Yes, we have gaps too. I was very upset about it at first.
The company said I could "fill" the gaps with ground up cork and glue but the flooring people said it was too hard or something. They filled some of the larger gaps with wood putty. After they coated it with the clear coating it wasn't as noticeable.

At this point I don't really notice it as much, and at DH's request have decided to look at it as the variation of the way cork is rather than trying to make it look like one solid piece of floor. Our bigger issue is the scratches and dents and indentations that seem to come WAAAAY more easily that I ever thought.

I've noticed the color variation in photos I've seen of cork floors and I've always liked the look. Yours is looking good too!

I don't know but I like it! I mean I like the way it looks if I'm not looking at cracks. I don't know if the color variation is supposed to be there so my uninformed self would see that as feature, not a bug. But if it bothers YOU then it's a problem!

Overall it's gonna be great if you can stand it!

The color variation wouldn't bother me at all; however, the uneven edge seems more of an issue with crumbs or liquid potentially making their way in there unless the seams are tight.

I would call a bunch of other cork tile sellers and ask them about how uniform the sizes are and the edges. Some quick googling hasn't come up with any kind of discussion of non-uniform sizes, so it may not be that common. Then, with that information, I'd call the seller.

I don't think the color variation would bother me that much. You are going to have things (chairs, tables, etc.) on the floor, right? You don't typically look down all the time, or at least you will stop after a while. :) Also, light can cause it to fade anyway. I think it looks kind of interesting with the slight (and it really is fairly slight) variation.

If the cracks can be filled, it might be fine. My hardwood (5" planks) has a few cracks that developed over time. One day I'll get them fixed (maybe), but I ignore them now.

Your floor is gonna be great, Deedles. Even if it's something you can live with, it might be worth a try to get some sort of concession from the dealer, maybe apply to your next purchase?

Well, it looks great!

I think the color is just the nature of cork. All the cork floors I've seen online tend to have that, except for some of the lighter colors. I know that like wood it will fade in sunlight, so learn from my mistake and put some UV film on the windows. I had mine sitting here and was too lazy to put it up, and because my cork is so dark it really shows the color change. My fault, I knew that going in!

The size thing doesn't seem right, I would call them and see what they say. I do have some small gaps, but they look just like the ones in my vinyl tiles in the basement so I'm not worrying about them. I'd like to add a coat of poly to seal over them, but haven't had a change to get to that. I really don't notice them.

Has it set long enough to walk on that part yet? I love how the cork feels. I haven't had any scratching or denting issues other than dropped appliance dents (of course it was the corners that hit). But really, those can dent hardwood too, and the tiles were replaced easily.

I hope you can get some answers. It looks like the floor will be beautiful once it's finished!

"Variations in color, thickness and tile size are natural attributes of cork."

You were told ahead of time.

I don't like the sawdust and polyurethane idea. Use a straight edge and router and clean up every third row or so.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jelinik

Well, I called Jelinik and they were more than accommodating. Said they'd get me a refund or credit or send different tiles.

I said a credit would be good as we need to order more tiles for our entry, so we'll wait until we get through all the boxes to see if all are messed up or what and then go from there.

Her thoughts (said she's never had this complaint before) was that since it was a discontinued tile, that maybe all the lots were put together and that accounts for the difference in size?

She was way nice to talk to contrasted with the local tile lady that yelled at me to shut my mouth and turn on my ears.

So, we'll see how it all plays out.

I have over 2000 sq ft of cork in my basement and had none of these issues on installation.

The brand is Natural Cork. It is 8 yrs old.

They offered you a refund. I would take it and get it somewhere else.

"Her thoughts (said she's never had this complaint before) was that since it was a discontinued tile, that maybe all the lots were put together and that accounts for the difference in size? "

Quite probably ... as the machine that cuts the tiles wears out and blades are changed or sharpened and sizes changed you can get small variations. It's "drifting" out of spec.

A single lot would be made on one cutting machine from one batch of material and the machine would not drift much in that time.

She was way nice to talk to contrasted with the local tile lady that yelled at me to shut my mouth and turn on my ears.

Oh deedles, I hope you didn't let that pass without comment.

If they are offering a refund, I'd be inclined to follow redlover's advice to take it and buy elsewhere...but not from the woman who yelled at you.

Ha, no I didn't let it pass but can now say it wasn't my finest moment as a grown-up. Oh well :/

The other stuff I want to buy I've only found with them... it's this cork mosaic tile that is grouted in so this type of thing wouldn't be a problem. If they really do compensate us for this tile, I would be happy to order this other stuff from them, I think.

I'm going with glue down cork too and from the zillion of same colored samples I have, the color is not uniform throughout. That doesn't bother me as much as tiles not being square would. It's a nice pattern anyways and you'll be getting a credit, so it's a win-win.

I am really going to miss your posts when your kitchen is done. Thought I better amend this statement. I am truly sorry you're having problems with the floor tiles and I hope you get a satisfying resolution. With all the work you & DH have done, you deserve it. I have read pretty much all your posts. Your approach to decision making and problems is both refreshing & entertaining. Just glad your sharing your renovation on GW.

This post was edited by romy718 on Sat, Nov 16, 13 at 13:50

I like the color variation.

I think that I am too late with this, but....Many years ago, when I installed vinyl floor tiles, they also were not uniform. I was getting very frustrated. My neighbor told me to let them sit in the sun and get very warm, then press them firmly when placing. It really did help match up the edges. I wonder if that would work with cork tiles?

We used fine sawdust from the sanding, mixed with wood glue, to fill in nail holes, gouges and cracks in the wood floor. Then stained and polyed. Worked very well to disguise these areas (although still visible if I look for them). Seemed like a variation of that should work for the gapping seams. I think some people put a top coat of poly on their cork anyway to seal the joints and give extra protection.

mags: Now that the floor is almost done I'm finding that the color variation isn't bothering me like it was when it was just a strip of flooring. It's uniformly, randomly varied now if that makes any sense. The floor guy is now slicing them on a straight edge so at least as the floor progresses into the kitchen, he'll be starting even.

romy: Oh, you are so nice to say that...thank you and please, continue to play along... I'm sure there are more posts as this kitchen gets really moving forward. (Hopefully they'll be of the "I love my ....." instead of " AAHHHHH", type.)

raee: It's understandable how that would work with vinyl... I wonder. Maybe we can set the boxes by the heat vent... it certainly would hurt them at all. What you explained about the sanding and finish coat is exactly what the floor guy suggests doing for exactly the reason you outlined. He thought sanding down some of the leftover tiles into dust and then sweeping that into the cracks with a poly overcoat would be the way to go. So, we're going to do that as I really don't want to risk water getting between the tiles and blahdeblah. As I said above the more tiles that get laid, the less the variation bothers me. I'm really liking the floor a lot and this size thing oughta get us a nice reduction in our entry floor cost, so yeah, win win.