In addition to insulating the balcony, to turn it, for example, into a study or any other useful area, you will need to select and lay the flooring. In addition to the already traditional and moisture resistant laminate You can also use cork floors. What types of this flooring are there? Is it possible to use cork material for a balcony or loggia? How to lay cork flooring?

If you do not plan to use a balcony or loggia as a separate room, but as a continuation of an already existing room, then you can use the cork without restrictions. Any cork flooring options: laminate, tiles, MDF panels and cork boards can be used as flooring. The situation is completely different if the balcony, after insulation and finishing work, remains a separate isolated room. In this case, you will need to take into account several important nuances:

1. High humidity. Although cork itself copes well with moisture, the locking fastenings fail over time under its influence. In addition, even if the joints are sealed with sealant, the locks will continue to let moisture through. Adhesive boards do not have this disadvantage.
2. Plane requirements. In this regard, slabs with a lock are in a more advantageous position. They easily hide small unevenness due to the backing, so they are recommended for use in rooms where the floors have small deviations from the plane. Adhesive panels are more demanding in this regard, so before installing them it is necessary to thoroughly level the base to “zero”.
3. Final result. Laying the adhesive material will require certain skills, as well as accuracy. Making joints invisible is quite problematic. The interlocking boards fit together like a laminated board. Even a non-specialist can handle their installation.

Important: If the balcony will be used as a separate room, it is better to choose cork covering With glue method installation Material with a locking connection is suitable for the option in which a balcony (loggia) is used to expand the room.

Types of cork covering

Cork flooring is available in a wide range. Basically, all products are divided according to the type of installation of the product, so most often you can find information about glue and locking plug. But we can also separately highlight the following solutions:

Cork laminate is a type of floating flooring

1. Cork laminate. Completely identical to laminated boards. Refers to locking materials. Its installation is easy and does not require special skills.
2. Cork tiles. One of the most popular adhesive types of this flooring. Laying a cork floor with your own hands in this case requires special construction skills and accuracy.
3. MDF panels with cork layer. In this material, cork is glued as the top facing layer. As a rule, such material also has locking system fixation.
4. Cork board. It is made by gluing together several layers of material. Installs like laminate. It is one of the types of floating flooring. One of the most expensive materials.

Note: Some cork materials can be installed independently. It is better to entrust work with others to professionals.

Preliminary work

Although interlocking and adhesive floor coverings have different requirements to implementation installation work, There is common feature, which distinguishes each of these materials. This is a fear of dampness. Accidental moisture cannot harm this coating. But constant dampness leads to deformation and swelling of the cork. It is for this reason that preparatory stages It is necessary not only to level the floors, but also to give them waterproofing properties. How to do it?

1. Concrete floors cleared of debris. If the floor slab of a balcony or loggia is in perfect condition, then special solutions can be used to increase the waterproofing properties. Typically used for this priming deep penetration . After application, it creates a film that prevents moisture from penetrating into the room. For screeding for the same purpose, you can use regular thick oilcloth.
2. Wooden floors. Leveled using lags. At the same time, work on insulation and waterproofing of floors can be carried out. Again, for this you can use regular oilcloth or. It is laid with foil up. You can lay polystyrene or mineral wool. The top is leveled using plywood or OSB.

Cork floor installation

Methods for how to install cork floors may vary depending on the material chosen. The interlocking panels are mounted similarly to laminated boards. Their installation begins from the corner and when laying it is required to observe general recommendations related to floating floor coverings.

Attention: Cork flooring with locks can be used for a balcony or loggia only if there is good thermal and waterproofing, and when heating is used. Manufacturers of such coatings recommend using it for rooms with high dampness only in exceptional cases!

Adhesive cork flooring is installed as follows:

1. Four tiles are laid on a leveled surface in the middle of the room without applying glue. The diagonal is checked and marks are made on the surface.
2. The glue is applied simultaneously to the floor and to the material itself with a spatula, after which you need to let it dry (approximately 20-30 minutes). It is necessary to use special glue!
3. The tiles are laid from the center towards the walls. You can press the tiles together with your hands or using a rule. Leave a 3-5mm gap at the walls.
4. The glue that comes out of the seams is immediately wiped off.
5. You can additionally tap the joints rubber mallet.

After installation, the cork flooring requires mandatory treatment. To do this, after drying adhesive composition(setting time is written on the container), must be applied protective layer . This is done as follows:

1. The floor is being cleaned. Use a vacuum cleaner to remove any possible dust.
2. A layer of varnish is applied with a roller. It must be rolled out well over the surface. To perform these works, it is better to use a high-quality wide velor roller.
3. The second layer of varnish covers all imperfections and omissions. After applying it, you need to wait a while completely dry LMB.
4. Using a spatula and fine abrasive paper, remove all irregularities and small sagging.
5. Apply the finishing layer.

By applying varnish three times, a reliable protective layer is created, which allows you to protect the coating from moisture and mechanical damage.

Should I do the work myself?

