Time to finish up with the last of Jackie's questions where we'll discuss cork and a bit more about being eco-friendly with adhesives:
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SAME flooring on entire main floor (ie. cork, wood) Main floor is small (~ 500 sf) and I've read that uniform, light flooring makes a space look bigger. Wood might be more appealing for resale but I'm leaning towards cork for warmth, cushioning (I have some arthritis in my feet) and because I either can't clarify the potentially unsafe aspects of most engineered floors (adhesives, formaldehyde finishes) in my price range. I'm willing to trade some durability for safety.
Question 5: Is cork a realistic alternative considering my issues?? What are your thoughts re: durability in the high traffic area from front to back?? I would put rug/runners but I imagine this area of the floor would still wear sooner. And what do you do when it does??
/And then there are the entrances - can I use cork if I use carpets to catch the snow, slush, mud or is the dirt/dampness (if I don't clean up every bit of it going to be a problem?? At the front entrance I could still use a ceramic tile, slate etc. and it would work with the floor plan. However, at the back, the door opens right into the kitchen so whatever the kitchen floor is made of is what will be stepped on directly from outside.
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Change entire condo flooring main, second floor and stairs. If I choose cork for the main floor I may also do the upstairs in cork as well (except the bathroom which I renovated prior to flood with 12" ceramic tile in a neutral color).
More questions.
Question 6: When you have a cork floor what goes on your stairs?? Cork, wood, bamboo?
There are 2 landings within the staircase as it changes direction twice on the way up as well as a larger landing/hallway from which the upstairs rooms branch out from.
Upstairs = 2 bedrooms, an office, bathroom and landing/small hallway at top of stairs.
I have read that cork is somewhat forgiving with respect to slightly uneven floors but that others have had problems with cork floors because the floor was not completely level??
Question 7: Which is true??
Also, if I wanted to put the same floor throughout my condo, I don't think I would be able to due to the very heavy set a bookcases lining my office. I've read that you can't use an engineered, floating, click together floor with heavy furniture (ie. Westhollow is appealing - glueless, click together which also is E0 or E1, according to your blog).
Question 8: True?? If true, what do I use instead in my office?? If I have to glue a cork floor down, is there a safe adhesive?? Is cork(softer) even going to work?? or do I have to use a harder floor?? (ie. hardwood).
Your blog states that the newer Westhollow cork floors are E1/E0 rated.
Is the rating for the entire product (ie. construction/bonding) or just the finish (ie. water based urethane). Are there any other finishes that I might read on product specs that are safe? I've also read about site finishing cork floors to deal with any unevenness in the floor and/or to seal between the planks (ie. better protection re: "animal accidents").
Hmmm.......am not feeling so much like a flooring expert anymore.
Here is a picture of Jackie's stair case that she has concerns about, to the left you can see where the small alcove of another exterior entrance is.
A: With cork or any wood flooring, if standing moisture is left (snow, mud, etc) you run serious risk of that moisture getting into the cork (or in the case of floating cork planks, the core board) which will cause all sorts of nasty problems like warping. You can work with a cork floor, but typically to make this work you need to use glue down tiles and follow up with a site finish to protect at the seams. The problem with glue down floors is that they will require your subfloor to be nice and flat as it is far less forgiving than floating tiles. To answer your question about cork being forgiving on an uneven subfloor – yes and no. If you are installing a floating floor with a premium underlayment (such as 6mm cork or Sound 6) they can account for a certain amount of unevenness in your subfloor and thus be forgiving, but glue down floors are not very forgiving since they must be directly adhered to the subfloor and these differences in subfloor height tend to telegraph right through to the new floor.
For adhesives with cork, typically your best bet is to use a contact adhesive. 3M makes a great water based version of their Fastbond 30, which has proven to be a great adhesive for glue down cork in various commercial applications. The water based version is a bit more eco-friendly and contains no formaldehyde which is a big plus. Another adhesive to look into, which is a trowel on style adhesive is the adhesives made by Dritac. Dritac prides itself on making green adhesives for wood flooring.
If you choose tile or stone for areas, moving furniture or appliances over it is fairly simple because of how durable the tile is, but in the case of cork or wood flooring, you will want to use a piece of 1/8” masonite board. The easy way to do this would be to cut 2 boards for an appliance, and make a small storage area to the side of the appliance so it sits out of view and is easy to access. Then, slide the appliance up onto the first board, lay the second board beside it, and slide from board to board so the masonite takes all of the abuse. You can do similar for heavier furniture as well. Also to address your concern with heavier furniture like your bookcases, this typically is only the case with a floating floor, and you will want to avoid putting excessively heavy furniture at the edge of a floor, although I have seen some folks have success when using very dense underlayment (typically 6mm cork) so that the floor has little spring to it. Another alternative here would be build a cut out area for the book cases, so that this stress only happen where the book cases are and not across the entire floor.
Let’s address your stairs real fast. When using cork on stairs there are two methods for nosing it. For folks who like the commercial or modern look, there are some great metal nosings (in various colors like chrome, brushed aluminum etc) which look amazing when set with cork. If you are trying to avoid an overly modern art look in your home, use a natural maple nosing since maple’s grain is so neutral in blends in very well to most cork designs (especially the more stone tile looks like the Faro). Make sure you get an overlap nosing in this case, and if you can’t get an unfinished custom mold made (this way you can stain and finish on site to match up to your cork) look into the prefinished overlap nosings made by companies like Kahrs.
Let’s sum up. Your best bet for durability would be to install stone or tile in your kitchen, laundry room and door ways because of the weather in Ontario and the moisture concerns. With an uncoupling layer and an electric radiant heat system, you can prevent cracking and have a nice warm floor to walk on (no slippers needed!) Cork is great for comfort, and when you find the right look it will work very well to blend along with stone or tile flooring. Remember, cork can be forgiving if it is installed as a floating floor, but for glue down applications, which are best for heavy furniture, you will want to ensure you fix any issues in your subfloor so that it is level. For your stairs, use either a metal (modern) or natural maple nosing in order to get a great look and coordinate well with the floor. Finally remember, as long as everything you put together looks good to you, then stylistically speaking it is done right. With tile or stone, cork in the layout similar to the Faro will blend well as the cork has a stone-like appearance and with some great color coordination it can make a stunning floor for your home.
