Start at the beginning:

1. How old is the house? Is this an addition?

2. Is the slab at, below or above grade (grade = level of the ground)?

3. Is this a CONDO slab? If so what level?

4. Is there anything on the concrete RIGHT NOW?

5. Are you prepared to pay for the worst case scenario ($5 - $7/sf for sealing AND prep)?

Hi SJ:

1. 30 years

2. I imagine at or above grade

3. condo slab, 1st /entry floor

4. Now on slab: vinyl, carpet, tile in different places

5. weighing my budget choices

This is a condo so the slab may or may not be sealed. Are you over the garage? Or are you at ground level?

I'm guessing the vinyl is in the bathrooms, the tile is in the kitchen/entrance and the carpet is everywhere else.

Carpet breathes. It allows plenty of moisture to move through it freely. This means it is hard to tell if the slab is 'wet' or not. Commercial sized buildings (such as shops, warehouses and some condo buildings) rarely have moisture barriers underneath the concrete slab.

To add any rigid surface over the carpeted areas (we call this 'capping') you may just cause moisture issues that you never knew existed (because there is carpet).

And once more, many Condo/HOA boards require the first floor to have the same acoustic insulation (must match the flooring being removed = carpet) as the upper floors. This keeps everyone on the same page/cost. If they don't then the tenants get scrappy and start to snipe at each other.

If the building is 30 years old, that means it was built in 1990. You have a good chance of a moisture barrier but your local building codes will dictate that.

If you glue down hardwood over concrete slab, be prepared to spend $3/sf on the moisture proof glue and $3 - $4/sf on the labour. Cost of the wood is extra.

Is moisture proof glue enough or do you also need a sheet underlayment moisture barrier or vapor barrier? Are you a flooring person?

I'm a cork flooring specialist. I have sold glue down cork floors for years...as well as floating cork (click together 'laminate style').

No one can tell you if the moisture resistant glue your INSTALLER chooses is 'good enough'. Sorry but that's the truth. It takes plenty of testing (high-end wood flooring company to do it all for you) to find out what *might work.

It is difficult to find a 'glue down' underlay that can have hardwood glued to it. I believe QuietWalk has one (add another $1/sf) but then you have to double the cost of the glue.

I know you want to use real hardwood. I know you want to stay away from anything fake. I get that. I would love to be able to point you in the right direction. I just can't do that in your situation.

Anytime you glue wood to concrete on grade (at ground level) you run the risk of moisture causing full flooring failure.

Ideally a floating hardwood is where you get away with this type of install. Your budget is going to minimize your choices. Engineered hardwood floors are most likely to be floated. You can find the engineered hardwoods in the narrow strip for roughly your budget.

In the case of a floating hardwood, you can install a very cheap/effective vapour barrier underneath. The wood is then floated over that.

I will warn you about one thing: carpet hides the WORST subfloors in the world. Be prepared to spend as much as $3/sf for subfloor grinding/filling. I know. That takes the breath from your lungs. When it comes to 'nasty' concrete we've seen numbers touching $5/sf for prep (that's SUPER BAD...like crumbling in front of your eyes type of bad). The average cost to prepare concrete slabs is $2-$3/sf.

SJ McCarthy - Hi there. You seem to be a wealth of knowledge about floors. I noticed you said you are a cork flooring specialist. I keep going back and forth on whether to do cork floors or not. My biggest fear with them is durability because they would be going in a vacation rental (on our property). We love the look and like the insulating benefits cause we are going over a concrete slab. We are considering the Torlys brand. Would this be a big mistake in our situation? Any advice you had would be so appreciated it. Thanks! Angela

@A K

The TOUGH Torlys finishes (the ones that are $9-$12/sf) are just fine. Cork can be VERY tough...you just have to:

A) BUY it that way;

or

B) MAKE it that way!

Here's the 'price guide' link from Torlys.com

TORLYS Canadian MSRP Price Range Guide - TORLYS Blog

Regular polyurethane (or polyacrylic or urethane or acrylic) finishes are OK...for a family that loves it's cork and is respectful of the product. That rules out 'rental' situations. That means 'off the shelf' stuff is going to be problematic (Lowe's, HD, Costco, LL, etc).

The Torlys brand with the SMART wear layer is KNOWN for it's toughness. Here's a link to the product (ignore the photo) that I'm talking about.

