I love stephanie's enthusiasm for cork. I am also a fan, but I don't have nearly her expertise. We have had cork in our kitchen for almost 20 years now. We have a couple of coats of white stain on ours. It does look stained rather than a solid coat of white and I really like the look, I love how soft it is and I love how it goes with the hardwood floors in our 110 year old home. I especially love how our kids heads used to bounce off of it when they were learning to walk and fell constantly.

Ours is glue down. We originally had it installed about 2001. Seven years ago, we had a house fire and the pipes above the kitchen broke. Water rained down on the floor for hours. Once things dried out it looked fine and we considered keeping it, however, the insurance co. decided the subfloor was probably compromised even if the cork seemed okay. We went with glue down cork again.

When the original cork was maybe 8 years old, I sanded it lightly and revarnished it myself. It was very easy. I should do it again, but it still looks fine so I put it off.

If you can dig up posts from roughly 18 years ago you will find lots of information on cork! It was the "darling" of that era and everyone was putting them in. The current "darling" of the flooring world is now LVP.

Myself, I prefer to use hardwood (site finished first choice and engineered second) and tile.

@SJ McCarthy I would love to put white glue down cork tiles in my new kitchen but the process looks like it involves an experienced, skilled installer. Do you know of any in the Philadelphia area? (sorry for the hijack.)

@cheri127 White cork is a beautiful product. Just remember the colour is only skin deep. Like paint on black velvet. This is a negative for some...but a boon for others.

Remember: white floors (of ANY description) show dirt, spaghetti sauce, coffee spills, red wine, etc very very well. I don't care if it is perfect porcelain or creamed cork, both show off DARK stuff very very well.

That's the ONE thing you need to know about white floors. Now a cork glue down tile is a specialty item...but anyone competent with CONTACT CEMENT adhesive can put down cork. I've walked 80+ year old grandmas through the process (sure, they've lived off the grid for 30 years so they have some sense of 'get 'er done' attitude/aptitude).

So long as you have SOMEONE who can READ instructions and who can PREPARE a subfloor (properly!!!!!!!) you can find someone who can install cork. Again, be prepared to have them work on the floor for 3 days...kinda like tile but not quite. More like marble.

Do you have a link to your favourite 'white' cork? I'll have a look and tell you the process.

Is white cork a bad idea longterm? Does the color peel off, like paint?

@Michelle King Lindsey A white floor is something you must be able to live with. As I pointed out in my post above yours, white is picky. It is picky...tricky...and finicky. So long as YOU the homeowner can HANDLE white, you are welcome to work with white anything.

White cork is a white floor with a softer surface underneath. The cork (show me the product you are looking at and I will investigate it for you) QUALITY will tell you if it 'peels'. Traditionally cork finishes do NOT peel...although some VERY TALENTED homeowners (sigh...tongue FIRMLY in cheek!) have managed to do it. Don't ask. It's VERY traumatic for me.

To be clear, I'm a cork flooring expert who has moved on to other things. I have NO affiliation with anyone. But I do have an affiliation with cork. I LOVE cork. Love it! I like natural cork because I LOVE how it lightens and brightens in sunlight/UV lighting. Love it.

I also like Scandinavian Modern = light oak floors, white walls, glass, chrome and LOTS of colourful art/furniture. That's me. A white floor does not come into play in my personal tastes...but for many people they REALLY want white. And they PAY for white every time something hits the floor.

Question to ask yourself BEFORE you do a white floor: Are you ready, willing and HAPPY to be a slave to your floors? If so...go ahead and purchase whatever version of white you want....cork or otherwise.

Go ahead and list the link to the brand you are hoping to work with. I'll check it out and see if it has any concerns with the finish.

I would so appappreciate any help choosing a good brand of cork flooring! I would love to have grey or black and white diamond up against my 100 year old floor in the livingroom. So it would maybe complement but not match. It seems Globus in Alabaster and cement grey? Are they the only company with colored tiles?

@Michelle King Lindsey You will need a glue down cork tile to get the checker/diamond pattern. That is a SERIOUS investment. I always estimate a glue down cork (especially in a pattern) is going to cost the same as a HIGH END PORCELAIN tile...once all the bills are paid. At the end of the project, with demolition & subfloor prep & tiles & finish & labour, I would expect to see a final bill of $12/sf (very low cost of living in the USA = 10 miles from the Mexican border) to $18/sf (regular Canadian City) or even $25/sf (Manhattan or Toronto high-rise).