Obviously, work with adhesive-type cork should be carried out by professionals, or by people familiar with the principle of laying this material, described in our article, and capable of subsequently applying a protective layer of varnish. It is much easier to install the locking material, but its installation is only possible in rooms with reliable hydro- and thermal insulation, so it is better not to use it for balconies or loggias.

Cork floor installation video

In this section we bring to your attention a video on the topic of our article “Technology for laying cork flooring: how to lay it on the balcony.” You will be able to watch the process of laying the adhesive cork covering.

Cork flooring immediately earned fame and wide recognition among consumers. Relatively inexpensive and affordable prices, and the ability to lay the coating on your own without the involvement of specialists, make cork flooring an even more popular and in-demand product.

Manufacturers offer the buyer wide choose and the opportunity to purchase high-quality and affordable analogues and substitutes for real cork veneer.

You need to know and understand that there are small nuances and recommendations regarding laying cork floors. This also applies to the choice of all types of premises without exception. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare thoroughly before going to the store or to construction market for choosing and then purchasing cork flooring.

You should try to study how all cork floors are. Otherwise, you risk not only wasted material purchased, that is, your money wasted, but also work done in vain due to your carelessness.

Categories of cork flooring:

1. The most expensive flooring can be safely called - cork board, which is made from real cork oak bark, its second and most popular name, cork veneer. Veneer is made from absolutely environmentally friendly and harmless, natural and natural material. It is produced in huge sheets, sheet size reaches 6 square meters, and its thickness ranges from 4 to 6 mm. All sheets are rolled into large rolls. It is also known about the production of cork natural tiles. On back side sheets create a coating of durable vinyl film, which facilitates the laying of sheets during work on the surface and on the concrete floor. Despite the serious advantages of natural cork veneer, it also includes many different disadvantages.
2. Of course, in second place, both in price and accordingly in quality, are MDF cork panels (Fiberboard, medium density). They are often unreasonably confused with a cork board, but if you look at it, there are significant and significant differences here too. First of all, MDF panels are usually called cork laminate. Let's look at an approximate technology for its manufacture: real cork chips are applied to an MDF base using dry hot pressing. Then another layer consisting of cork veneer is applied, approximately from 2 to 4 mm. The top is covered with varnish or a good vinyl film. In terms of quality, cork laminate is in no way inferior to natural veneer, and is not so demanding on the surface and the quality of its coating.
3. All manufacturers produce cork laminate according to standard sizes, which are the same without exception for all types of laminate. This refers to the ratio of the length and width of the panels.
4. The next material will be pressed cork chips. The crumbs produce high-quality cork tiles, which is not significantly expensive for its price. The appearance of the tile is difficult to confuse with anything; the structure of fine grain, any tile resembles a cork from a wine bottle. Designed in their unique and colorful sand and coffee palette, with unique patterns, they will certainly attract the eye of the buyer in the store. And in terms of quality, a floor made of cork tiles is practically not inferior to a floor covered with natural cork veneer. And if you compare costs, a tile floor will be significantly cheaper than a solid floor. cork laminate. Manufacturers offer us tiles to choose from, sizes - 30 by 30 mm, 60 by 60 mm, 60 by 90 mm. Often in stores you can find waste from natural veneer and trimming it to look like tiles. You can safely buy and select good coverage from them, it all depends on your taste and the flight of your imagination.

A floor made from any cork does not slip at all and does not spring at all. Copes with a significant and significant load directed at it. Cork floors have excellent noise and thermal insulation. Its most important advantage is that it is completely harmless to health and one hundred percent environmentally friendly. Throughout the history of the use of cork flooring, no detrimental effects on human health have ever been identified.

With all the advantages and positive qualities Traffic jams, unfortunately, also have disadvantages. First of all, the price is too high, but one cannot fail to note the complex and responsible process of its installation. A rather fragile cork does not tolerate inept and frivolous handling. It is better not to approach installing cork floors on your own without the proper experience.

Cork has a high sensitivity threshold to temperature changes. Its internal component and appearance. It can swell from water containing organic substances dissolved in it. In addition, cork perfectly absorbs all odors and retains them for a long time. If you have a wine bottle cork at home, try to restore it to its original appearance, or try to get rid of the smell of the part of the cork that was in the bottle. Nothing will work out.

Accordingly, based on the above, we can conclude that cork flooring will not last long in rooms where there are temperature fluctuations. Due to any thermal changes, after a short period of time, the cork will begin to crumble and become unusable. Therefore, it is not advisable to make cork floors in the hallway, kitchen and balcony. You can try laying cork laminate with protective coating, although this is also not advisable.

The worst places for cork flooring are the toilet and bathroom. Absolutely not! Too much humidity and temperature changes have a negative effect on the cork; over time, microcracks will appear in it, and moisture will flow through them into the very core of the cork, and soon swelling will occur, which will lead to detachment. This happens unnoticed, in places inaccessible to our view, under baseboards, or under the bathtub.

