Re-finishing your cork floor.

Observe your finish for signs of wear. After cleaning is a good time to do this. To prevent damage to the cork tile, the finish must be re-coated at the first signs of wear. Simply clean floor, sand LIGHTLY with a drywall sander and 220 grit sandpaper to remove gloss. Vacuum and tac up any remaining dust with a damp cloth. Be careful not to sand through the exisiting urethane. Apply 1 – 2 coats of your choice of Solida waterbase urethane with a short hair or foam roller. The life of the finish is dependent on the traffic and quality of floor care. Five to six years can be expected under normal conditions. If you have cork in your kitchen, consider putting a mat in front of the sink as this area gets some of the heaviest traffic in most homes. Be careful to choose a mat that will not discolour the finish. Some mats such as those with a rubber back can react with the urethane leading to discoloration.

What type of glue to use for traditional cork.

Traditional cork flooring of the glue down type which dates back to the 19th century is adhered directly to the substrate. Each supplier or manufacturer has a different outlook on the installation process. Some companies supply a contact adhesive, others provide a wetset adhesive. Some supply no adhesive but recommend or sell an adhesive separately and still others leave it up to the purchaser to decide what type of adhesive to use. Contact adhesives are far superior to wetset as they grab the tile immediately when pressed into the floor. Wetset adhesive cure over a period of time during which a tile can curl up from the floor resulting in a unsatisfactory installation. Solida supplies a propriety contact adhesive automatically with each order. As it is a contact adhesive, both surfaces, the back of the tile and the substrate require an application. When the adhesive is dry on both surfaces and they meet, a permanent bond occurs. Solida tiles leave the factory with a coat of adhesive already applied to the back of the time and the correct amount of adhesive necessary for the supplied tiles is included. This adhesive contains rubber which offers an significant advantage over other contact adhesives as once cure, you are left with a rubber membrane that is virtually impenetrable by water making it perfect for basement installations. As always, if you have any installation questions, contact your dealer prior to proceeding.

Acclimation

When installing any natural product, it is important to allow the product to acclimate in the environment in which the installation is taking place for a period prior to install. Every manufacturers has their own guidelines which should be followed closely as improper acclimation can cause various problems post-installation such as; gapping and buckling or cupping.  This applies to both floors that are being glued down and floating floors. A little care prior to installation will help insure a quality installation free from product failure.

Solida Cork over Radiant Heat

When installing a cork floor over radiant heat, not all floors are created equal.
Most cork manufacturers and suppliers will only recommend the use of a floating
floor. Cork floating floors do work well with radiant heat bearing in mind that the
floor will take a little longer to achieve full temperature due to the MDF core.
Conversely, the floor will retain heat longer.
Solida also recommends the use of glue down floors over radiant heat. Many
manufacturers will not suggest this due to uncertainty with adhesive. Some cork
suppliers do not provide adhesive or the adhesive they do provide is not suitable
for this type of installation. Solida supplies a premium waterbased contact
adhesive with every order. This adhesive passes the Woodwork Institute of
California test for heat resistance and is perfectly suitable for installation over
radiant heat. Solida’s adhesive also exceeds California’s stringent air quality
requirements under Rule 1168.
When installing glue down tile over a radiant heat floor, two rules must be
adhered to. First, 5 days prior to installation, the heat must be brought up or
down to room temperature (70-72 degrees Fahrenheit) regardless of season.
Secondly, the floor temperature should never exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
After the floor is installed, the temperature can be adjusted as long as the second
rule is not broken. All other installation guidelines must still be followed.
A correctly installed and maintained cork floor will look beautiful for generations.