Laying the cork floor or how not to forget about the little things

Cork flooring is an exceptionally natural and environmentally friendly coating. It not only looks beautiful, but also practical enough to use, which makes it an ideal option for large rooms, in which there are many people.

Laying the cork floor must begin with preparatory work, since the base must be perfectly clean, flat and dry. To increase the adhesion of the cork coating to the substrate, it must be cleaned of grease, glue, paint and wax. Do not leave seams, potholes or crevices on the surface. The finished base is covered with a primer coat.

If the cork cover needs to be laid on the old one, then firstly the sheets of moisture-resistant chipboard or dense plywood are laid. Above them, an equalizing mixture is applied, which is then carefully ground.

Laying the cork floor is only possible with a certain moisture content of the concrete or cement base. Too high level of this indicator can adversely affect the building material. The ideal indicator in this matter is 25% humidity level. If the conditions do not allow achieving the required conditions, then before the work is done, it is necessary to pre-lay a layer of waterproofing material. A thin roll or sheet cork is laid over it. Such measures will give the future coverage additional heat-saving and sound-proof characteristics.

Before proceeding with the arrangement of the floor, it is necessary to take into account several nuances. First of all, the air temperature in the room should not be more than 18-20 degrees, while the plates must adapt to the environment within a day. You can unpack them just before laying.

Laying the cork floor is done with a special adhesive. It is applied with a notched trowel. Cork sheets are placed on the adhesive layer only after 30 minutes from the time of application. Preliminary premise it is necessary to mark out carefully. The guides can be both parallel to the walls, and can be arranged diagonally.

After flooring the cork floor on the greased base, the finished area is rolled with a weighted roller and is taped with a rubber mallet.

After a certain period of time, the cork slabs may be slightly enlarged, therefore, according to the technology of laying the natural cork floor, it is necessary to leave a small gap around the perimeter of the room. The width of this gap should be at least 4 mm. It is covered with a plinth, therefore from the aesthetic point of view does not violate the integrity of the surface. It is worth noting that the skirting is fixed only to the wall and should be located several millimeters above the cork cover. This will avoid possible deformation of the plates.

Laying the cork floor implies not only a concrete or cement base, the slabs can also be laid on linoleum, carpet and other coatings. The only condition that must be strictly observed is to eliminate possible defects and unevennesses. Such substrates practically do not need additional waterproofing.

Cork flooring should be strictly oriented in the direction of light penetrating through the window.

When the laying is completed, it is necessary to treat the coating with a cloth moistened with white spirit, from the remnants of the glue. Then give the canvas slightly dry during the day, after which it is again cleaned with special solutions.

At the final stage, cork flooring needs additional protection. To do this, it is coated with varnish, and this work can only be started after a day and a half after laying.