The cork does not have antiseptic properties, and if you take and open the place of swelling, the so-called bubble, then an unpleasant and not entirely attractive picture will appear before our eyes. The inner core of the cork will turn to mush.
Places for cork floors

We offer a list of premises for laying cork floors:

• First of all, the children's room. Any type of cork floor is suitable for a children's room. Children will feel warm walking around cork floor barefoot both in winter and summer, if a child falls on the floor, he will not be injured. Walking barefoot through traffic has a beneficial effect not only on the psyche of children, but also develops a sense of connection with living nature.
• In second place, the bedroom. The reasons for the choice are the same and similar to those for children.
• On the third place, . To the reasons described above, you can add good sound insulation.
• In fourth place, the living room. The most the right choice There will be cork laminate here.

Laying technology

There are 3 ways to lay cork flooring.

1. You can lay cork laminate according to the principle. The only thing is that you need to observe some nuances regarding the tool and technology, about this, see below.
2. You can lay cork laminate and veneer, freely, without special fastening. This will be called a floating floor.
3. You can lay cork flooring with glue.

For floating cork floors and adhesive ones, the installation technologies are significantly different. Preparing the room for renovation remains the same, but the tools are different for each floor.

An important and probably the most determining factor is that the cork floor should be laid in the warm season. It is necessary to prevent a temperature difference of more than 5 degrees during delivery from the supplier to the house where the floor will be laid. Be sure to check the air humidity in the room and make sure it is not lower than 60%. When the air humidity is 75%, laying cork flooring is strictly prohibited.

What you will need when working

A rubber hammer, called a mallet, for laying and adjusting the floor. You can use a jigsaw with a very fine file or a grinder for cutting planks. A hand saw cannot be used (the cork crumbles too much). If the floor is adhesive, then you will need a metal and heavy roller (skating rink) for good rolling. You will definitely need a level.

It will be necessary to make spacer wedges for the floating floor. They are made from scraps of cork laminate. Under no circumstances should they be wooden, because wooden ones will crumble the cork. In order to adjust and straighten the boards, we use the same rule. A clamp - a hook for tightening planks - also cannot be used.

You need to buy a plinth, it is special for cork floors. Including, you will need thresholds, glue and a spatula, preferably a wide one, in order to spread the glue on the boards.

Cork extraction

Preparing the premises

The floor surface should be as dry and level as possible. A simple concrete screed cannot serve good coverage because its surface is too rough. Over time, the cork floor will play on it. Concrete here acts as an abrasive, so the cork will be rubbed off.

A wet surface is the main enemy of a cork floor. It is necessary to dry the surface thoroughly before work, otherwise the cork will swell and deteriorate. What was written about above in the section on the bathroom and toilet.

In order to check the humidity of a concrete floor, you need to cover the floor with greenhouse film for 24 hours. Check after the allotted time, if there is moisture on the film, leave for another 24 hours. And so on until the desired result, dryness, is achieved. A wet surface will inevitably damage the floor. Inspect and seal the cracks near the radiators especially carefully, since moisture can also penetrate from neighbors below.

Leveling the floor

Only with a liquid leveler, you need to level the floor under the cork. Cork is harder than any composite found in all dry levelers. In addition, cork is fragile in its composition. A floor made on a dry basis can crack at any time from pressure from a chair leg or from a woman's heel.

The strength, reliability and service life of a cork floor depend on the base. Experts advise laying marmoleum on the surface in front of the cork. Possibly the cheapest one. Possibly substandard.

• Marmoleum, in its mechanical properties, is identical to cork; therefore, after laying on it, there will be no failures from the load.
• Marmoleum will smoothly lie all over uneven surface base and will cover all its flaws, remaining smooth on top.
• Marmoleum has bactericidal qualities, which means that harmful microflora has no chance, both for emergence and for its development.

If the floor is already covered with plywood, linoleum or laminate, you can simply lay a cork floor on top.

Floating cork floor

A floating cork floor can be laid with cork laminate or veneer. Of course, this is a job for specialists; as a rule, all attempts to dial the floor yourself lead to various kinds damage to expensive materials. Accordingly, the price of veneer pieces increases significantly.

Let's take a closer look at how to lay a floating floor made of cork laminate:

1. We measure the room and purchase the laminate itself. Already on site, at home, we unpack and leave it open for 24 hours so that the air temperature and humidity are balanced.
2. While the cork is acclimatizing, we cover the floor with greenhouse film. We try to make overlaps of 20 centimeters, do not forget to overlap on the walls, 15 centimeters. We firmly seal the joints with tape.
3. We saw all the planks of one row to size from the edge of the ridge, trying not to touch the groove. If we lay and move the seam in half, we cut half of the boards from the edge along the length exactly in the middle.
4. . From the corner we lay in transverse rows and move the seams by a third. We take the next board and insert it into the groove of the previous one, while trying to hold it under small angle. Press with a little force and lower. We level and adjust with a rubber mallet prepared in advance. Be sure to maintain a distance of approximately 20 or 30 mm from the walls; align the outer board with spacer wedges.
5. We cut off all excess greenhouse film.
6. We attach the cork plinth to the wall using mounting adhesive, having previously placed matches under it. So that it does not come into contact with the floor.
7. The floating cork floor is ready.

