Cork Tile Flooring – How To Install It Properly

Posted on 2011/03/22 by admin

You may look at cork as a rather delicate material for flooring but the new generation of cork tile flooring is very sturdy and lasts long. The material is natural and renewable. Cork tile flooring gives a gentle warm feeling to feet. It doesn’t create noise, like some other floor materials do. Once the surface has been appropriately prepared this kind of flooring may be applied over a weekend.

Unlike the floating floor tiles, natural cork tile flooring needs a perfectly flat and smooth surface for being glued. So, it can’t be installed on an uneven surface like the plank flooring , linoleum or vinyl that is any surface that has a pattern or joints on it. In such cases you have to attach an under layer of plywood with a thickness of at least a quarter inch. However, flat concrete floors free from moisture may directly be installed with natural cork tile flooring, though it will be better to include a vapor barrier in between. You may seek help and get some useful tips for concrete installations from the supplier of flooring.

In case of existing layers of old flooring, you have to get rid of old layers and install a fresh under layer on the sub floor. You have to cut and screw the plywood for under-layer to the existing or old sub floor. And, don’t think of replacing the plywood with fiberboard or particleboard as these absorb moisture and disintegrate easily. Care should be taken to use plywood graded for the purpose of under-laying.

Ensure that the screws flush or countersunk into the under layer of plywood. The joints in the plywood should be staggered by a minimum of thirty-two inches, keeping a gap of 1/16-1/8 inch between the panels. Distance the screws by four inches on seams and by six inches at other points.

On a graph paper draw your design. Take measurements of the floor and draw it to scale. While making your design avoid getting thin cuts of tiles closer to the walls. You may have to juggle your design a bit to avoid it. Also draw the pattern for the border and then count all the tiles you are going to need. For creating attractive pattern on the edges of the floor you may consider having darker tiles.

Make a fairly accurate calculation of the number of tiles you can lay in one day and apply adhesive on the back of that may tiles a night before. That way you can work faster the next morning, while allowing sufficient time for the adhesive to get cured adequately before it comes in contact with floor. An experience worker can complete a 10X10 feet room in a day, but the novice would naturally take longer.

Cork tile flooring is available in the form of pre-glued tiles too. One of the companies making such tiles is Duro-Design. You can have your cork tile flooring from this company in 54 colors. The company claims to use the densest available cork for their tiles. That makes the tiles incredibly resilient wand more resistant to dents as compared to hardwood flooring. Cork tile flooring from Duro-Design comes in 12X12 inch tiles or 12X36 inch plank. You may choose to install it as a glued-down floor or as a floating, edge-locked floor system.

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And What About Mosaic Cork Tiles?

Posted on 2011/02/17 by admin

Usually when we think of giving a new look and feel to our home, we generally think along the lines of remodeling the house and that would include fresh coat of paint, changing of curtains, furnishings and having a new flooring. But, we need not do all those changes for a simple way of changing the entire looks and feel of the room is to change its flooring. Mosaic cork tiles make the room cozy and comfortable. Though cork is not so popular as hardwood, it can gainfully be used for the purpose. It offers warmth and looks classic and remains comfortable.

You get mosaic cork tiles either as prearranged mosaic tile sheets; else you may go to make your own mosaic by using square tiles of many different colors. Whichever way you may opt for, ultimately you’ll get a texture that is pleasant to look at and thus enhances the looks of your entire house. You can have mosaic cork tile sheets in large range of mosaic looks that are easily installed. Notwithstanding the way you may decide to get the looks of mosaic cork tile, you will surely appreciate the new floors and the beauty they bring to your home.

Installation of mosaic tiles generally requires the use of some adhesive, though certain kinds don’t need any adhesive. You get especially made adhesives for holding together of cork and making it last longer. Best flexible urethane adhesive from Bostik is good and popular. You can rely upon it for its durability even under acute conditions. The other type of cork tiles that need no adhesive just click and lock together to give you a floating floor. These need a sub floor as a moisture barrier for their installation. As no adhesive or nails are used for their installation, the floor “ floats” on the sub floor. Installation of such floors is very convenient and quick and gives an amazing look to the room in which these are installed.

The use of mosaic cork tiles is not confined to just floors. You may install them in the showers to work as backsplashes. Once you seal them after installation water, dust or dirt causes them no harm. As they have a non-slip antibacterial surface they prove excellent in showers. Apart from being durable they have sound absorbing properties also. Moreover, cork is an eco-friendly material, as it doesn’t involve cutting of trees. All these characteristics favor use of cork tiles and it’s better to be using these than normal tiles.

Next time you are consider giving a new look to your floors or adding texture to your shower or walls, you should surely explore the possibility of including cork tiles for the benefits they provide. These tiles are easily available and the sheets are convenient to install on any existing surface to create your personal design that not only enhance the looks of your home, but also add value to it.

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Removing Cork Floor Tiles

Posted on 2011/01/11 by admin

Here are some helpful tips enabling you to take out any damaged cork tile that needs repairing. For additional information on repairing or installation of cork flooring you may click the link on the right.

1. You have to find out the adhesive that was originally used for sealing the cork tiles to the sub floor. If the cork tile has already come out from the sub floor at a couple of points you just need a chisel and a rubber mallet to pull it out from the floor. But, if the tile is thoroughly secured to the floor because of the adhesive, you will need to employ and heating gun to sever its bonding with the floor. However, you should be very cautious so as not to burn anything else while handling heating gun and take care not to spoil the edges of the surrounding tiles.

