Cork Flooring - Comments
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Hi! I just purchased a condo and all 2 and 3 floor units are not allowed to have anything but carpet in them. I am trying to do 2 things. 1) prove that cork is not the same as harwood and 2) find information regarding the soundproofing of cork. I have been told that only carpet can offer the soundproofing the board will find acceptable, but I am sure there are insulation products out their that will work as a sound barrier. Do you have any recommendations as to where to start looking for information? Help!! Thanks Jenn
Jenn at September 23, 2009 11:57 PM
Posted by: Jenn at September 23, 2009 11:57 PMHi Jenn,
When I had cork floors I couldn't hear anything upstairs, be it conversations or footsteps. Now that I have bamboo I can hear bits of both.
If a floating cork floor is used there are 2 layers of cork to muffle sounds, plus the inner layer of HDF or some such material. And if you really want to add even more soundproofing a cork underlayment could be added.
That combo would probably be more soundproof than any carpet & padding. Then if runners & area rugs are used, & it's a shoe-free house the condo will be very quiet & healthy.
One point to make: check appliance height to make sure problems aren't created - but then it's rare to have carpet in appliance areas, so the cork underlayment wouldn't be needed; I'm esp thinking of dishwasher.
The Flooring Lady at September 25, 2009 11:44 AM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 25, 2009 11:44 AMHi,
I have some cork flooring in my kitchen. I hear that cork has to breathe. There are some thoughts on discoloring also. What type of area rug would you suggest to go on top of cork laminate floor? Also i have gouged the surface 1/8th inch. Is there a way to fix or seal this? Thanks.
al at October 7, 2009 02:56 PM
Posted by: al at October 7, 2009 02:56 PMAl,
I am not aware that cork has to breathe, but I am sure that it is possible to become stained or damaged as any other floor. For an area rug, I would choose one that does not have a rubber backing that could stick to the laminate. You should be able to find a correct sealer for nicks and scratches in cork laminate flooring. Then just follow the directions on the product.
The Flooring Lady at October 9, 2009 12:16 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at October 9, 2009 12:16 PMWe are moving into an apartment with cork flooring. The problem is that we have a lot of antique furniture mounted on small wheels that will dent and/or scratch the cork. Also, I fall down a lot and I think the cork would not be as soft as carpet!( duh!) Can carpeting be installed over a cork flooring?
Tom at October 14, 2009 08:14 AM
Posted by: Tom at October 14, 2009 08:14 AMTom,
Cork is a soft material, but probably not as soft for falls as carpet.
Yes, you can install carpet over the cork. To preserve the cork, you would want to avoid gluing the carpet to it.
The Flooring Lady at October 16, 2009 08:17 AM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at October 16, 2009 08:17 AMHi, my question involves the installation of cork flooring in a heavily used family room (room also used as an informal dining room most days) by a very casual (but very busy) floor-dwelling, homeschooling family. However, we also are a very animal-rich family, and deal regularly with large dogs, multiple cats, multiple aquariums, and of course the occasional "accidents", messes and spills that involve any number of those animals (or kids!) and the floor below their feet. The family room is on the lowest part of the main floor (gets very cold in Michigan's winters!!) and has a cement slab base with multiple levels of plywood and insulation. On one side of the family room is a small cement-slab entry in front of the back door. On the other side of the family room is a cement slab hallway leading to the front door. We will most likely just drop down some vinyl tiles or something in the hallway & entry way. The main issue is this - I desperately do not want to put carpet back in this family room (what a nightmare with our family/lifestyle) but my husband and kids, understandably aren't real keen on any type of "hard" flooring (tile, vinyl, etc). We have moved out of our home for a couple weeks to have the rest of the house's hardwood floors refinished, but now need to make a final decision on the family room floor, as well as the upstairs bathroom floor. As much as I don't want carpet, I really REALLY don't want to have to move our chaos back out a year or so from now to replace a flooring that didn't hold up. I've seen so much conflicting information on cork flooring in regards to water, kids, pets/nails, stains, scratches, etc. but most negatives seem to directly relate to the engineered planks, a lack of proper sealant, and/or improper installation in the first place. I'd love to know what you think the true reliability of cork flooring is (assuming it's installed properly and sealed extremely well). Would installing pure cork tiles (or even the eng.cork planks) be a set-up for failure? Should I resign myself once again to installing (*gulp*) carpet..?
Ann Botsis at October 21, 2009 11:35 PM
Posted by: Ann Botsis at October 21, 2009 11:35 PMI should also add that aside from the noise-suppression, floor temperature on bare feet, and ease of cleaning benefits, the health & air quality benefits, positive environmental impact, and pest resistance are all hugely important to me personally. We aren't picky with appearances at all (could care less if you can SEE scratches, faded sections or whatever), the only concern for our family in particular is how it will actually hold up to a high-contact lifestyle. Scratches are fine, but if the scratches turn into gashes which turn into gaping holes that absorb water and such, well obviously that's going to be a problem! I guess I'm looking strictly for a durability report, not a "how well the color holds up" kind of report. Hope that helps.
at October 21, 2009 11:54 PM
Posted by: Anonymous at October 21, 2009 11:54 PMAnn,
My personal experience with cork flooring is in the article above, I did have some problems with scratches going into the cork, but believe it was related to the sealer. I would be sure that if you decide to use it, that it is well sealed.
But, any hard floor will be easier to maintain and clean than carpet, with all the activity described.
The Flooring Lady at October 23, 2009 07:12 AM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at October 23, 2009 07:12 AM
We moved into our condo which has cork flooring pretty much throughout. In our kitchen, we bought a 2' x 8' black rubber mat to put along the standing/cooking area in front of the stove, etc. Well, what happened is the cork is now seriously discolored (actually it's a pretty cool color, just obviously different from the existing cork). So my question is this: I want to take the cork out of the kitchen and put down tile but we have the floating planks. I will need to cut the floor at the entrance to the kitchen to start installing tile. Will that work? I don't want to cut and have them loose, etc.
Bobbie at October 28, 2009 01:50 PM
Posted by: Bobbie at October 28, 2009 01:50 PMComment Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
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