Florence Designer | TORLYS Homeowner

Now that price is STAGGERING! The $10+ per square foot is tough to swallow. I know. I've competed against Torlys for years. What I can tell you is you can 'create' or MAKE your own super tough finish. How? Easy. You do a bit more 'work' and put down a finish over a *decent factory finish.

Here's what I'm talking about.

1. Find a factory finish (the cork specialty companies do this ALL the time) that will ACCEPT 2 coats of 'finish' once it's been installed.

2. Apply 2 coats of Loba 2K Supra AT (I like satin...it's really pretty and VERY grippy and VERY forgiving re: scratches, etc) over the newly installed cork floor.

3. Allow to cure for 5-10 days and you have a SUPER TOUGH cork floor that will stand up to any rental situation you can think of.

I know...it sounds like work but it is WORTH it.

Let's look at the price difference:

Torlys Florence Designer = $12/sf (guestimate...depends on what country you are in)

Installation price = $3/sf

total = $15/sf

CorkArt cork = $4.50/sf (depends on country, shipping)

Loba 2K Supra AT cost = $1.50/sf (that is TWO coats of product)

Installation cost = $3/sf

'Application Cost' = $1/sf

Total = $10/sf

Wow! That's $5/sf of SAVINGS. And if you apply the finish YOURSELVES (it is easier than you think...homeowners do the BEST job...just sayin') you save another $1/sf.

@SJ McCarthy Wow!! Thank you! This is easily the best info I have received about cork and it really helps with my decision. I was looking at the Florence designer, but I also have samples from Cancork. I'm on the west coast in Canada. We are definitely the DIY types, so we can do the install and finishing. I have one more question, can we also put down a cork underlay for added insulating benefits? Thanks again for your excellent advice!

Yes you are as much cork as you want.

I'm in Delta BC....where are you?

Ok cool. I'm in Powell River on the sunshine coast. :)

Excellent. Powell River is difficult/expensive to get flooring to (for Cancork) BUT there is a great way to save money - Pick-it up at the ACE Courier depot in Courtenay BC. ACE is SUPER CHEAP to get it to the Island. If you have the ability (ahem...a truck) you can save yourself hundreds of dollars in shipping just by picking up the skid in Courtenay.

So long as the product is in stock when you order, it will arrive in Courtenay 2 days later (business days) for pick-up.

Just a thought.

Which samples have you received from Cancork?

@SJ McCarthy I seriously owe you a beer or some wine!! We do have a truck, just a Toyota Tacoma though. I think it can only carry 700lbs in the back. So have to see how much a skid weighs. These are the samples I got:

Leather 1/2" (12mm) Cork Floating Flooring Sample

Latte 11mm 7/16" Design Cork Flooring Sample

Logan 1/2" (12mm) Cork Floating Flooring Sample

Any thoughts on those?

Leather is the most 'recognizable' pattern for cork (other than the ground up cork board look). When it is laid it looks like hardwood flooring using 'shorts'. It has a bit of a brick look to it. Ignore the 'pink' in the samples. The pink is the very first colour to fade away. It takes a few months for the pink to disappear but once it is gone the cork (Leather and Logan) will look more like oak in tone (yellowish with some hints of green and some gray). It is a 'directional pattern' which means it has a 'linear' sense to it.

The Logan is the most expensive cork pattern you can get. The slices of pattern are random. They are hand cut and hand laid. It takes *roughly an hour for 1 person to arrange 10sf of the pattern. It is STUNNING. It looks more like stone. It is random...did I mention the pattern is random?

Leather and Logan can have the extra 2 coats of the Loba 2K Supra AT = super tough.

The Latte is a FANTASTICLY tough finish. It has the polypropylene finish on it. This is the 'non-vinyl' product Cancork sells. It is tough....right after that it is SUPER TOUGH. And then for good measure, it is TOUGH!!!

For a Rental property, the Latte is a product I would recommend. It does NOT need the Loba product. That means you save $1.50/sf RIGHT AWAY. It can handle 3mm or 6mm cork underlay. If you are looking for temperature control, then I like the 6mm underneath...but CHECK your door heights, etc. All you need to do is take your floor sample and the underlay sample they sent you (their supposed to do that...sigh) and see if it 'slips' underneath the doors in your home. It is that simple.

I hope that helps...

