Manufacturer recommended gluing of glueless floor?

[blue]

We purchased QuickStyle Natur glueless, click together cork flooring. We opened the package and the instruction inside recommend gluing the long ends of the boards in high residential to low commercial traffic areas. We called the company and told them we were installing in out kitchen and hallway and they said this is definately considered high residential traffic, thus we would void our warranty by not gluing.

While phoning around to find the glue, one store that carries other QuickStyle products, said that QuickStyle recommends it for all their laminate flooring. Thus, this isn't just because we purchased cork.

Is this common to have to glue glueless flooring in high traffic areas? Do all manufacturer's recommend this? If they don't, why not? Do they simply make a better click together flooring system? We are just contemplating exchanging this flooring for some that doesn't recommend gluing in high traffic areas if this flooring is of lesser quality than others.

Any opinions? Anyone have any idea if Granorte recommends gluing in high traffic areas? (we are waiting for a response via email from them about this since it is a possible choice for us).

[blue]

[Rob S]

In March this year we installed two types of cork flooring from Jelinek

In the main kitchen area we installed glued laminated cork, and in the rest of the room we installed glue-less flooring.

This wasn't a decision I made. The store ordered the wrong ones. The original intention was to use glued flooring everywhere as it was cheaper, but since I made th store eat the difference, we got glue-less.

The reason for two different sets of tiles is that we wanted different colours. We have pre-finished cork in the main kitchen and site finished stained cork int he main room.

One thing no one told me - at least from Jelinek, the glue-less and glued panels are NOT the same size. You get a fraction of a square foot less in the glue-less. This means I do not have even join lines where the two meet.

There was nothing in their literature that recommended gluing the glue-less in the high traffic areas. So far (and I know 9 months is nothing in the life span of the floor) we have had no issues with the installation (which we did ourselves).

However, Jelinek did say that we MUST use water-based varnish on the cork. I am NOT happy with the performance of Varathane water based varnish. I tested oil based on a scrap and I think that when I get around to re-finishing the floor it will be with oil.

And why am I not happy? Cats! Spastic rodents that inhabit our house with us. Not de-clawed. If they keep this up they may get de-footed. The very day they were allowed back on the floor they found the cork flooring/rodent flaw. Under full acceleration a cats claws will hook into the natural indents in the cork and cut right through the finish (4 coats of varnish by the way). I have not and will not allow dogs on the floor (which is moot as we don't have one).

What do I love about it? Looks, warmth and comfort. We have tile in the entrance, and hardwood in the next room. 30 seconds in bare feet in the winter tells me all I need to know about the warmth side of things. As for comfort, with cork's resiliency and the floating floor it's easy on the feet. Oh, and add quiet as well. Most noises are nicely muffled in the basement.

Rob S.

blue wrote:

[Charles Spitzer]

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