Flooring, the technology of its installation and laying with your own hands and much more.
Before choosing a flooring material, consider the varieties cork covering.
Advantages of cork flooring:
- the floors are springy as a result of walking, and the legs do not get tired;
- creates a feeling of warmth;
- has excellent thermal insulation and;
- does not harm health, environmentally friendly building material.
Disadvantages of cork flooring:
Despite all the disadvantages of cork flooring, there are rooms where this coating will look perfect.
The floor is also springy, which means that the child will have fewer injuries if he falls.
Cork flooring can also be laid in the bedroom, office and recreation room.
Today, there are three main options for laying cork flooring:
- laying as usual;
- laying cork floating floors;
- laying cork flooring on .
It is very important to lay cork flooring in a warm room with an air humidity of no more than 65%.
Below we provide a list necessary tools, for work:
- circular saw;
- rubber hammer;
- spatula and roller for;
- construction;
- spacer wedges in case of installation for a floating floor;
- thresholds and
There are a number of important requirements for the subfloor on which the cork flooring will be laid: 
- Cork flooring must not be laid on cement screed. Over time, the cork begins to crumble, and the cement, due to its rough surface, will rub it away.
- must be dry, otherwise the cork will quickly absorb moisture. Use a special construction hair dryer to dry the subfloor.
- must be completely dry before installing the floor. To check whether the screed has dried or not, simply lay two square meters film, and press it on all sides with boards. If in a day inside no condensation has formed on the film, which means the screed is completely dry.
- Cork tiles are very fragile, which is why a liquid leveler is used to level the subfloor.
- Cork is also placed on the old floor, or.
Installation of cork floating floors
To install a cork floating floor, you will need a professional team of three people; you will not be able to install the flooring yourself. 
Below we will consider in detail all stages of work:
- The tiles begin to be laid from the center of the room in a spiral;
- The glue is applied with a spatula, and only then the tiles are applied;
- Next, you need to press the tile tightly to the previous one;
- Roll over the entire surface of the tile;
- At all stages of work, you need to constantly monitor the horizontal positioning using a building level;
- Excess glue that appears must be removed immediately;
- Along the perimeter along the walls it is necessary to make an indent of 25 mm;
- The cork coating takes 24 hours to dry. Only after complete drying can you begin to install special skirting boards.
From our article, you learned what cork flooring is, in which rooms it is best to use it, and how the process of installing cork flooring occurs.
Cork flooring, from the first days of use, became popular and earned wide recognition among consumers. The relatively affordable cost and the ability to lay such flooring yourself increase consumer demand for cork. Manufacturers offer a wide variety of product and quality at affordable prices for analogues and substitutes for natural veneer.
It must be borne in mind that there are some subtleties of laying such a coating on different stages implementation of this decision. You should study the issue in detail before going to a construction base or a special store to purchase material. It is necessary to familiarize yourself with the positive and negative sides of cork flooring, otherwise there is a risk of not only throwing money away, but also wasting time on wasted work.
Types of cork flooring
The most popular types of materials are:
- cork veneer flooring;
- cork MDF boards;
- cork laminate;
- slabs of pressed cork chips.
Coated with wear-resistant varnish, it is the most expensive. It’s not easy to confuse it with school cork board. Natural veneer is environmentally friendly pure material, which combines both the strongest pros and cons of cork. He is being released large sheets area up to 6 sq. m., 4–6 mm thick, and also in the form of tiles and rolls.
As a rule, its backside is protected with a vinyl film, which facilitates the process of gluing to a cement-concrete surface. The texture of natural cork is complex irregular shapes in yellow-brown tones.
. This material occupies an average price position in its line. This is a two-layer cork laminate, the bottom layer of which consists of a full-fledged MDF board, and the top layer is made of 2-4 mm veneer, coated with a protective varnish. By useful properties cork panels MDF is similar to solid veneer, and is not too demanding on the quality of the surface on which it must be laid.
Produced in traditional sizes and thicknesses for this coating.
. This cheap material for covering the floor. In stores it can be easily identified by its fine-grained texture, which looks like a cheap wine cork. However, the quality of cork board is almost as good as solid natural veneer. Tiles made from pressed cork chips - good quality budget option cork floor. Standard sizes of cork tiles:
- 300*300 mm;
- 600*600 mm;
- 600*900 mm.
Pros and cons of cork flooring
Floor made from cork material, does not slip and does not spring. It perfectly withstands significant loads directed at it. This flooring has good heat and sound insulation. One of the main advantages of this floor is that it is absolutely safe for human health and environment. Throughout the history of cork flooring, there has not been a single case of harm to human health.
