Anyone have cork floors?

[Cindy]

I'm thinking about putting them in my kitchen and office and have no idea how they hold up with normal wear and tear. If you have them, would you recommend them?

Thanks,

Cindy

[Mys Terry]

I don't know what they are like now, but my parents installed cork floors in 1949 and they still look pretty good. They have been sanded and refinished twice in that period. It's a very nice, durable, quiet, comfortable floor that wears like iron. It's also nice that they don't have to kill the tree to harvest the cork. It grows back!

[tbasc]

How is the cork finished? Does it have a coating? TB

[Mys Terry]

I don't know what the original coating was in 1949, but the current one is clear Polyurethane, just like what you would use on hardwood.

[Joseph Meehan]

I put down cork tile in my library (under me right now as I type). I love the results. Cork is not all the same quality, but the good stuff does hold up. It has been around for a long time, but it usually has only been used in high traffic high end areas. I was down at the Dayton Ohio art museum not long ago and they are mostly cork floors.

[jdk]

put 1' by 2' down in a bath 4 years ago. i then used a stain, then poly on top. i love them. the floor can be sanded and redone if i wanted a diff stain, probably would have to go darker. the tiles were 4mm thick by jelinek company.

[Cindy]

Excellent, thank you so much for the input, Joseph!

Cindy

[Cindy]

Are those the interlocking type like laminate floors? Do you know if you can buy them already finished and sealed?

Cindy

[jdk]

no they are 4mm thick all cork tiles. they came finished or unfinished. some come in colors some in shades. i used urethane glue or you could and it is recommended to use water base contact cement. i like urethane so i could move them around a little. with contact cement once you lay them down they are down.