Installing Cork Flooring - Comments
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Is it okay to use cork planks- click - on steps
betty at August 28, 2007 09:07 AM
Posted by: betty at August 28, 2007 09:07 AMAbsolutely! Cork planks work very well on stairs. The bullnose for the steps can't be cork, but the treads and risers can be.
The bullnose can be made of oak or whatever wood you use in your house for trim. You'll want to caulk the edges of the cork panels where they meet the bullnose and where the tread and riser pieces meet.
Cork steps are beautiful.
The Flooring Lady at August 28, 2007 03:11 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at August 28, 2007 03:11 PMA former cork retailer in Maine told me he stopped offering cork because of adhesion problems. He attributed the curling and lifting of the cork tiles to the extreme low temperatures of his region. He said that unless I have a climate control system in my house that maintains a constant humidity and temperature throughout the year, he can't recommend cork.
Jim at October 29, 2007 09:53 AM
Posted by: Jim at October 29, 2007 09:53 AMI had problems with my floating cork floor but don't know if it was because of a defective product or because of my dry climate. Natural Cork now says you have to have at least 50% humidity for cork to work right. My friend in Ohio has a cork glue-down floor and loves it.
Your connection may be right about cork as flooring, but it might be worth calling a few of the cork floor manufacturers and ask what their experiences are with temperature and humidity fluctuations and their product. I'd hate to think cork isn't a good flooring material -- it's wonderful for m any reasons, including being sustainable.
The main reason I think your connection is off-base is because cork floors have been used around the country for over 100 years. I suspect buildings 100 years ago had fluctuating temperatures and humidity, and the floors have lasted well. But they were glue-down tiles, not floating tiles. Maybe that's part of the difference between what works and what doesn't.
Let us know what you find out.
The Flooring Lady at October 29, 2007 11:33 AM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at October 29, 2007 11:33 AMWe are also looking at installing a cork floor in our basement, and want to have a curve in the transition from cork to the carpeted area. The salesman said its not going to work, but we really want this. A straight line really won't work with our layout. Any suggestions?
Thanks! Karen
Karen at October 29, 2007 03:10 PM
Posted by: Karen at October 29, 2007 03:10 PMAre you using glue-down or floating cork tiles? That will somewhat impact the feasibility of your plan.
I believe "where there is a will, there is a way" applies here. It is indeed a challenge to have a curved line because the junction piece that is used to keep the cork and/or carpet from pulling up is straight, not curved.
One idea I have is, if you are using glue-down tiles rather than floating tiles, to lay the tiles so they will be under the curved edge of the carpet and then glue the carpet to the cork tiles. You still might have lifting challenges, but you can fix that as it happens. I'm sure I've seen curved carpet meeting hard surfaces before.
I don't know if it will be as easy to do the curve if you are using floating cork tiles, but a little creativity could make it work.
Let us know what you do, please.
The Flooring Lady at October 29, 2007 03:35 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at October 29, 2007 03:35 PMFinally found my answer for: Can I use cork on stairs. I can not wait to get started. One question though - Do I just use the cork glue to adhere risers and treads?
annie at November 9, 2007 02:27 PM
Posted by: annie at November 9, 2007 02:27 PMI used glue on my risers and treads, and nailed the bullnose. It worked fine. The only problem we had was the gaps between the stairs ad the baseboard that was installed first. Caulk took care of most of the gapping.
You didn't say if you were using cork tiles or engineered tiles. Check into applying a urethane finish to whatever you get to give it more durable finish coat.
My biggest pointer, though, is to make sure the cork has thoroughly acclimated to your climate. Take it out of its packaging and separate each piece so it can dry and shrink to its fullest amount before installation. It could take several weeks, not just days if you live in a drier climate.
Good luck and have fun. It's a great flooring product.
The Flooring Lady at November 9, 2007 02:54 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at November 9, 2007 02:54 PMThanks for the info. I am using cork planks by Lisbon. What kind of wood did you use for your bullnose? I came across a web site that sells cork bullnose. Did the nails crack the cork at all?
annie at November 12, 2007 01:33 PM
Posted by: annie at November 12, 2007 01:33 PM
We used alder for our bullnose; our builder made it for us.
Given what I have experienced with cork, I'm not sure it's the best product for a bullnose -- and I couldn't find any when we installed ours four years ago; if you applied several coats of a good polyurethane after installation, and kept it up, the cork might be good. But bullnose gets a lot of abuse and needs a really sturdy surface to survive. Alder is pretty hard and was scuffed when we refloored a year and a half into its life (not the fault of the the bullnose, just the particular cork product and manufacturer we used).
The cork did not crack where we nailed it. In fact, that cork held up better than other places. We bought a cork that had a manufacturing defect that caused it to bow and not click properly, giving us gaps between many of the engineered tiles.
We did see there were oak bullnose pieces available when we bought four years ago. If oak is part of your decor it would work well too. Our alder and cork were beautiful together. I miss it.
The Flooring Lady at November 12, 2007 08:47 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at November 12, 2007 08:47 PM(Read the article that everyone's commenting on.)
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