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Cork Flooring durability thoughts

4 years ago

I'm getting my upstairs (2 bedrooms and an office, plus hallway, 550 sqft) done in "wood" (removing the carpet). I'm debating between getting an engineered bamboo (or solid, why are the prices similar), versus getting cork. I've been looking at the Cali Bamboo planks. I'm interested in the flooring being sustainable, low chemicals aka no vinyl, and floating( not glue down), but also price conscious. (https://www.calibamboo.com/product-el-natural-quiet-cork-flooring-7807000200.html)


I have never seen a cork floor so I'm having a hard time imaging it, and it's upkeep and normal wear. I'm trying to think of what I expect the floor to look like in 10 years. I have no kids or pets. When I read about cork, I hear chairs can cause abrasion marks, removing the coating. I've heard about cork floors having flaking which is part of wear. The sample does seem soft, like I can mark it with a spoon, both lines/dents and sliding spoon gives it an abrasion/lifting pattern. I've heard of paint filler products for scratches, but not sure how to find those online. Will my bed legs or couch legs put permanent indentations in the cork? Does one put plastic floor mat under their office chair wheels? Their product has 15yr warranty.


Anyone with a cork flooring, can you tell me about your experience and it's durability? Possible a picture of what cork floor flaking looks like (I've tried google and no photos come up). If I drop dye or stain on the floor, will it color the floor, or is the coating strong enough that nothing goes through.

Comments (5)

  • 4 years ago

    I'm a cork expert. Seeing all your questions tells me you might not be ready for cork. Only 1% of homes or spaces have cork...world wide.


    That means 1% of people are OK with cork. I do not wish to be rude. Please don't take it that way. I'm trying to let you know that you are not alone....99% of people are in the same boat. And that's OK. Please be OK with being you.


    Because I know massive amounts about this one, quirky, odd, funky hardwood (haha yes cork ranks as hardwood...weird right? Love it!).


    To answer your colour question...the colour you install (the creamy yellow) will turn WHITER! Look to the whitest colour on that page. That's the colour you will end up with over time. If you are OK with that ONE issue...you 'might' make it as a cork owner.


    But based on all of your concerns it would take a 2-hour phone consult with me (just as a for instance) to bring you down off the ledge. As a sales person AND technical support, I would fully expect a "complaint" of some sort from you (again..this is just an example) inside of 1 month. Not because the product is "bad" but because your acceptance of the material's quirks has not occurred.


    I love my cork! I adore it! I am passionate about it! It hurts my heart to see a homeowner tear out a perfectly good cork floor because the owner didn't understand what they were buying.


    If it scares you today, you probably won't like it tomorrow. And that's OK. You need to do you. Because cork won't change. Only the owner's expectations can change. It is often too much for most people to change that much.


    Please be OK with that.There is nothing wrong with you being you.

  • 4 years ago

    How do i see pictures of cork floors with wear. Are there photos somewhere? It sounds like your saying I need to manage expectations, and I want to too. I just need more specific examples of what to expect. Googling for photos and info is not showing info, and that makes sense if its a 1% install rate, and I can only read reviews of pissed off people. I want to know if the floor can last 10 years, because I don't have money to buy a new floor, and a 15year warrenty implies it may not "last" but I dont know what that looks like.

    As to a white floor, I want a white floor and am surprised there are barely any options in laminate or eng hardwoood or hardwood. I've given up hope of find a white floor. (do people just paint their wood themselves?) I dont get directly sunlight upstairs, but if i could get cork to go white, that would be a positive.

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Assume the %of people pissed off are the 99%. I'm one of the 1%.

    You need to know that it takes WORK to get a cork floating floor to reach 25-30 years. The 1st cork floating floor came out in 1990's. That means the 25 year warranties are Just ending.

    If you expect 10 years out of a 25 year floor you should be fine...but you must add in the work. Must! No opt out clause there.

    If you want to see very white cork then check out www.icorkfloor.com

    They have plenty. Anne is a great sales person who knows even more than I do. Give her a call.

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    Hello! We are happy to hear you are considering using our new line of CALI cork. We completely understand your hesitation over the product. It's hard to really fall in love with something when there isn't many photos or information out there to go by. When it comes to care and maintenance, we have a guide up on our site: (https://www.calibamboo.com/content/installation/care_maintenance/cali_cork_flooring_%20care_and_maintenance.pdf ) This goes over everything you need to do in regards to caring and maintaining your floor. I recommend you read through it as this will give you a better sense of what life with cork floor would be like.


    We actually used to sell Cork a couple of years back. Before launching our new line last month we did a survey with our previous cork buyers and a little over 75% of buyers said they would purchase cork again for their home. Here's a screenshot from our survey.


    Also, not sure if this will help your search, but you can click here to see a testimonial one of our customers did back in 2016 about their cork floor.


    Before you make the purchase, we do encourage you to talk to one of our product experts. They will be more than happy to address any questions or concerns you may have. At the end of the day, we want you to feel confident with your purchase and will do all that we can to make this as easy as possible for you. Feel free to give us a call at 1(888) 788-2254.


    Hope this helps! :)

  • 4 years ago

    Now that I'm on a key board and not a tablet, let me explain what is needed to keep cork flooring going for 25 years.


