Floating Cork Flooring vs. Glue Down Cork Flooring

By now you have probably figured out that cork flooring has many properties that make it an excellent choice for your home. That’s great! This is a durable, beautiful, eco-friendly flooring product. Cork maintains a temperature of about 70 degrees year round, so it can be a perfect substitute to the cold tile in your bathroom or easier on the knees while cooking in the kitchen. The feeling under foot is why most clients choose cork as it is very resilient.

The benefits of cork as a flooring make it an excellent investment for your household. However, you may now be wondering which type of cork flooring you want to use for your new floor. Your two options are glue-down cork tiles or floating cork planks. The main difference between the two types is the installation process and whether or not moisture is a factor. If you plan on doing this yourself then you need to understand the difference between the two types. GreenFlooringSupply.com is here to help you decide which type is right for your home project.

Glue-Down Cork Tiles
Cork tiles are harder to install than cork floating floors. However they are essential in any project that can have constant moisture, such as bathrooms or utility rooms. Pure cork is impervious to moisture, (it keeps the wine in the wine bottle), cork tiles are made from only pure cork. You need to have the proper sub-floor of plywood, cement or concrete. The sub-floor must be completely level and clean (this is accomplished using compounds that level seams and voids and then doing a light sanding. Often a few coats must be done to achieve a perfectly smooth surface. Any imperfections will transfer through, so being details is essential. You the must apply a manufacture required primer to the sub-floor and wait for it to be completely dry. Then, you can start applying your adhesive and laying down the cork tiles a non toxic water based contact adhesive is typical. Once complete you’ll need to then use a drum roller to level-out the tiles and apply the require amount of coats of finish required by the manufacture, typically 2 coats. This is usually going to cost more to install with a professional since more labor is required.

Cork Floating Floor Planks
Cork floating floors are much easier to install than cork tiles. This is generally used by do-it-yourself homeowners and work great in most areas of a house except moisture situations (there are seam sealers and topcoats that can be utilized if your willing to have a little risk). You can use the same sub-floor as tiles. However you can also install this over some existing floors like vinyl, laminate or ceramic. The reason floating cork flooring is much easier to install is it’s pre-finished and doesn’t need specialized tools to install, it installs very similar to a laminate floor with an interlocking edge and doesn’t require nails or adhesive. You don’t need to apply any sealants or finishes; though some people do so to make a better seal. Since these are pre-finished and easy to install you can save a quite a lot on your new flooring project.

Summary
Cork flooring is an excellent flooring solution with many benefits for your home. Both glue-down tiles and floating floors give the homeowner different benefits for installation and performance depending on your specific project requirements. Both types of cork flooring can be installed by a professional or do it yourself homeowner, its just that floating cork flooring offers the easiest installation with the least amount of specialized skills required. Bottom line if you have more detailed questions give us a call and we will help you move forward with you new cork floor.