Globus is an outstanding company. The other company I like for this specialty stuff = DuroDesign cork. They are in Laval Quebec (Canada). I've worked with them on a joint project. They are super knowledgeable and SUPER helpful. I'm guessing Globus will also be as enthusiastic as DuroDesign. When you are 'into cork' you are INTO cork! It's a disease...sigh.

Cork Flooring | DuroDesign (duro-design.com)

Go ahead and follow the link. The process for Duro Design is the same as with Globus. You pick your tile size and your colours. You then put into touch with someone local who can/will install the product for you. They do all the work for Globus/DuroDesign. If there is no one local, Globus/Durodesign will send a team (all part and parcel of that HEALTHY purchase price) to install the floor and to apply 1-3 coats of finish over it.

It takes an absolute IDIOT to 'kill' a Globus or Durodesign floor. I've seen it. It isn't pretty. The care/maintenance instructions on the website were too much for them to read. So they killed a $25,000 cork floor in 7 years. I'm still in therapy.

Let's just say the DAILY STEAM CLEANING is NOT good for cork...or wood...or stone...or laminate or vinyl or drywall or concrete...even porcelain has issues with it after 7 years. Grout HATES the over-use of steam. In other words OVER CLEANING is WORSE than not cleaning.

Homeowner: Know Thyself.

Thanks! I have never removated anything! Ha! I will go check it out. maybe the floating planks are better-

IF you want one colour, you can go with floating flooring. If you want the checker board, then go glue down. A floating floor in a kitchen needs the seams 'sealed' some how. There are seam sealers out there for laminate floors. I prefer a cork floor that can have MORE of the finish added to it at the time of the installation.

Cork floors can and will require some maintenance. The first 5-7 years will require additional finish (for those floors that have the APPROPRIATE finish on them). Once you've added 2 coats (first application) and then a third coat (5-7 years down the line) you should have a kitchen cork floor that gives you 30+ years.

If you want a cork floor that offers 100+ years, go with glue down. The Library of Congress received their cork floors in the 1890's...and they are still there!

SJ McCarthy - I need cork installation advice on a new build! We were super excited to get a quote we could afford for Duro Designs glue down tiles finished in place with one of their recommended US installers. However, when it came down to scheduling, our general contractor became uncomfortable with the guy Duro recommended - he said he didn't get his license information for our state and he seemed unprofessional in general - e.g., installation price was transmitted via a picture of a handwritten receipt and there is no company listed, just the guy's name. So, now we have the cork tiles sitting in our house waiting to be installed (we aren't quite ready). BUT, now that the general contractor is uncomfortable with the national guy Duro recommended, he found another local installer. This guy at first said since it's a new subfloor (OSB), he could just sand the seams and glue the cork to that. We read the installation instructions and this made us uncomfortable for two reasons 1) Is it flat enough - OSB has little pieces and they used nails, though they are below the level of the OSB? and 2) there would be a 1/2" transition almost to our tile bathrooms. So, he went back to his floor guy and now our installation cost with underlayment went up $12,000 from the guy Duro recommended that included underlayment (I never had a price before we insisted on underlayment from the new installer, but I think it was still $6,000 more than our original quote from the national guy). I feel like we are getting someone who is less familiar with the floor for more money, but the GC says he is uncomfortable with the national guy as there's no recourse if something goes wrong. I do not know what to do and am looking for thoughts of anyone familiar with glue-down cork flooring. Thanks!

I had cork floors throughout my whole house and loved it! It was soft and also slightly sound dampening. My dishes hardly ever broke when dropped. We had both a dog and a cat and the floors were fine. In fact, I am looking to use it again on my new house. We had it everywhere but the mud room and the bathrooms. 6 years of wear and tear and it looked brand new. It did fade in the sun, but I didn't mind it.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3614-27th-St-N-Arlington-VA-22207/12061858_zpid/? 

Grace, that looks so nice. Curious what type of cork did you put in the new home?!

Any opinions on this:https://worldfloorsdirect.com/product/cork-flooring/comfort-cork-flooring/cork-flooring-champagne/

thinking of it for my main floors (doing darker cork upstairs pictured)