Floor on glue

The quality of a glued cork floor directly depends on the choice of the glue itself. From the huge selection, I would like to highlight Cascoflex and similar adhesives. An adhesive based on no volatile aggressive solvent. It is non-toxic and dries in about 10 minutes, a time suitable for adjusting boards and tiles. The price of this glue and others like it is quite high. Based on this, the question arose about the possibility of using PVA glue.

Under no circumstances should a cork floor be laid using PVA. PVA glue is made with water based, which harms the traffic jam. When the PVA glue dries, the water evaporates from it, that is, if we apply a board and wait about 25 minutes, it will stick tightly and it will no longer be possible to correct it. In addition, when working with liquid PVA glue indoors, air humidity increases greatly. Conclusion, PVA glue cannot be used.

Let's consider the technology of adhesive cork flooring:

• We definitely start working from the center of the room, and move in a spiral in any direction. Left or right, it doesn't matter.
• Using a spatula prepared in advance, apply a layer of glue, place the board and level it.
• Immediately roll it with a roller.
• We use a level to check horizontality and a mallet to correct it. If suddenly one of the sides of the board is higher or lower than the other.
• Wipe off any excess glue thoroughly with a cloth soaked in solvent. You must remember and know that glue that dries on the cork cannot be removed. Therefore, it is advisable to immediately throw away the used cloth.
• We leave a gap along the walls, along the entire perimeter of the room, the same as for the floating cork floor.
• Be sure to wait 24 hours after finishing the flooring and only then attach the plinth.
• The adhesive cork floor is ready.

What is HDF?

Of all the types of cork flooring, HDF (High Density Fiberboard) is the most inexpensive. This is a material covered on top with pressed cork chips. Simply put, this is ordinary fiberboard (Wood particle board), in its properties and naturally in quality, it is far from real cork. If you want to create the cheap illusion of a cork floor, then HDF is for you.

Bottom line

Reliable and durable, harmful or bad? Cork flooring can be anything. Much depends on the choice of the room where it will be placed. And the price and installation technology only affect its decorative features.

Search interesting solutions for apartment renovation? How would you like to install a cork floor? Don’t know what it is, what the benefits are for you and how to do it? Everything is very simple. Let's look at what cork flooring is and how to lay it correctly.

Cork floor installation diagram.

The material for making cork is the bark of the cork oak tree. The bark is removed from trees that are 25-30 years old, but it is not used in construction. Then, within 6-9 years, the bark is restored, it is removed again (if the technology is followed, no damage is caused to the tree). And this material is already used for the manufacture of various products.

According to technology, cork fabric can be divided into types:

• veneer is the most expensive type of cork;
• agglomerate - the cheapest option (made by pressing at high temperature crumbs with the addition of various resins);
• combined - both pieces of veneer and crumbs are used for production.

Finished panels can be processed various compositions, which affect the properties of cork and give it greater strength and moisture resistance.

Pros and cons of the material

Benefits of cork floors:

Cork floor characteristics table.

• excellent heat and sound insulation;
• cork - the material is elastic and resilient, does not creak, does not slip, it is pleasant to walk on it;
• cork does not rot and is fireproof;
• the material is hypoallergenic, does not attract dust and does not accumulate static electricity;
• cork floors can withstand high pressure, including point ones.

Flaws:

• like anyone natural material, the cost of cork panels is higher than the usual laminate or parquet boards;
• the base for the cork covering must be perfectly level;
• if there are cats or dogs in the house, then claw marks may remain on the cork flooring;
• Over time, the protective layer wears off and tracks remain in areas of heavy traffic.

Types and options of cork flooring

1. Floating type (you can find the name cork parquet). Available in the form of panels with locks and consists of a layer of cork glued to an MDF panel.
2. The adhesive type is produced in the form of square or rectangular shape. Sizes may vary. A protective layer can be applied on top.
3. Technological cork is sold in the form of rolls or plates and is used as a substrate.

For final finishing, the first 2 types are widely used, it all depends on your choice. It should be taken into account that if you plan to lay cork in a bathroom or toilet, then you need to give preference to the adhesive type. This is due to the fact that it is treated with a special compound that prevents the floor from swelling.

Two ways to lay cork flooring.

Floating cork flooring is best used in a room with a low level of humidity: in a bedroom, nursery or hallway.

To lay a cork floor with your own hands, you will need:

1. Pencil.
2. Roulette.
3. Square for precise cutting of panels at right angles.
4. Long ruler.
5. Chop cord.
6. Construction knife. It can be used to easily cut adhesive-type cork panels.
7. A spatula or roller for applying glue to the floor and cork slabs.
8. Electric drill. Useful if you need to drill holes, for example, for heating pipes.
9. Fine-toothed hacksaw or jigsaw. These tools are useful for cutting floating panels.
10. Rubber hammer for fitting cork slabs into place.

