Karen, it has been my experience that any floor with a 15 yr warranty is not top-of-the line. So, I'm not surprised you are having doubts.

A floor with a 15 yr warranty is not much more than a upper-end builder grade. When it comes to flooring you get what you pay for. Companies like LL, lowes, home depot and many internet companies push these low-end floors to the consumer knowing the consumer will have no real recourse should the floor fail before the warranty expires.

I have not pulled spec on Natual Cork, but most likely your cork has minimum layers of finish. Nothing you can do about it now. Use the floor until it ugly's out then next time try to purchase a better quality floor.

Hi Karen,

Is it Natural Cork brand?, or just natural cork? I thought Natural Cork was supposed to be one of the better brands of cork flooring. Don't know for sure. It was one of the brands I looked at but ended up going with Qu-Cork. It isn't in yet, but I'm about to have about 1000 sq ft installed, but it will be in my theatre room, master bedroom & closet, and the two spare bedrooms. You kind of have to take the warranty with a grain of salt, too. I also looked at Wicander, supposedly one of the top brands. It's wear through warranty says that you have to have "100% wear through on 5% of the installed surface" Qu-Cork has a lifetime structural warranty & 5 year finish wear through warranty. One thing I know for sure is that cork doesn't like to get wet, so if it's in your kitchen (or anywhere else for that matter) , make sure you wipe up any water immediately, use a rug in front of your main work area (no rubber backings!) etc.

Hi,

Thanks for your response. My cork floor was installed in the kitchen at the end of April and I moved in May 1st. I'm single, don't wear high heels and am very careful to wipe up any water spilled on the cork immediately.

About 2 weeks ago, I used the recommended cleaner and polish. The finish on the cork seems to be worse since then (cracking and ripping). When I called the Natural Cork technical Assistance, they told me to go thru the dealer where I bought the cork and file a claim.

When the cork was installed, I debated whether to add a coat of water based polyurethane. But no where in the installation or maintenance directions did Natural Cork recommend doing that. As I was afraid I'd void the warranty if I did add the polyurethane, I didn't put a coat or 2 on. Now, I regret that I didn't put the polyurethane as the cork doesn't seem to be wearing well.

I love the feel of cork and love the way it looks in my kitchen. I'm just disappointed the floor doesn't seem like it will last. Any suggestions?

twobengalsandme, I have a mat down in front of the sink and dishwasher. It is a microfiber rug with a light rubber backing that I got at BB&B. Why is this light rubber backing bad for my cork floor? It's not a sticky type of adhesion. Is it still bad?

Thanks for your comments and help!

Karen

Karen you really need to get your dealer out to inspect the floor. If you are following the mfg directions then your floor should be checked.

I want to add, if your dealer chooses to call in a factory rep. that could take weeks and is normal. Factory Reps cover a large territory, sometimes several states. They try to make the rounds every 5-6 weeks, so don't get alarmed should it take that long before he can look at your floor. You will need to work with him on his schedule. Good Luck and keep us informed.

Hi al horses,

Thanks for your support and very good advice. I'll post any further action.

Thanks again!

Karen

Sorry for your problem. Sounds like a manufacturing defect. I installed Natural Cork planks in our kitchen in March, 2007. To date we have not experienced any wear surface problems. I made many, many end and edge cuts on planks due to the configuration of our kitchen (center island and angled cabs and pantry) but didn't experience top layer separations one would expect if the top layer was not bonded properly. The factory finish is 3 coats of UV-curable oil.

Thanks azbound! I'm just waiting until the floors are really bad (as in undisputable) before I file a claim. I think you are right that it is a manufacturing defect because the floors would never survive 5 years let alone 15 years.

I can't believe it has 3 coats of UV-curable oil. My floors are cracking and peeling in spots. They were just installed at the end of April and I'll be lucky if they last a year. Even though I put felt tips on my kitchen chairs (the kind you buy at Lowes/HD that stick on), I still have dents in my floor where I sat in the chair. And I'm not that heavy! Although I could stand to lose about 15 lbs.!

Do you have any tips for managing cork in the kitchen???

Karen

I also didn't put a poly coat on after installation. As you do we wipe up water spills quickly. I use a wetjet damp mob but use Pledge multifloor cleaner rather than the wetjet stuff which leaves streaks. The Pledge leaves a bit of a streak but is not too noticable.

Thanks for your comments azbound! I'll look into that Pledge multifloor cleaner and hopefully it will make my floor look beautiful again!

Karen