SFGate

APPLE KITCHENS The floating cork floors I have seen are pre-finished and MDF backed. This makes them particularly vulnerable to moisture. We have a glue-down, on site finished cork floor in our showroom. It has been very resilient but it has faded considerably where it gets direct exposure to sunlight. (This is common with all cork floors). I personally think a floating cork floor in a kitchen is a bit risky.

lilychka Thank you, Apple Kitchens. Fading is not an issue for me, because the kitchen is north-east facing, and the floor receives no direct sunlight at all. Moisture damage, however, is of major concern.

ruthmand We actually did lay tile over tile and it has worked out fine but it was in our entry which is relatively small. I urge you to look at the new upscale vinyl flooring products by Armstrong, as well as other manufacturers. They come in great patterns such as wood planks and slate and look fabulous. This is not the vinyl flooring of yore. It may even come in a cork look.

dianahb I have a studio and in the recent renovation, decided to put in cork flooring. I wanted something relatively soft, because I stand a lot when doing my work. I really love it. It's great to stand on and looks stunning. It was sealed with some sort of clear sealer which also gave it a bit of a slight sheen, which is nice. Otherwise, it would have picked up every foot print and paw print imaginable and would have looked dull very quickly-- so a sealer is a must. I got the kind of cork that comes in a wide plank style, so looks almost like a dark old wood floor. It's really been great.

I probably would not put it in a kitchen, though-- not because of moisture so much as the damage that might occur when things are dropped (as they inevitably are in a kitchen). Dropped sharp items, or something scraping across it will create damage you can't really mend, like on a wood floor. My installer did tell me that if I spilled water on it, to not let it sit-- to wipe it up right away. The moisture isn't such an issue for me, but would be in a kitchen, I think. More than that, though, is the slight damage when something sharp is dropped (or even when a dog runs across it really fast, skidding), causes some superficial damage.

Mine was put in as a floating floor over an existing cement floor. Had it for 2 years now-- no fading at all.

lilychka Thank you for your replies!

Could you please let me know which brands of floating cork flooring you have?

APPLE KITCHENS We have always used Duro-Design: http://www.duro-design.com/index.cfm/cork-flooring/ They are Canadian as well!

dianahb I would have to look up what we used now-- maybe US Floors? I'll look for it; I just can't remember the manufacturer.. But when we had this done, my contractor kept suggesting cork flooring to me. And he'd bring over these samples that just looked like a dart board to me. Then I was out at a hardwoods place (strictly hardwoods, I thought), and they had this gorgeous-- what looked to be old wide plank wood flooring sitting there, and I even went right up to it, thinking it was old barn flooring they had refurbished. I had to ask what it was, and it turned out it was cork. I couldn't believe it. I can take a picture if you like. It was more than the dart-board looking cork you see a lot of places-- but less than tile or hardwoods-- and well worth the extra cost. Plus, the cost may have even been a wash, given that it's relatively easy to install (unlike hardwoods or even tile)-- so the installation costs are much lower.

As stated before, though, I'm not entirely sure I'd put in in a kitchen. Maybe you're not as clumsy as I am, though-- dropping knives and other hard-edged stuff all the time. You don't want to be doing that with cork.

ruthmand Here is the website for Mannington's Adura flooring, one of the vinyls I was talking about. But you really should take a look at it in a flooring store as that is the only way you will get the full effect. I have seen it used and was amazed when I found out it was vinyl. This is a beautiful product that is prefect for a kitchen.

http://www.mannington.com/Residential/Adura.aspx

dianahb ruthmand: Thanks for that link; that is really nice looking. I think the thing that I discovered-- with the cork (and also, it looks, with the vinyl)-- that, when done as planks (like wood), the flooring is taken to a whole other level. I did not like the cork flooring I saw that was in squares. I'm thinking this vinyl is more appealing in planks as well. But-- yes-- really great looking and probably much more forgiving on a kitchen floor than cork would be.