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Cork Flooring Installation - Very Easy to Do It Yourself

Gluing Down Your Cork Floor

One way to install a cork floor is to glue it down with adhesive. This must be done over a clean sub-floor like hardwood. Here the material cost stays low but the cost of installation costs a lot. The disadvantage with this is that if a tile gets damaged and must be repaired, it is very difficult.

Installing A Floating Floor

Floating floors are more popular because they are much easier to install. Here the cork planks come ready to interlock with each other. They are also easy to install over an existing floor like vinyl, wood or ceramic. The sub floor on which a floating cork floor is installed needs to be even and dry.

Steps Involved In Cork Floor Installation

Cork floor tiles mostly come as 12-inch squares. The surface on which these tiles are to be installed must be prepared beforehand. This surface must be cleaned, dried and absolutely even. This surface could be hardwood or concrete sub-flooring.

If the sub floor is concrete it is best to repair any cracks and damages. You will need to ensure the concrete is dry. The doorframe will have to be cut to size to ensure the cork tiles fit under them. Check that the concrete is dry and level so that the cork tiles look smooth once fixed. If it is glue down installation, the concrete must have a layer of primer and dried before the glue is applied.

If the installation is on wood, uneven areas must be leveled. The base must be dry. For sub floors that are over the crawlspace a waterproof sheet must be used to cover the ground under it. After adjusting the size of the doorframes to make space for the cork tiles, the cork tiles can be installed. If there are irregularities on the floor, they will show up on the cork surface, so the sub floor must be completely smooth and level.

Before you fix the cork tiles, they must go through a process of acclimatization for a couple of days at least, where they are exposed to the normal room temperature.

Cork Flooring Installation:

Cork tiles come with different variations in design and shade. So when you receive the tiles, after acclimatizing them, choose the ones that look the most pleasing to you. The adhesive must be applied carefully and allowed to dry, as per manufacturer's instructions. As each cork tile is fixed, adequate pressure must be applied over the tile so that when you are through fixing all the tiles, it must look totally level and smooth.

Before the sealer is applied, with the help of a roller, the floor must be rolled. Depending on where you live, the floor could take a day to dry. After the installation is finished, polyurethane cleaner is used to clean the floor and sealed.

The best way to ensure that your cork flooring installation is done efficiently is to follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter.

Cork Flooring Installation to Cork Flooring

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