Cork flooring technology

Surface preparation

Before laying the cork covering, the surface must be leveled, if necessary. It must be dry, clean and primed.

You don’t have to remove the old flooring, but lay cork on top.

Laying cork flooring with glue:

Cork floor installation diagram.

1. Before laying the 1st row of cork tiles, you must use a construction cord to mark main line, along which its assembly will begin. This can be diagonal from opposite corners of the room or laid in a straight line along the walls.
2. Draw a pencil line using a ruler along the chop cord.
3. When working with glue, you must use a respirator, for example RPG-67. Cork tile adhesive is flammable and has a pungent odor. After work, the room must be thoroughly ventilated.
4. Apply glue evenly to the base using a spatula or roller along the marked line.
5. You also need to apply glue to the panel and let it dry for 10-15 minutes.
6. Then attach the panel to the base and tap the entire surface with a rubber hammer.
7. In some places it will be necessary to adjust the cork panels. To do this, marks are made with a pencil, using a square or ruler, markings are made and construction knife the excess part is cut off.
8. After laying the tiles on the floor, it is necessary to cover it with 2-3 layers of varnish. A two-component polyurethane varnish is perfect for these purposes.
9. The glue dries within 24 hours. It is advisable not to walk on the laid panels during this time to avoid their displacement.

Installing a floating cork floor

Before laying cork panels, it is necessary to lay a substrate on the base.

The substrate for these purposes is unusual. It is also made of cork. If the surface is fairly flat, you can take a 2 mm backing, for small unevenness - 4 mm.

Assembling interlocking panels is not much different from laying laminate flooring. The 1st row must be laid from the wall along the light falling from the window. This way the joints will be less noticeable. The smaller castle would face the wall. It must be remembered that a thermal gap of 5-10 mm must be left between the wall and the panel. Spacer wedges of suitable width are ideal for this purpose.

Design of a “floating” cork covering.

The panels are connected using locks. After snapping each panel into place, they are lightly tapped with a rubber hammer to ensure a secure connection without gaps.

After laying all the panels, the plinth is attached, which will hide the gap between the wall and the laid panels. You can choose any baseboard, but cork will look great.

So, the time required to lay floating cork panels will be much less. A protective layer has already been applied to them, so additional processing not required.

When laying, you do not need to work in a respirator, and then ventilate the room and wait for the glue to dry. But floating panels have their drawbacks. The main one is that joints are afraid of moisture and dirt can accumulate in them. Therefore, they require more careful maintenance than adhesive-type cork boards. Tip: Do not plan to install cork flooring over underfloor heating. You will not achieve the desired effect, but the cork itself is a warm material.

Let's summarize: laying a cork floor with your own hands is very simple, you just need to follow the recommendations outlined. Adhesive flooring is more expensive to install, but it is easier to use. And with a floating cork floor, the installation work is cheap, but during operation it requires more attention and care.

Cork flooring has become widespread relatively recently. However, the popularity of cork flooring is growing: manufacturers are developing and offering full-fledged, relatively inexpensive substitutes for solid natural cork veneer, and laying a cork floor with your own hands is accessible to a person who has basic home repair skills.

However, cork floors cannot be installed everywhere. Therefore, before purchasing material and getting to work, you should understand what a cork floor is, and, especially, what its advantages and disadvantages are. Otherwise, expensive material and painstaking work may go down the drain.

Types of cork floors

1. The most expensive - whole cork veneer, or Cork board(cut of cork oak bark), coated with wear-resistant varnish. Don't confuse it with school cork boards. Absolutely environmentally friendly material, combines both best advantages, and the most serious disadvantages of cork. Can be produced in large (up to 6 sq. m) layers 4-6 mm thick and in rolls; also in the form of tiles. Often the wrong side of it, not front side, protected with vinyl film, which makes gluing and laying on the concrete floor easier.
2. MDF panels with cork. Average material for the price category. It is also often called a cork board, although in fact it is a cork laminate: a base of MDF, then a layer also processed according to MDF technology(dry hot pressing) cork chips, and on top - a layer of cork veneer of 2-4 mm, protected with varnish and/or vinyl film. By useful qualities almost equivalent to solid veneer, but not so demanding on the quality of the underlying surface.
3. Cork laminate Available in standard laminate size and thickness.
4. Pressed cork chips. It is used to make inexpensive cork tiles. On sale, it is easily recognizable by its fine-grained texture, similar to the cork from an inexpensive wine. The colors of a solid cork are complex shapes irregular shape in yellow-brown tones. However, cork tiles provide a coating that is not much inferior in quality to that of solid veneer. For a budget-friendly cork floor, this is the best option.
   The main sizes of cork tiles are 30x30, 60x60 and 60x90 cm. On sale, under the appearance and price of tiles, you can find scraps and waste of solid veneer. They are small, but if you have the desire, time and artistic taste, you can create such a coating from them that sophisticated connoisseurs will gasp.