With all the advantages and positive properties cork coating, unfortunately, it also has disadvantages. This is expensive material.
In addition, one cannot help but mention the relatively complex and painstaking procedure of its installation. Cork has a fragile structure and does not tolerate careless handling. Without sufficient knowledge and certain skills, start self-coating Cork flooring is not recommended.
This material is highly sensitive to temperature changes and mechanical damage from the claws of pets. Its internal composition and appearance. It swells with water and quickly absorbs any odors and then retains them for a long time.
Where is it not recommended to lay cork flooring, and in what rooms can it be installed?
In accordance with the above points, we can conclude that cork flooring is not suitable for rooms with temperature changes and high humidity. Any short-term temperature changes cause the cork to crumble and become unusable.
Therefore, cork flooring is not suitable for the kitchen, hallway or balcony. If desired, you can lay cork laminate there, but this may also be an impractical solution. Premises where laying cork flooring is strictly not recommended:
- bathroom;
- bathroom.
Very high humidity and sudden changes in temperature negatively affect the cork, since moisture can penetrate into the material through microcracks, after which it swells and peels off. This process is invisible in poorly visible places, for example, under baseboards.
Rooms ideal for cork flooring:
- Room for children.
- Bedroom.
- Office room.
- Living room.
Room for children. Any type of this covering is ideal in a children's room, as children will be warm to stand on and walk on the cork floor barefoot at any time of the year. In addition, if the child falls on the floor, he will not be injured. Walking barefoot on it has beneficial properties on the baby’s psyche and, it feels, brings him closer to nature.
Bedroom. Laying cork flooring in the bedroom is good for the same reasons as in the case of a children's room.
Office room. To the above reasons we can add the excellent sound insulation properties of the material.
Living room. In the living room, cork laminate is best suited, since in this room natural veneer will quickly lose its proper appearance.
Cork floor underlay
When laying a castle floor, you need to use an underlay. As a rule, the backing material is made from compressed fine-grained chips from cork oak bark.
The substrate is an important coating layer. It is needed for sound, heat and waterproofing. Non-flammable, wear-resistant, natural and environmentally friendly cork substrate has several times better properties than other insulating materials.
Technical cork is produced in rolls. Leaders in the production of cork flooring, as a rule, offer substrates with different thicknesses, but for a floating type of floor, 2 mm is sufficient.
The main function that the substrate should perform is to protect the cork covering from excessive loads that can cause deformation of the material. It also protects against condensation and dampens noise from footsteps on the floor.
Laying the underlay for the castle floor
For successful installation cork backing you need to do the following:
- at least one day before the start of work, rolls of technical cork must be brought into the room where it will be laid;
- to protect the surface from dampness, you first need to lay PVC film with an approach to the walls of no less than 5 cm;
- if a single piece of film is not enough, the remaining pieces are overlapped with a margin of up to 200 mm;
- parts of the film must be glued with tape;
- on the film, rolls of technical cork must be unrolled over the entire area;
- the gap from the wall to the substrate, as well as at its joints, should be 1.5 cm.
It should be remembered that the quality of the subsequently installed cork covering and its service life will directly depend on how correctly the substrate was laid.
Cork flooring technology
To lay a cork floor, the following tools and materials are required:
- rubber mallet;
- jigsaw or circular saw with a fine-toothed cut, since any hand saw the cork material will crumble around the edges;
- high precision level;
- metal ruler;
- ordinary measuring tape;
- a special marker or pencil for painting;
- if there is an adhesive floor, you will need a metal roller;
- spatula;
- paint brush 100 mm with natural bristles;
- varnish composition;
- special glue;
- several empty containers for varnish and glue;
- rags.
One of essential elements interior decoration the premises is its floor covering. They are presented to him special requirements: beauty, ease of care, 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 the countries with primacy in the processing of cork material and the production of various building materials from it. It is also cultivated in some Asian countries 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 in need of adhesive based, are completely natural.
These are pressed solid slabs (or panels) - they can have different sizes: 45x15, 60x30, 30x30, 45x15. Their thickness can vary from four to six millimeters.
The material has two-layer construction. Top 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. Upper 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, like any building 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 one chosen for flooring material.
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 the cork floor, 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, capable of creating reliable protective barriers. Can be used 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 tapping 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.