    I will work with the 'traditional cork polyurethane finish' that I used to sell (I'm no longer in the flooring business...but still keep my fingers in the pie because flooring is a fascinating business).


    The traditional polyurethane (not polyacrylic or acrylic or PVC finish...yes...that's vinyl) finish is the one that requires refreshing of the finish ... a couple of times. And it is the finish that ACCEPTS more finish as it ages...the others mentioned above DO NOT (booooo! hissssss!).


    Icork Floor's cork have this type of finish so I'll use the WHITEST floor they have = White Bamboo 1/2" cork floating flooring White Floor - White Bamboo - 12mm Floating Flooring (icorkfloor.com)


    Ok...you've purchased this CRISP WHITE cork floor. It has been delivered to your home. It is sitting in your living room (or den) acclimating for 1 week or so. Excellent.


    You pay a WOOD flooring professional to install it (not a laminate guy...they won't know how to do the finish) for $2.50 - $3.50/sf. It is a snick more expensive than laminate because cork requires SLOW and EASY install. It requires a 'deft touch'. You cannot slam a cork floor together....the edges will puff up and look like 'lippage' = 100% installer error = 100% p!ssed off customer!


    Excellent! Floor is in and looks DAZZLINGLY WHITE. You will have noticed the white is ONLY SKIN DEEP! That skin is delicate. Which is why I SERIOUSLY RECOMMEND (ahem...demand is the correct term but customers get 'uppity' when I use it in a conversation) the TWO COATS of the super-tough Loba 2K Supra AT finish to be applied AFTER the floor has been installed.


    These are the prices for WINTER shipping. Costs of product/shipping DROP for summer time:

    Water Based Polyurethane for cork flooring and cork tiles. (icorkfloor.com)


    Anyho. Your WOOD PROFESSIONAL will go ahead and clean the floor (vacuum and lightly damp tack cloth...water only). Then the pro will let the floor dry. Then a LIGHT buffing (high grit sanding pole = SUPER FAST = SUPER CHEAP!) and then vacuum/tack cloth again.


    Floor dries again (probably the next day). Now the pro mixes the two part polyurethane and applies it over the cork floor. They can use a low-nap roller or a T-bar. Whichever the pro feels comfortable using with the size of floor infront of them. Single rooms do VERY well with a roller.


    The first coat of finish is allowed to dry x6 hours and then the SECOND AND FINAL coat is applied. Pro leaves....you pay him/her for their services. They WILL charge $1/sf for the two coats of finish....be OK with that!


    The floor is allowed to cure for 5 days. After that you do what you want with it. Do not install rugs for the first 6 months....cork LOVES to fade so let it do it!.


    First 'damp' cleaning = 14 - 25 days after the last coat of finish is applied. You will follow 'hardwood floor cleaning' guidelines for polyurethane finishes. Loba has a great cleaner. Feel free to purchase it.


    Now you have a very tough floor ready for your life on it.


    'Dimples' are what other people call 'dents'. A dimple is like your face dimple. It can go away!!!! Yep. If you have a heavy chair sitting on the cork it will cause a small indent = NOT PERMANENT. It will take time for it to 'pop' back. If that's not something you like, then go ahead and 'warm' out the dimple. You soak a cloth in 'hot tap water' = as hot as you can hold in your hand...if it causes burns on YOUR skin then do NOT apply it to cork...common sense rules here.


    Apply the hot wet cloth to the dimple. Let it sit until it goes cold. Inspect the dimple. If some of it still exists simply repeat. Cork does not crush. It CONDENSES and then SPRINGS BACK. That's the 'dents' taken care of.


    Now onto scrapes that have BREACHED the white coating (ie. showing raw/gold cork underneath). That takes a HUGE amount of effort to do this. Like dragging a refrigerator across your floor. Number #1...don't do that. Number #2...use glides under heavy pieces.


    If it HAPPENS that you scrape back finish to expose the raw cork...find the 'scraped' bit and see if it fits back into the spot (like a chunk is missing...go find the chunk and fit it back in). If it does then GREAT!


    To 'patch' cork you need the CORK bit that fell out (or was VIOLENTLY RIPPED OUT...to be more accurate) and some 'Elmer's Wood Glue' ($2.97 at Home Depot). Simply glue that bit back in. I like to use a bit of wax paper to sit over top and a 'shoe' to hold the chunk in place for 24 hours. A brick works. A book works...whatever you have on hand to hold the glued bit in place for 24 hours. I don't care. Use your imagination.


    If you scrape past the colour (again...someone has to be figure skating on your cork to get this to happen...shame on them!) then you simply take a bit of 'white latex paint" and paint over the the missing colour.


    If you have a stained cork (like it is dark brown) then use a stain pen ($5 at Home Depot) that most closely resembles the colour of your cork. Permanent markers work as well.


    If you have some left over poly (it is only good for 1 year in the can) then drop a bit on there...if you don't then don't worry about it. You will get it next time.


    After about 7 years, you will feel you want your cork to 'perk up' a bit. Great. Add ONE MORE coat of polyurethane and you should be 'done' with protecting it. With three coats of Loba 2K Supra AT on there and you should NOT have to do it again. I'm serious. You will have coated that floor in SOOOO MUCH ceramic nano-beads you would need a chisel to do any more damage.


    That's it. That's cork.