I still love cork but am afraid to use it. We walk right into our kitchen from outside. Did you use the click variety? Pictures please!

Have heard many good things about cork being great to walk on.

Pictures, please!!

prill, we have cork in our kitchen and entrance way and the entrance way has survived even better than the kitchen.

And yes, marlabe, pictures are in order.

Glad to hear one more vote for cork. I love it.

I would be happy to post pictures...as soon as I figure out how.I will work on it!

Here's pics of my durodesign floor. I did a DIY install. The cork is great underfoot, and it may be my favorite part of the kitchen.
{{!gwi}}

And another one:

{{!gwi}}

evilbunnie, you did a FANTASTIC job with those. I considered cork but we really needed tile.

It's been over four months, and I love love love my cork floor!! We have click planks, and it feels like heaven to walk on. It cleans up so easily, too. Good choice!!! We were just with some Australian friends, and they said that cork has been "the rage" there for a while now. I have no regrets. Enjoy!!

Evilbunnie, I love your floors! Your kitchen colors and cabinets are v. similar to what I'm planning.

My only hesitance is whether they can withstand our beagle's ridiculous antics, i.e. running around the house at breakneck speed after a bath, vigorously tap dancing while begging for a treat, etc. I'm afraid his nails would dig into/dent the floor.

Anyone with cork floors have experience with pets and durability?

evilbunnie - is that glue down?

Evilbunnie - great job on the DIY. I got the sample kit and then 16 samples from DuroDesigns and do like the look. How difficult did you find gluing down the tiles? Did you have a perfectly smooth subfloor? Did you tile to the cabinets to allow for the cork to expand or did you have the cabinets built on top of the cork flooring?

Marlabe - definitely want to see pictures.

I visited two local flooring places today and I'm still unsure whether to go floating floor or glue down. We definitely get humidity in the summer (we do not have air conditioning but a house fan)and I am nervous that the cork will expand and buckle.

I would be interested in hearing from anyone else who has cork flooring as to what type they did (floating floor vs. glue down), issues they wished they knew ahead of time in installing the floor, and anything else that might be helpful to others. I love the look and all the benefits of cork flooring. Just don't know which type, do I put in under the cabinets, and do I seal it after installation regardless of which type I use, etc.

Thanks for the help.

We did glue down cork tiles from Durodesign. It was really easy to roll on the glue in sections, wait a bit(tend to kids, etc.) for the glue to get tacky then tile the section. I tiled up to the cabs and under the appli.ances.
Here's a pic. The colors are Cocoa and Praline. The style is Barriga.

Thanks for the nice comments!

Yep, it's glue down, and I tiled the whole floor while the room was empty (it was a gut remodel). Once upon a time I even posted a lengthy how-to on here, but I think it fell off the boards. The glue down was quite easy once you get the hang of setting the cork tiles tight together, and you can even pull a just-set tile up if you've only set it lightly without pressing it in. Once it's pressed in, though, it won't come up except in pieces. But that worked fine.

The durodesign cork that I chose (barriga in walnut and oak)does seem to get scratched up by the kitty claws, but I also only have 2 of the 4 coats of sealer on it. See, I was going to wait to do the sanding and last 2 coats, because my contractor had additional floor molding to put in.

I wouldn't let the claw issue bother you. The cork sealer gives a lovely semi-matte sheen, and the durodesign people provide small bottles of the waterbased stain, which makes the scratches totally disappear. I've found that where the kitties do their craziest running-at-light-speed-and-skidding to a stop, once I apply the stain to the area (with the high-tech applicator -- a kleenex) it's all gone.

Personally, I prefer finishes that are repairable invisibly, rather than ones that are supposed to be scratch-proof, and then fail, and then can't be fixed invisibly.

I'll see if I can find some installation pictures if you'd like. I think I actually took pains to document the process, unlike most of the kitchen remodel, which has been a blur for more than a year.

I'm jealous. I remember walking into an expo and falling in love with cork floors. How comfy on feet!

Those floors are beautiful! Thanks for posting the pictures. I would love to try walking on them; I bet they feel great.