Cork flooring is an excellent material, undeservedly little widespread in Russia. Cork is better than the rest natural coatings absorbs sound and retains heat. Moreover, cork flooring is an orthopedic covering, because... reduces stress on the spine and joints.
There are two main options for cork flooring - glue and lock. The lock allows for quick installation, but only on a perfectly flat base. The adhesive plug can be glued even to an uneven surface, but it must be coated with varnish on top. Finish coating varnish, however, makes the surface monolithic and protects the floor from spilled liquid. It is in the adhesive version that the qualities of cork are better demonstrated, because the cork layer is thicker.
Adhesive cork can be joined end-to-end with other coverings - for example, with porcelain tiles or parquet, and you can also lay cork flooring throughout the apartment without a single threshold. Glueless cork floors are connected only through thresholds, even if the same cork is laid in different rooms due to the nature of floating technology.
Preparing the base
In order for a cork floor to be stable for many years, not to swell or become loose, it should be laid on an ideal level. smooth surface. For demons glue plug This prerequisite. Backlash in the connections of glueless cork boards causes squeaking and breakage of locks. There are several types of cork bases.
- Plywood base. In this case, the sheets moisture resistant plywood or chipboards are attached to a leveled screed and carefully sanded to perfect smoothness. You can also use the so-called “adjustable floor” - in this case, sheets of plywood are leveled by tightening special bolts. If the cork floor already has a finished cork base layer, then there is no need to use an underlay on the plywood.
- Linoleum. Laying on linoleum is possible only if the floor is smooth and level. If there are even the slightest swellings, bumps or holes on it, the linoleum should be removed and the floor prepared, as when laying cork on a screed. There is no need to lay additional underlay on linoleum.
- Screed or concrete base. This is the most commonly used method for installing cork floors. In this case, the screed should be dried and leveled grinder or leveling mixture. The leveling mixture should be one that does not contain casein; it is advisable to add an enhancer like Primer to it to ensure proper adhesion. When laying on a screed, waterproofing is required. To do this, you can use either a moisture-proof underlay (for example, Tuplex) or lay plastic film 200 microns thick with a wide overlap under a regular substrate (cork, for example).
After the base has been prepared, you need to warm up the room until optimal temperature at 18-22 °C. Cork floor tiles should be left in the room for about a day to acclimatize.
The glue for installing the adhesive plug must also be warm. It is not recommended to use PVA glue or water-soluble adhesives for cork flooring - they lead to swelling and damage to the coating. The best option- a special adhesive for cork, which contains polychloroprene and synthetic rubber. This glue sets well, does not harm the coating and dries quickly - you can walk on the floor immediately after installation. A special feature of cork adhesives is their instant adhesion, so if you lean the cork sheet against the base, it cannot be moved; be very careful.
Step-by-step instructions for installing adhesive cork flooring
- First you need to mark the room. The cork is laid from the center of the room towards the walls. To do this, mark the center of the room and draw parallel lines from it in the direction of the walls. It’s worth first “trying on” the tiles by laying them out without glue - it sets quickly, so if the tiles are laid offset, they will have to be torn off and the base re-aligned.
- The glue is applied to the base using a notched trowel. It is desirable that this be a tool with triangular teeth spaced 2 mm apart.
- The glue is left for 20-30 minutes (depending on the characteristics of the glue and its quantity), after which sheets of cork are laid on it end-to-end without gaps and pressed tightly. After installation, the cork floor is tapped with a rubber hammer or rolled with a special roller. If glue gets on the tiles during installation, it must be removed immediately. As a rule, the glue dries completely in 48 hours - for this the room must be well ventilated.
- Near the walls, where whole tiles do not fit, you need to cut them. This leaves gaps between the coating and the wall of 3-4 mm. If there is a door in the room, its bottom should be cut to the thickness of the cork floor.
- After installation, the cork floor is sanded and degreased. A protective cork varnish or wax is applied to its surface. How many layers of varnish to use depends on the source material. Cork is available uncoated or primed. If the cork is uncoated, you need to cover it in 3-4 layers, if it is primed - in 1-2.
Laying glueless cork flooring
There are also ready-made solution, which does not require installation with glue, are cork boards with a plywood or wooden core, which are laid in a floating manner using a glueless joint. Such a floor, as a rule, comes immediately with a backing and a protective layer - just carefully secure it by snapping the lock, like a laminate.
Laying should be done from the edge of one wall to the other, row by row. The slabs need to be joined staggered or brickwork, preventing the joint of 4 plates at the same time.
The glueless cork can also be varnished for moisture protection. Or you can use specialized gel sealants for joints.