As for the Tacoma...I'm guessing you are looking at KILOGRAMS (700 kg) as your weight limit = 1540 lbs.

The weight of a standard skid of cork flooring = 1000sf (ish...depends on the product) = *roughly 2000 lbs. And the skid sizes are PERFECT to fit between the wheel wells of a truck bed. I've watched this stuff get loaded into pick-up trucks for 6+ years. A forklift operator can drop that baby into your truck (so long as you do NOT have a 'cap-it') and off you go.

If you only have a short way to go, the 2000 lbs won't be much of a problem...I just wouldn't do a trip to Bella Coola with it. ;-)

Um yeah...it helps!! haha. Yeah you're right, 700kg is what I meant. So from what I gather you recommend the Cancork product then? I don't know how it compares in price to Torlys but I assume it's cheaper. I would definitely go with it if it's a good product.

Does the Latte product still have the feel of cork? Softer, warmer?

The Latte product does NOT feel like cork. It is harder. Polypropylene (pp) = plastic (as opposed to vinyl = PVC). Your water bottles are made out of pp. The warmth is still there because of the amount of cork on the plank. You will see this once you receive your samples.

The Torlys product lists at $$$$$$$$ = $12+ per square feet. Yep...$12/sf.

The Cancork stuff TOPS OUT at $4.99/sf. Just sayin'.

The real cork products (Leather, Logan, etc) can be coated in the Loba. If you add two coats of Loba you add $1.50/sf...so long as you do the coating yourself.

Cost of shipping = $250 to Courtenay BC.

So you have $4.50(ish) + $1.50 = $6.00/sf

Shipping = $250 (ish)

With the 12mm plank you do not need underlay...it is an AWESOME product. You are in Powell River BC, not Peace River BC. The temperatures in Powell R. are not as extreme as I've seen.

If you want, you can go with 3mm cork underlay and you will have a total of 9mm (1/4" total) cork...that's HUGE. Compare that to the 4mm TOTAL cork from Torlys. The Cancork Leather 12mm + 3mm uncerlay DOUBLES your total cork from Torlys. For less than HALF the price.

Cool! You've got me so excited about Cork again! I was swayed by some negative online comments but I really love the look and feel of cork. I may even do some cork walls. We're trying to evoke a real natural feeling with the interior.

I know you said that you recommend Latte for a rental, but do you think we could still be happy with the Logan and two coats of Loba, if we're diligent with maintenance? We wont have full time tenants and will be choosey with who we rent to. I just love the look of the logan and leather ones.

You should be fine. The beauty of the natural cork patterns/colours is they are SUPER easy to patch/repair. Damage can be easily patched. I've done it myself a 1/2 dozen times. It takes an Exact-o knife, Elmer's wood glue and some extra 'off-cuts' of cork that can be used to harvest the pattern from.

Amazing! I think the benefits of cork far outweigh the negatives so I cant wait to get home and see the cancork samples awaiting me. If I may ask you one more question...we are putting this flooring in our coach house and from what I've read you shouldn't use cork in the bathroom. Because the space is relatively small, it would be amazing to only have one type of flooring throughout. Is that possible at all with this kind of cork flooring? I assume it's not, and if so, what would you recommend we do in the bathroom? ps..you're the best!

You are allowed to use the GLUE down tiles in the bathroom. It is the FLOATING floor that is not allowed (because it sits on fibreboard = not allowed in high-humidity of a bathroom).

Logan and leather both have glue down cork tiles. You will need a transition strip and a floor-height raise in the bathroom to get the floors level, but other than that, it is pretty easy.

You will need some water based contact cement adhesive (LePage Low Odour Contact Cement adhesive for a job LESS THAN 100sf).

Low Odour Contact Cement (lepage.ca)

The polyurethane that is needed for the glue down tiles = same as the floating floor.

See how this works?? It's almost as if they did that on purpose...which they did.

BTW: I am no longer affiliated with Cancork. I used to work there but no longer do. I believe in their product (because I chose most of them). I just wanted you to know how/why I know all of this.

Thank you x 1000! That's so awesome that we can do glue-down in the bathroom. I'm stoked! I figured you had a history with the company because you have such an intimate knowledge of the product - and I'm thankful for it! I was getting so tired of trying to figure out what flooring product to choose.

Thanks again for your generosity and help!