Carefully pry up the saddle before installing the flooring. Also cut the casings on the wall around the door, using a cork plank to judge how much to trim them. In a kitchen installation, remove the cabinet toekicks if possible so you can run the cork under the cabinets. This gap can be hidden in the finish step. Installation over concrete, such as in a basement, requires the removal of any baseboard so you can cover the slab with 6-mil polyethylene sheeting and run it 3 inches up the wall.
Overlap the sheeting's seams by 8 inches and seal them with tape. After carefully sawing through each doorstop, pull away the cork-floor plank and remove the waste piece of wood. Then, pry up the saddle before installing the cork flooring. Also, use the backsaw to trim the casings on the wall around the door. Again, use a cork plank as a guide to judge how much of the casings you need to trim away. Start laying the planks along the longest uninterrupted wall. Measure the distance between it and the opposite wall, then subtract 1 inch for expansion.
Divide the remainder by the width of a cork plank to calculate the number of courses needed to cover the floor.
If the last course ends up being less than half a plank, you'll need to cut the first and last courses narrower to balance the layout. Add the width of the last course to the full width of a plank. Divide by two to find the width of the first and last course. Use a jigsaw to rip the first-course planks to this width. If you don't need to rip down the first course, saw off their tongues to create an unobstructed expansion gap at the wall. To piece the first course together, lift one plank off the floor at an angle, slide its end into the end of another plank and gently press down until the tongue and the groove click together.
Continue joining planks end to end until the first course is complete. If you need to cut the last piece to length, use a jigsaw guided by a clamped straightedge. Tip: Since each plank is unique in color and pattern, sort through and consider how you match and group your flooring. If you cut the last plank in the first course, and the leftover piece is longer than 10 inches, use it as the first piece in the second course.
Set the cut end of the plank against a spacer at the end wall, then push the tongue of the plank against the first course.
Place a tapping block against the plank, fitting it around the groove. Use a hammer or mallet to tap block and coax the tongue and groove to click together. Install the next plank by clicking its end into the previous plank, then tapping it against the previous course. Vacuum as often as daily to remove grit that can otherwise get ground into the finish and scuff it. Deep scratches or divots in cork without a veneer or printed surface can be filled with color-matched wood putty found at hardware stores—and all cork can be spot-replaced.
For floating floors, start by removing the baseboard or quarter round at the end of the room where the last row of cork was laid, then carefully unlink planks until you free the damaged piece. Glue-down tiles can be spot-replaced by scraping up the damaged tile and gluing down a new one. Most types of cork flooring should be recoated with water-based polyurethane every 3 to 10 years, depending on the abuse it takes.
Assess the condition of the finish annually. To recoat, prep the floor according to manufacturer instructions—often with a light screening to rough up the finish without sanding into the cork itself— then apply three coats of polyurethane. This process can be tackled by any handy homeowner. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. All About Cork Flooring. By Josh Garskof. Pinterest Email Pocket Flipboard. A checkerboard floor is a kitchen classic; these glue-down cork tiles make it back-friendly, too. Michael J. How is Cork Floor Made? The Basics of Cork Flooring What does it cost? Is Cork Flooring Right for You? Cork flooring is an especially good choice in colder climates.
Cork forests absorb millions of tons of carbon each year. The UV protectants in a clear coat provide some buffer, but not as much as UV-blocking windows or window film. Poor maintenance will shorten its life span. Waterproof Floating Floors The structural layer inside waterproof floating cork planks is impermeable to moisture. Leave them there for three to five days. Colors can vary from box to box, so mix the planks together before laying them to randomize these variations. Spread a plastic, vinyl or tarpaper moisture barrier over the subfloor and staple it down with a staple gun.
If the subfloor is concrete, tape the barrier to the floor with duct tape. Snap two planks together end-to-end by lifting the end of one plank, pushing the other end into the groove on the end of another and lowering the raised end.
The planks should snap together. Cut the last plank in the row to the correct length with a circular saw. Turn the plank over, mark the cut line on the back and cut from the back to avoid chipping the surface. Cut the first plank in the next row so that its end is staggered at least 6 inches from the plank next to it.
Maintain this stagger from row to row to ensure stability of the floor. Assemble planks in the middle of the floor by snapping them lengthwise into the adjacent planks and then tapping them together end-to-end. Use a tapping block and rubber mallet for tapping.
You can get a tapping block from any laminate flooring dealer.
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