Return to the Kitchens Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
do your cork floors dent?
| | |
Posted by
seaduck (
My Page) on
Sat, Aug 27, 11 at 21:47
| We have just installed new cork floors. They are Durocork, direct glue-down tiles over plywood subfloors. And they look great. We're very pleased.
DH is starting to obsess about denting them. As in: put a sheet of cardboard under the stepladder before standing on it. He recognizes that we're in that early stage keep-it-perfect mode. But still.
I know there are cork floors that have been around for 75 years. I never thought much about this...heard that cork is resilient and if you dent it, the floor will sort of spring back.
What's your experience? Do I need to lug around cardboard or plywood everytime I want to sit on a stool or stand on a stepladder? Do you have dents from furniture, ladders, anything really heavy? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| No dents from furniture yet but if you drop a D cell battery from counter height you are doomed! Don't ask me how I know that. Enjoy your cork and make your first dent soon to get it out of the way. Ne |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| Well, I dropped a paring knife the other day and it landed point down (and point in), but having removed it, I cannot see the problem. Our cork floor is pretty new (March) but, WRT the ladder I'll note this: no dents yet under the legs of the kitchen chairs or tables, so there's that. And we're routinely yelling at one or another kid to stop tilting the chair up on two legs, but no damage yet. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| It was pretty hard for us to dent the floor. We got some samples from the store and took them outside and laid them down on our concrete stoop and let them have it with some large canned goods. The larger cans (like the bigger cans of tomatoes you can get in the grocery) would leave a dent when dropped from counter height. If they hit along an edge you could find a dent. Not a huge deal. Just the faint shape of the rim of the can. That's how we tested prior to purchase. We let the samples really have it. Ne |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| djg and doggone - do you have the thinner glue down tiles or the planks with underlayment attached? |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| I'll be careful with D batteries! But it seems strange that that would be worse than, say chair legs. If you had, say, a 200 pound person sitting in a chair (or a 100 pound kid tilting back!) that would be 50 pounds per leg. Tho the force obviously has something to do with that. I'm curious about ae2ga's question, too. Tho' I'm not sure it would make a difference -- I think the thickness of the cork is similar. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| Seaduck - I asked because I have samples of both, and it seems to me that the tiles were not as tough as the planks (I could cut and break the tiles but not the planks). But I'm looking at samples not a real installed floor which is different. I'm at least a year out form my renovation, so I'm soaking up as much information as possible and learning from others' experiences so that I can make good decisions when the time comes. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| we have the Wicanders cork planks -- multiple layers, with a cork base, a cork veneer, and a protective top coat. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| ae2ga -- This has probably occured to you, but since you're renovating, consider the implications of the extra thickness of the planks. Trace it around the room: will it affect doors/thresholds? Stairs? (Riser heights should all be the same -- if one is different, people will tend to trip or fall.) Any existing appliance/counter heights? Baseboard? I don't worry about the durability of the tiles -- they have been around for decades in very high-traffic areas. I suspect the chief advantage of planks is that they are easier and faster to install. The tiles require really good prep or they will telegraph any globs, bumps, screwheads... You can minimize the effect of that with one of the 'busier' grain patterns. In our case, we were replacing carpet (! yes..original to the house) which was pretty much the same thickness as the tiles. The planks would have been a nightmare -- doors and thresholds, existing cabs and appliances that we were keeping, a stair...plus the look of viewing a 'raised' floor from the adjacent rooms. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| Seaduck - good point. I think I'll be okay because I'll be replacing floors in the whole house; in fact, the entire house will be renovated with new electrical, plumbing, insulation, dry wall, floors, paint, etc. My electrical, plumbing, and insulation are circa 1968 - they've got to go - and the floors are atrocious. Bathrooms will probably be tiled, but everything else - I'm thinking strand woven bamboo or cork (planks), leaning toward cork because it should be softer, has an excellent record of longevity, and it's so pretty. I am worried about cork under appliances and heavy furniture though. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| djg1- can you give me an idea of cost per sq ft for the Wiccanders? Do you know how that might compare to the glue down? |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| We have QCork brand click floor/plank style. I think it really boils down to the percussive forces of the cans and D battery hitting the floor. I'm no physicist but the difference between static and dynamic forces seem to be at work here. The good news is dents are nearly unnoticeable. It's a win-win. Ne |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
Seaduck, we have glue-down tiles -- no dents under table, chair, and stool legs (under which we have applied felt pads). Someone used a ladder in the kitchen that had lost its rubber pad under one leg, and that left a few dents as it was moved around the kitchen -- I don't see them unless I am looking for them. But that sharp metal leg would presumably have marked any floor, and is probably least noticeable on natural cork tiles. No dog toenail marks yet, might have to get a bigger dog.... I agree with doggonegardener: throw some D-cell batteries and cans around so you can get beyond that "new car" feeling.
Lynn |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| I also have Wicanders planks (floating floor) in Tea. I love it!!!! I have a bad back and have had a full knee replacement. I have a very active cat and no scratches on the floor. Also no dents from furniture or dropping anything. Cork flooring has improved tremendously in the past few years. It's very durable. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| Our glue down cork floors have been in for 3 years, and we have no dents. We have kitchen stools that are used often, and they haven't left any dents. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| You've all been wonderful. I'm not going to worry about this...I just need to convince DH not to worry! This will help. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| dianalo -- I'll have to look for the invoice (I found one statement in my email file, but it just had a total price for the flooring plus installation). |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| Thanks, Djg1. I'd appreciate any kind of idea of what to expect. If it spells out your sq footage and a total price, then we can figure the price per sq ft. I'd need it installed too, so might as well hear the full damage, lol.... |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
I read that the cork tiles are better because they are thicker and resist damaging from water etc a bit better.
All must be sealed however, even if sealed at the factory.
The after-installation-sealing will take care of seams as a point of entry for water spills. I really would like to have this installed to replace my kitchen flooring. Is the installation over old flooring a problem?
Anyone? |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| We are gng with Globus Cork glue down tiles. While the click planks can be installed over some existing floors (but are not recommended for kitchens), the glue down tiles need a very well prepared absolutely flat subfloor and cannot be installed over old floors. I think they might be able to go over a stable flat floor if you put a new subfloor on top, but I'm not entirely sure. Globus has a good amount of information on their website if you want to read up a little on install, it's not an area I have expertise in. They have also been very responsive to my email questions if you want to contact them. |
RE: do your cork floors dent?
| | |
| Where can you order Wicanders? Any place to see it in person? Differences between Wicanders and Globus? |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in.
If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Kitchens Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