What is good and what is bad about cork flooring?

The cork floor has excellent springiness and is not slippery even with a protective coating. It handles the load well, including regular alternating loads. Provides excellent sound and heat insulation. Absolutely environmentally friendly and harmless: over the entire centuries-old history of using cork, no signs of its impact on health have been noted.

However, there are also significant disadvantages of cork floors. In addition to the high price, it is fragile and quite difficult to install with glue. Without skillful hands and an accurate eye, it is better not to take on an adhesive cork floor.

Further, the coefficient of thermal expansion is high, even for wood. In addition, the cork swells greatly if the water contains dissolved organic matter. As a result, the cork absorbs well and firmly holds the smell and color of impurities. Perhaps you have an old one lying around somewhere wine stopper- try to return it to her cylindrical shape, remove color and odor from the part that was in the bottle.

As a consequence of the above, cork flooring is short-lived in any room with variable temperature conditions: the cork will soon begin to crumble due to thermal deformation. Therefore, the answer to the question whether it is possible to install cork flooring in the kitchen, balcony and hallway: only cork laminate with a protective coating, and even then it is not very desirable.

As for the toilet and bathroom, there is a definite no to cork flooring. Even if you and your guests use the services absolutely carefully during the most riotous fun, all the same, from fluctuations in temperature and humidity, microcracks will soon form in the cork covering, through which moisture will pass, and then peeling, most often in hidden places: under the baseboard or under the bathtub where water vapor stagnates.

Cork does not have antiseptic properties; it is a biologically neutral material. Therefore, if you find and open such a “bump”, under it you will find disgusting-looking mucus, the contents of which, under a microscope, immediately cause a microbiologist who is not indifferent to his work to faint.

Where are cork floors good?

However, there are types of rooms where cork flooring is highly recommended, and others where it is completely acceptable:

• Children's room. Here you can lay any cork floor; if you have the means, it’s better to use solid veneer. Firstly, the child will always be warm. Secondly, a tomboy who flops around won't hurt himself. Thirdly, walking barefoot through traffic jams gives a somewhat irrational, but beneficial effect on the psyche and development of the mind, a feeling of a living connection with nature.
• Bedroom - for the same reasons as in the nursery.
• Study. In addition to all the same, the cork dampens sounds well, without creating deadening silence at the same time.
• Living room. It is better to use cork laminate here, as in any other frequently visited rooms. Cork flooring, even with perfect care, is not durable.

How to lay cork floors

Laying cork on the floor can be done not in two ways, as is often written, but in three different ways:

1. Cork laminate, with some additional precautions regarding tools and installation technology, see below.
2. The same cork laminate and solid veneer can be laid freely, without fastening - this is a floating cork floor.
3. Cork flooring of any type can also be installed with glue.

The technologies for laying floating cork flooring and adhesive flooring are fundamentally different. But the requirements for preparing the premises are the same. The tool used is also special.

It is necessary to lay a cork floor in the warm season, so that the temperature difference during delivery from the seller’s warehouse to the room does not exceed 5-7 degrees. It is also desirable that the air humidity in the room under the floor should not exceed 60%; humidity of 75% is no longer acceptable during installation.

Tools, accessories and additional materials

To lay a cork floor, you will first need a rubber carpenter's hammer(mallet). Then - manual Circular Saw or a jigsaw with a circle or a “clean cut” file, very fine-toothed. From any hand saw the cork will crumble along the edge. For an adhesive floor you will need a rolling roller - similar to a paint roller, but metal, heavy, and small, 20-30 cm, but an accurate level.

Cork laminate planks for a floating floor will have to be corrected and leveled. Spacer wedges for this will need to be made from its own scraps - the wooden ones will crumble the cork. Also the rule for fitting is trimming cork board, which is pressed against the one being adjusted and adjusted by lightly tapping it with a rubber mallet. You cannot use a hook clamp to tighten cork laminate.

From additional materials required special plinth for cork flooring that is attached to the wall. Making cork floors doorways This is not possible, so special thresholds will be required. For an adhesive floor - special glue and also a special spatula for its application: wide, fine-toothed.

A small but important device for laying glued cork flooring is a can of canned vegetables or coffee with a quick but tightly closing lid. You will need to keep a rag moistened with solvent in it - a lot of small shreds. Use a rag to wipe off glue drips. Outside of a tightly closed container, it will dry quickly, but if it is abundantly moistened, it will ruin the coating.

Preparing the premises

Any cork floor must be laid on a flat, smooth and dry surface. Leveled concrete screed not enough - it's rough. The traffic jam “plays” when you walk on it or roll a chair. Concrete in this case acts as an abrasive; Cork, on the other hand, is a soft material and can be quickly wiped clean even on an adhesive layer.

Cork flooring especially does not like wet underlying surfaces. The point here is not only and not so much that the adhesive connection will be weak, but that the cork will swell. Because of this, a “bump” is formed somewhere, described in the section on the bathroom, and with the same contents. Therefore, before laying the cork floor, the base must be leveled and dried.