Would you help me think through the rationale for how much of a kitchen floor to tile? We are renovating the kitchen in our "forever" house (barring the UNFORESEEN...). Top-quality cabinets and an island are going in. An Aga range is already in place and can't/won't be moved during the renovation: we'll work around it. The refrigerator has "feet", so one can see a little bit under it. Although I don't foresee moving or changing cabinetry, a part of me (the anal part?) feels as though the chosen flooring should extend throughout -- even if one can't see it, one will know it is there, like a Ziegfield girl's fancy underwear....Stupid, no?

Here's the question: should cork flooring be installed before the cabinetry and extend underneath it? Or is that just begging for heartbreak on the day the cabinetry is installed and someone drops a heavy/sharp tool? Thanks for your opinions.
Lynn

We installed our range and fridge on 1/2" wood, painted to match the cork floor. I knew that they would sink into the cork. My cork is 1/2" thick, thus the 1/2" wood.

We put the cork in after. I also put the cork around the island rather than under it--I had fears that it would sink into the cork also and look odd. Would this have happened? I don't know but there was no reason to find out!

Mine are the planks, floating floor. Each plank is about 3' long.

Our cork floor went in after the cabinets were done. Our frig will someday sit on cork floor that has the planks that I didn't like as much.

It is better to put it after because for ours we needed to allow .5" for expansion all the way around and that is being covered up by the toekick pieces.

We also have the floating floor planks that are about 3' long in a pattern called Santos matte from US Floors. It is great because not only does it go with our color palette but it is great on hiding dirt. And it is soooo much nicer to walk on than our previous tile floor was! :))

Your floors are beautiful! My cork is in the basement waiting to be installed. One question -- did you (or do you) plan to put additional sealer on top? I forget what brand our floors are, but they are floating planks.

Thanks

We didn't seal ours, since they are floating I would be afraid that the sealer could crack if they move. Also, mine are from US Floors and they are triple sealed, including the tongue & grooves.

The manufacturer didn't recommend it and I'm not one to mess with the warranty "rules".

Looks great...thanks for posting pics!

earth_pal - can you post a pic of your cork flooring too?

I really like the idea of a cork floor but i don't like spots. don't want a busy looking floor - it all looks busy to me when I look up cork online. spots everywhere. If i were looking for a dark floor it'd probably hide the spots. I can't go with a dark floor tho.

gorgeous!!

absolutely positively completely in love with my cork.
I also got durodesign and they do recomend sealing. in fact you get the sealing stuff when you buy the cork.
I got the glue down since they said it is the one to use in a kitchen and went with it wall to wall. On hindsight if i did this sort of thing again i would do it after the cabinets were in but under the appliances

easy to install and easy to seal wonderful under the feet

I did a simple style as the room is small.
Baltico in August brown, using the 12 x 24' tiles

and the obligatory cat inspection

We just had cork installed in kitchen/dining/studio areas in our new custom home. I'm in love with the softness already and we won't be moving for abut a month. Any hints/tips on cleaning?

I hate to be the only naysayer in the bunch, but I used over 1000 sq ft (can't quite remember) of cork in my new home about four years ago. I used it in my basement and granted it probably has saved my children's lives a few times when they fell and bumped their heads (VS. the ceramic tile my husband wanted to use), but it has not held up well.

It is resilient if something is just dropped on it or has just been allowed to sit on it. But my kids are kids and I have gouges all over the place. Big gouges. They are not repairable, from my research. My cork is a light color, and shows the gouges.

Perhaps the dark colors will not show the gouges, or perhaps those of you without young kids will fare better.

I have been trying to find out if there is some kind of repair kit for the gouges that I can use and then apply a coat of Poly. I would have this done professionally. My cork was expensive, but I was sold on it. Planks (floating floor), laid over a membrane. Can be used below grade.

On the positive side it is soft, warm and beautiful. My color is the marabelle in the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Natural Cork

I love the look of the cork in all of these photos! I have hardwood flooring in most of my living areas, (inc kitchen), tile in bathrooms and carpet in the bedrooms.

We have a finished basement with a small kitchen area, rec room and guest bedroom. It was originally finished with a commercial grade carpet, but a leaky water pipe from the hot water tank flooded the basement last year and we've not yet replaced all of the soggy carpet we had to remove. We've tiled the basement bathroom and kitchen area, but one contractor suggested putting down cork flooring in the rec room and bedroom area. I love the idea, but am a little leary after reading about the gouging. Our kids are adults, but we now have grandchildren who visit.

Any other thoughts?