Cork floor care
Cork floors can be washed with a regular damp sponge; it is not susceptible to the effects of ethyl alcohol and solvents based on benzene or trichloroethane. At the same time, you should avoid contact with aggressive alkalis on the surface of the cork. If the surface is very dirty, you can carefully clean it using special means, an emulsion that adds shine to the surface. If necessary, the contaminated surface can be sanded and recoated. protective agent- polyurethane varnish or cork wax.
Cork flooring is an excellent option for residential premises in an apartment or private house. It has excellent decorative, heat and sound insulating properties, and is characterized by a long service life with strict adherence to installation technology. Cork can also be placed on other surfaces - floors or walls. So in an original way It's easy to create a stylish room with minimal investment.
Cork floor installation cost
Approximate prices for cork installation services are indicated on the website. To find out a more accurate cost, you need to contact us. A technologist comes to the site completely free of charge, takes the necessary measurements and draws up an estimate. It includes the cost of work and materials. If necessary, also free of charge, you can get advice on any issue of interest that concerns the installation of the floor or the features of its further operation.| # | Name of work | Unit change | Uena |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laying cork on the wall | m 2 | from 350 rub. |
| 2 | Laying cork on the ceiling | m 2 | from 450 rub. |
| 3 | Laying decorative cork on the wall diagonally | m 2 | from 450 rub. |
| 4 | Laying adhesive cork floor covering (3 layers of varnish) on a prepared base is simple | m 2 | from 480 rub. |
| 5 | Laying adhesive cork floor covering (3 layers of varnish) on the prepared base diagonally | m 2 | from 580 rub. |
| 6 | Cutting the hole for the pipeline | pcs. | from 350 rub. |
| 7 | Laying cork on the walls - designing the corner joint of the walls | m.p. | from 300 rub. |
| 8 | Varnishing cork floors/walls 1 coat of varnish | m.p./m2 | from 30 rub. |
| 9 | Installation of floor skirting boards | m.p. | from 120 rub. |
| 10 | Stacking-on glue - technical plugs on the floor, walls | m 2 | from 280 rub. |
| 11 | Laying technical cork on the ceiling | m 2 | from 380 rub. |
| 12 | One-sided cork cutting (approach close to fixed parts) | m.p. | from 300 rub. |
| 13 | Double-sided cork cut (joint of two cork materials) | m.p. | from 600 rub. |
| 15 | Primer of floors, walls | m 2 | from 30 rub. |
| 16 | Installation of interlocking floating cork floor. Easy installation | m 2 | from 250 rub. |
| 17 | Installation of interlocking floating cork floor. Diagonal laying | m 2 | from 380 rub. |
| 18 | Self-leveling floor to a height of up to 10mm | m 2 | from 250 rub. |
| 19 | Self-leveling floor to a height of up to 20 mm | m 2 | from 300 rub. |
| 20 | Self-leveling floor to a height of up to 30 mm | m 2 | from 350 rub. |
| 21 | Dry screed Knauf up to 6 cm | m 2 | from 450 rub. |
Types of coatings
Several types of material are used for flooring - solid veneer, agglomerate chips, mixed. The first type of cork is the highest quality, but it is also the most expensive. This material is also available in various forms, which determines the way it is laid. Highlight:
- technical jam. Available in the form of rolls or large plates;
- boards that are installed with glue. They can be rectangular or square;
- floating floor They are MDF panels covered with cork.
Installation using adhesives
Laying a cork floor using the adhesive method works like this:
- Preparation of the base - leveling, removing dirt, priming.
- The glue is applied both to the cork and to the surface of the base. It should dry for 10-15 minutes, after which you can begin installation.
- To better fix the panels, tap them with a rubber hammer.
- A varnish coating is applied to the finished surface.
Floating installation
The technology of work involves the following stages:
- The prepared base (flat, free of dirt) is covered with a thin cork backing in the form of rolls.
- The individual strips are connected to each other with adhesive tape.
- Cork panels are laid on the entire surface of the floor, which form one whole due to the presence of a locking connection.
- To receive high-quality coating After installing each board, it is tapped with a rubber hammer.
Where to order cork flooring in Moscow?
Our company installs cork floors in Moscow. We take on orders of any complexity and install indoor coverings different sizes And functional purpose. Our company employs only professionals in their field, which guarantees high quality. During the order fulfillment process, step-by-step control is carried out, which eliminates any defects. Also, the commissioning of the facility will occur within the previously agreed upon time frame, which will satisfy even the most demanding client.