2. With the help of a sharp knife cut a square in the middle of the tile, about an inch away from its seam. Then, using a chisel and mallet remove the marked square from the floor. You should be very slow and careful. The intention is to take out the square piece without harming the surrounding tiles. Once you have successfully removed the central square piece, the rest is simple to detach.

3. Next, you have to get rid of the left over adhesive from the floor. Usually, a paint scrapper should suffice; otherwise you have to use the heating gun. Once again, be extra careful and don’t overheat the gun, as adhesives are combustible and on catching fire could spoil the entire floor.

4. Having removed the adhesive you need to sweep over the affected area to get rid of left over debris. It’s important that the surface be thoroughly clean. You should use mild detergent and the coarse side of the sponge for this purpose. Now, let the sub floor dry for a minimum period of 24 hours, at the end of which you may fix the new tile.

Now you realize how simple it is to get rid of a damaged cork tile. The installation of new tiles is still simpler. In case you need more help on this subject you may visit the following links and view the videos to have a better understanding of the process of installing cork flooring.

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Cork Tile Flooring – How To Install It Properly

Posted on 2010/12/09 by admin

Going by its looks, cork appear to be a fragile material to be used for flooring but the kind of cork flooring being manufactured these days is strong and would last for many years. Moreover, it’s a natural renewable resource. Flooring made from cork is soft and warm to the feet, and quiet too, unlike most flooring materials. If the surface is prepared in the desired manner, this kind of flooring can be applied over a weekend.

Unlike floating floor tiles, natural cork tile flooring needs to be glued to a perfectly even, smooth surface, meaning that it can’t be installed on an uneven surface like plank flooring, vinyl, or linoleum, meaning anything with a pattern or joints over it. You have to screw down a plywood under-layer with a thickness of at least one-quarter inch. In case of flat concrete floor that is moisture-free, you can directly install natural cork tile flooring onto it, but it will be wise to incorporate a vapor barrier. You may approach flooring supplier to get some useful tips on concrete installations.

If there are already a few layers of old flooring, you need to rip off those and mount new underlayment on the subfloor. Cut to size the underlayment plywood and fasten it to the old subfloor or existing floor. Do not use particleboard or fiberboard in place of plywood, as these take in moisture and disintegrate very easily. The plywood to be used should be graded as underlayment plywood.

Ensure that the screws are set to flush or countersunk into the underlayment plywood. The joints of plywood should be staggered by at least thirty-two inches, leaving a gap of 1/16-1/8 inch between panels. Place screws every four inches on seams and every six inches elsewhere.

It helps to draw a plan of your design on graph paper. Take measurement of the floor and draw the plan to scale. While drawing the design, you should better avoid having thin cuts of tile near walls. Just modify the pattern one way or the other by cutting some other tiles thinner. You may include a border pattern too. Then, calculate the required number of cork tiles. You may consider having a pattern around the edges of the floor by incorporating tiles of a darker shade.

Now, you need to make an estimate of the number of tiles that you can fix in a day and apply contact adhesive at the back of calculated number of tiles a night before you plan to start fixing those. This has dual benefit. Your work will proceed at a faster speed, plus the adhesive gets enough time to cure appropriately before you bring it to make contact with the floor. Those with experience can conveniently tile a ten by ten foot room in one day. Novices would do well to plan for an extra day.

Cork tile flooring is also available in pre-glued tiles. One of the brands offering such tiles is the Duro-Design. This manufacturer offers cork tile flooring in fifty-four color shades. Duro-Design claims that its flooring is made from the densest available cork that makes it remarkably resilient and more resistant to dents than hardwood flooring. You get Duro-Design cork tile flooring in 12X12 inch tiles or 12×36 inch planks. You may install it as a glued-down floor or as a floating, edge-locked floor system.

Cork tile flooring is good-looking, environment-friendly, comfortable, and durable. It makes a better alternative to hardwood flooring, which can’t be considered environment friendly. Cork tile flooring is at par with bamboo and other renewable resources and certainly one of the better flooring options.

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What Cork Tiles Actually Are And How Can You Use Them

Posted on 2010/11/30 by admin

An easy way to keep your things organized is to have cork tiles for pinning things on walls. It’s not easy for many of us to keep our items organized all thru the day. It becomes all the more challenging if you are operating from home and have a home office of some kind. If you happen to visit some body working from home office, don’t be surprised to see all the papers messed around with books and post it notes.

Over the last couple of years cork tiles have become quite popular as they allow one to make a bulletin board from whatever pace you may have. For instance, if you work on a desk that lacks wall space around it, you can cut cork tiles as per the available space that you have. That enables you to have a very optimum utilization of space to organize things.

While trying to accommodate your home office at the right point of your house, you may be hard put to find any specific room that allows you to carry your business related activities. It’s not uncommon to see people using a closet or a part of their bedroom for the purpose. Under such circumstances it becomes all the more difficult to have wall space for hanging up the bulletin board. That’s what adds to the popularity of cork tiles.

The helpful feature of tile is that you can cut it to any required size, depending on the space you have at your disposal. In case you happen to have a large wall, or flooring, you could have a number of them together to make a huge bulletin board. The space so created can be used not only for displaying your appointments but also for pinning your set goals so that you are reminded of those all the time. There are others who make use of such cork tiles as vision boards to remind them of their personal goals too, like the car they would like to buy or may be a house they would like to have some day.

It’s very convenient to procure cork wall tiles for the purpose of pinning different things on walls. Just be on the Internet for a while to compare prices of different brands and order online. These are not expensive and very useful too.

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