, then they knew well enough that it'd have to be level before putting down new flooring. If I've confused, let me know. ;~)
The Flooring Lady at September 7, 2008 12:20 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 7, 2008 12:20 PMThanks very much for the information. I don't think any joints were damaged although they may not have left the space on the sides to adjust for expansion of the floor. We'll take the 'hump' issue up with our installers. We love the cork and wouldn't go back to anything else in our kitchen.
Lucy
Lucy at September 9, 2008 08:25 PM
Posted by: Lucy at September 9, 2008 08:25 PMHi Lucy,
Glad you like the cork - it's pretty nice stuff isn't it?!
Take a peek to see if the installers left an expansion gap, if not, that's something else you'll need to take up with them when you call them about the hump issue.
Good luck!
The Flooring Lady at September 9, 2008 09:29 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 9, 2008 09:29 PMI'm back for another question. The guys came and put a leveler on the laminate (first they primed it the night before) and then a couple of days later they came and feathered it out and then layed (yet again) the cork. The hump has definitely improved but there are some soft spots so I feel we traded one problem for others. There was a soft spot in a high traffic area near the sink and the installer put a couple of small nails in and then puttied them. Is it possible for cork to crack over the years with these soft spots or because it's a soft flooring will it just flex with traffic.
We noticed also that one of our cats had scratched the surface which is strange as she's been sliding on it for a couple of months now as she chases her ball and we also noticed a little scuff probably due to moving the fridge back to its spot. Can those areas be buffed by steel wool for example or do we have to live with these imperfections so soon after installation. Maybe with cats we just have to give up on it being pristine although it has numerous coats of topcoat (verathane/urathane ?) so thought it would hold up better. Thanks so much for your time.
Lucy
Lucy at November 28, 2008 08:28 PM
Posted by: Lucy at November 28, 2008 08:28 PMHi Lucy, It's hard to tell how your floor will react over time - this is a new type of product and it's going to take time before people hear about all it's little quirks. I would think that it'll be ok though (referring to the soft spot).
As far as the scuff/scratches and getting them out, I'm not sure how to go about advising you. Did the installer apply the top coats or was it already this way from the factory? You are correct in assuming that they can probably be buffed out, but without knowing what kind of urethane they're finished with you won't know which type to use - you need to know or else you can really ruin your finish.
The Flooring Lady at November 30, 2008 07:11 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at November 30, 2008 07:11 PM
Thank you for you comments. The floor was already finished when we bought it and is supposed to be industrial strength. I'll contact Wicanders directly to see if they can tell me what they used and if I can buff and then reapply.
Lucy
Lucy at November 30, 2008 08:43 PM
Posted by: Lucy at November 30, 2008 08:43 PMComment Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
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