Concrete floors need to be checked for moisture before installation. To do this, the room or part of it, but not less than 2 sq.m., is covered for a day plastic film, approximately a rectangular piece, not a strip. If after a day no moisture has settled on the underside of the film, you can begin final leveling. If not, you need to dry it some more. Numerous complaints that a solid floor at 60-80 euros per square week became stained and swelled after a week can be explained by the base being too wet.

Note: moisture can pass from neighbors below. Therefore, immediately inspect the “bare” floor carefully and seal all the cracks; especially near heating risers.

Leveling the floor

The base floor under the cork is leveled with a liquid leveler. Dry leveler (layered composite of soft material between two layers of plastic film) is not suitable: cork is harder and more fragile. A stiletto heel or chair leg can cause a cork floor on such a base to crack.

(More about wet screed for leveling the floor)

Even the cheapest cork floor is not a cheap pleasure, and its reliability and durability greatly depend on the base. Therefore, we can recommend before the traffic jam, the cheapest, even substandard:

• The mechanical properties of marmoleum coincide with those of cork; failure of the top from concentrated load will not happen.
• The marmoleum will “flow around” the unevenness of the base, and its upper surface will remain smooth.
• Marmoleum has bactericidal properties: suddenly a harmful “bump” forms under the cork, marmoleum will not allow harmful microflora to develop in it.

If linoleum, laminate or are already laid on the floor, then it is better not to touch them, and lay the cork on top.

Floating floor

Floating cork flooring can be inlaid, made from a single piece of veneer or large parts of it, or from cork laminate. The first two options are the prerogative of a team of at least two well-working professionals. Independent attempts of this kind end in the breakdown of the expensive coating: the price of cork veneer increases rapidly as the size of the piece increases.

Laying a floating cork laminate floor is done as follows:

1. The room is measured, material is purchased. Upon delivery, it is unpacked and kept for a day for acclimatization - equalization of temperature and humidity.
2. Meanwhile, the base floor is covered with plastic film with an overlap of 20-30 cm and an overlap of 10-15 cm over the walls. The joints of the pieces of film are glued together with tape.
3. Planks of a row that is not full in width are cut to size from the side of the tongue crest; the groove cannot be touched. When laying with a seam shift halfway, half of the end boards are sawn in half lengthwise.
4. Laminate planks are laid from the far corner in transverse rows with the seams shifted by a third or half the length of the board, just like regular laminate: the ridge of the next board is inserted into the groove of the previous one, holding it at an angle, lightly pressing and lowering. Pull it into place using a rule and a rubber mallet. A distance of 20-30 mm must be maintained from the walls. They hold it up and tighten the board outermost in front of the wall with spacer wedges.
5. Excess film is cut off.
6. Attached to the wall mounting adhesive"cork" plinth. It should not lie on the floor, but hang over it by 1-2 mm. It is convenient to use matches or toothpicks for this. It is true that the manufacturers of cork floors do not tell you what to do with the debris that will inevitably get into the crack before the cork swells.
7. The floor is ready and you can walk on it right away.

Video instructions for laying cork flooring

Cork floor with glue

How good an adhesive cork floor will be depends largely on the adhesive. Coating manufacturers each recommend their own, but the best must be recognized as adhesives without volatile aggressive solvents - “Cascoflex” and the like. They are non-toxic and take the longest to dry (5-10 minutes); this is enough to fit the tile or board. But such adhesives are expensive, so the question is often asked: Is it possible to lay cork flooring on PVA?

You cannot lay a cork floor on liquid PVA: this glue is water-based, which is contraindicated for cork. You can let the PVA dry until it is tacky with pressure (15-25 minutes) so that all the water evaporates from it. But then each tile will have to be placed exactly in its place: it will not be possible to move it; it will immediately grab tightly. And liquid PVA can only be applied to one surface - the base floor, and this is a violation of gluing technology. And the air humidity will increase during operation. So, unfortunately, it is impossible to recommend laying a cork floor on cheap PVA.

Lay the adhesive cork floor like this:

• We work from the center of the room in a spiral. Twisted to the right or left - whichever is more convenient for you. For right-handers, it is more convenient to “unwind” clockwise.
• Apply glue to the base with a spatula in an even layer, lay the tiles, and tighten them with your hands or a rule.
• Roll with a roller.
• We level twice, along the diagonals, to check horizontality. If another tile is lifted somewhere, tap it with a rubber mallet.
• Any glue that comes out at any stage of the work is immediately wiped off with a rag moistened with solvent. We throw away the used flap: if it is used again by mistake, it will only smear the glue drip, and it is impossible to remove dried glue from the cork.
• We leave the same gap around the perimeter as for the floating floor.
• At the end of the work, we wait a day, sew up the gap with a plinth - the floor is ready.

Video: the process of laying cork with glue

HDF cork laminate

Most cheap material for cork flooring – HDF (high density fiberboard), covered with pressed cork chips. But behind the “smart” foreign abbreviation lies the familiar fiberboard, which does not have the same properties as cork and “chemical” impregnation. Therefore, you can recommend HDF cork for flooring only in one case: if you want to cheaply tell your friends that you have a cork floor.

Summary

Cork flooring can be very good and useful, or very bad and harmful. It depends on whether it is laid in a suitable room for it. And only its decorative qualities depend on the price category of the material and the installation method.

One of essential elements interior decoration the premises is its floor covering. There are special requirements for it: beauty, ease of maintenance, wear resistance. It is highly desirable that it is not slippery, so that it is comfortable to walk on even when wet. Modern cork material meets all of the above requirements.

Not so long ago, a floor made from it was an almost unattainable pleasure. Now, of course, it also does not belong to economy class materials, but many compatriots can afford it. Cork is the bark of a special cork oak tree, which is widespread in countries with humid and warm climates.

The largest plantations of this tree grow in Spain and Portugal, providing countries with primacy in the field of processing cork material and the manufacture of various building materials from it. In some Asian countries also cultivate it useful plant, but the quality of the resulting cork is lower there.

Cork floors - varieties

Conditionally all types of coatings of this type can be divided into three types: technical, adhesive and locking. Floors that require an adhesive base are completely natural.

These are pressed solid slabs (or panels) - they can have different size: 45x15, 60x30, 30x30, 45x15. Their thickness can vary from four to six millimeters.

The material has a two-layer construction. Upper layer It is usually represented by high-quality high-quality veneer, the bottom one consists of cork chips pressed under pressure.

MDF is in the middle. Top part The structure consists of a special cork veneer. The stove has standard sizes 90 by 18.5 cm, with a thickness of 1.2 cm.

Just like the usual traditional laminate, cork has special grooves and locks. Thanks to this, the installation process is significantly simplified. It does not require sealants and an adhesive base, but a 2-3 mm substrate is required under it.

When the coating is laid and installed, several layers of varnish must be applied to it. Which grades to use for this are usually recommended by the manufacturers of cork laminates themselves.

The technical covering made of cork is a remnant of production, so this material is almost never used for final finishing. It is usually produced in granules, plates or convenient rolls.

Its main purpose is to use it as a substrate for laminate flooring. In addition, it can be used to mask and remove significant defects in the base.

Obvious advantages of cork flooring

The cost of cork flooring is higher than linoleum and traditional laminate. And yet, it can be considered quite profitable.

Let's look at the advantages of cork coating:

Cons of cork flooring

Cork covering, like any construction material, has not only advantages - it also has some disadvantages. What can be attributed to them?

Laying cork on the floor - preparation

To install cork floors, use various ways. The choice of a specific method in each case depends on the material chosen for the floor covering.

The floor can be adhesive (attached to the base) or floating (its individual elements are connected only to each other).

It is advisable to carry out work in warm weather. This is necessary to ensure that the temperature difference in the rooms where the material is stored and where it will be installed does not exceed seven degrees.

Humidity limits should be no more than 65 percent.

Before laying cork flooring, it is necessary to prepare the base well, which must be dry and level. All cracks and crevices must be carefully sealed.

It is recommended to use vapor-tight and waterproofing materials that can create reliable protective barriers. You can use gypsum fiber sheets, moisture-resistant plywood or self-leveling screeds.

Minimal differences in height are acceptable. All existing joints are sealed silicone sealant, after which the seams are leveled. The surface must be primed.

Cork flooring - laying with glue

It is not recommended to unpack the tiles immediately after purchasing them - they must remain in the conditions in which they will be installed for at least three days.

Humidity and temperature regime– the indicators should be 65% and 18 degrees, respectively. It is recommended to start installation in the center of the room, and not from the corner, as is desirable for many other materials.

First, markings are made using a beating cord, which facilitates the installation process.

The adhesive composition can be dispersive latex-acrylic or polychloroprene based - it can be applied both to the slabs and to the prepared base. For the floor, it is better to use a special notched trowel; for cork, a soft roller is more suitable.

The applied adhesive is kept for a specified time (determined by the manufacturer), only then installation begins. The individual elements are pressed against each other and against the base, tapped with a rubber mallet or ironed with a roller.

After this, the coating is left to dry for about a day, but the time period may vary for each specific brand of material.

Then the finished surface is freed from debris and dust - it is convenient to do this with a household vacuum cleaner. After a thoroughly cleaned floor, you can begin to varnish it with special two-component water-based polyurethane compounds.

The varnish is treated in several layers, at least three - this ensures better preservation and wear resistance of the cork coating.

Application can be carried out with or without sanding, glossy or matte varnishes are used. Within a few hours the treated surface will dry, but it is better to wait longer.

It is advisable not to touch the surface at all for about 24 hours.

As for a thorough load, you will have to wait longer. Only after 5-7 days will the floor become stable enough for the maximum possible load.