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anastatia
Vancouver, WA
(Zone 8a)
March 23, 2007
4:40 PM Post #3313500
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I have always liked cork floors. But never had them in my home. Do any of you have cork?
This message was edited Mar 23, 2007 8:44 PM |
BackyardZoo
Poquoson, VA
(Zone 7b)
April 12, 2007
10:54 AM Post #3383525
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I do. I really like them for the most part. We have a little "gap-osis" here & there - probably because circumstances didn't let us 'season' the flooring in a climate controlled (read that 'much less humid") space before we installed them, so the planks have dried out & shrunk some - not much, but some.
Otherwise, they've held up really well to lots of kids, golden retrievers and oblivious hubbys. We have them in the kitchen, baths and laundry room. One of the baths had a leak that went UNDER the flooring, where we didn't catch it for a long while, so that flooring popped apart & has to be re-snapped together. But all the others still look great. And I'm not sure ANY flooring would have any better.
They're also great for saving dropped dishes in the kitchen and saving your feet as you cook ;-) |
brigidlily
Lumberton, TX
(Zone 8b)
June 26, 2007
4:50 PM Post #3661790
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I'm thinking about replacing the carpets in the bedrooms (it was there when I bought the place) with cork; the old courthouses down here have cork floors and they have lasted forever and look great. Any thoughts on cork tiles versus cork sheets? Thanks! |
anastatia
Vancouver, WA
(Zone 8a)
June 26, 2007
5:15 PM Post #3661869
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I have never seen cork sheets. And everything I have read lately, on line, refers to tiles or rectangle strips |
PrairieGirlZ5
Thornton, IL
August 28, 2007
5:25 PM Post #3911021
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Can anyone recommend a good source for cork flooring? This would be for a basement installation, on top of concrete. There is no quarter round on the baseboard, the room is fairly square. What determines choice between tiles or strips, looks or price? Any thoughts about color? First drawn to a color called Pebble on one site, it looks fairly basic. Thanks for sharing any tips you might have as well. |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
August 28, 2007
9:05 PM Post #3911698
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I can't remember if I've seen it at places like Lowes & Home Depot, but I know I've seen it at Expo, which is owned by Home Depot. Not sure if they have those in your area or not. Most flooring stores have it too (at least out here.) |
PrairieGirlZ5
Thornton, IL
August 28, 2007
9:15 PM Post #3911736
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thank you, I'll look at HD, they're right down the street, I had no idea they carried it/might carry it. Do you have it? |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
August 28, 2007
10:19 PM Post #3912019
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I'm not sure if you'll find it at HD, I've never seen it there, just at Expo which is more like a design showroom rather than a home improvement store. I haven't spent too much time looking at flooring at HD though so it might be there and I just didn't notice it.
I don't have cork--before I decided to sell my old house I was looking at all sorts of flooring options to replace my carpet and cork was one thing I looked at, but then I decided to move instead. And the new house has nice tile floors all throughout, so I haven't been shopping for flooring lately. |
BackyardZoo
Poquoson, VA
(Zone 7b)
August 29, 2007
6:32 AM Post #3912712
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we bought ours online at [HYPERLINK@www.ifloor.com] - even with shipping it was cheaper than anything we fond locally. |
brigidlily
Lumberton, TX
(Zone 8b)
August 29, 2007
9:44 AM Post #3913237
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Thanks, Zoo -- I'll look there, and I know Lumber Liquidators also sells it; it seemed pretty reasonable. I think the site is [HYPERLINK@www.lumberliquidators.com] but might be better to google it. My son has been living with me, and he moves out next week, and it would be an opportune time to get this taken care of. |
PrairieGirlZ5
Thornton, IL
August 29, 2007
10:02 PM Post #3916151
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Thanks for the link Backyard Zoo, looks like that store is coming to my area soon! I was looking at Lumber Liquidators site yesterday, my first choice was Lisbon Cork - Van Gogh. It seemed like a good neutral color in the warm range, same as the paints we tend to choose. Still debating whether to carpet or tile, having the chance to see the product locally may make the difference! |
brigidlily
Lumberton, TX
(Zone 8b)
August 30, 2007
11:32 AM Post #3917903
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It seems to be a lot cheaper at Lumber Liq -- but there is only one style available. Hmmm... |
PrairieGirlZ5
Thornton, IL
August 30, 2007
11:19 PM Post #3920266
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Today I like Rembrandt better, and its dark rich color. (Ruled out Sunset altogether, it looks like a cork board). One style, and three color choices left to choose from is quite enough brigidlily, LOL. Which one do you like, and why? |
brigidlily
Lumberton, TX
(Zone 8b)
August 31, 2007
11:25 AM Post #3921726
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I was thinking about picking a light and a dark and doing a kind of harlequin diamond sort of pattern. Or maybe a log cabin quilt kind of effect. |
PrairieGirlZ5
Thornton, IL
August 31, 2007
5:20 PM Post #3923041
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Ah ha, that would be different, please post pics if you do. |
Photographer
Moxee, WA
(Zone 4a)
September 1, 2007
10:10 AM Post #3925111
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Prairiegirlz, The use of cork as a flooring would make me think it needed to be in a low use room. I cannot imagine cork being capable of withstanding significant traffic. In an ideal setting I can understand higher use in walk in closets or changing rooms adjacent to a MB. It just seem like a strange surface for use most anywhere where the hh members might wear shoes. My wife is from Japan. We have a small closet nr the front door where all hh shoes go into on entering the house and where slipper go on the feet at the same time or we wear our socks. This cuts down on dirt significantly in the home. Our floors are ALL 1ft sq linoleum + we have a 400 sq ft mud room. The linoleum squares are durable and cheap. The floor below is 5-6 inches of cement. This place is ideal for summer living ... like sitting on an ice block. In the winter we need to make significant changes in order to cozy up the house. Our heat bill is reasonable ... less than $600 from October thru April. We do not heat the BR's. We have a combined Gr rm with kitchen-dining-living. This is very simple house plan and reduces the need for more of everything & the sq footage is 1500 but we have 250 additional BR space that is not attached and is a guest rm where my son sleeps & plays the drums. Our king bed has a mattress warmer. We have a feather bed and a feather comforter. The bed is cozy. We get the propane heater going at 6 am and most of the house is quite comfortable in minutes. My hope/plan is to have a terrazo flooring over a radiant floor heat system. The cement foundation is perfect to allow that kind of improvement. |
magnolialover
Oregon, WI
(Zone 5a)
September 1, 2007
10:22 AM Post #3925142
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We bought our bamboo flooring from this place. We noticed that they had a whole lot higher quality and many more choices than we could find at the Home Depots and big box types. I saw the cork in their showroom and it was beautiful.
[HYPERLINK@www.ecofriendlyflooring.com] |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
September 1, 2007
10:30 AM Post #3925163
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Cork is perfectly durable and can withstand high traffic--google cork floor durability if you want more information, but there are tons of references out there. Cork can be used anywhere you'd consider other types of flooring, and should last just as long as things like hardwood. |
anastatia
Vancouver, WA
(Zone 8a)
September 1, 2007
10:34 PM Post #3927175
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Actually, I first became familiar with cork floors @ the home of friends with 7 children. They also have heating elements under the cork so it is real warm in the winter. they love it. |
PrairieGirlZ5
Thornton, IL
September 2, 2007
9:10 PM Post #3929951
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I have read it is very suitable to high traffic rooms, maybe Photographer you are thinking of cork boards like you push pins into? Our family does not always remove shoes when they enter, we have loads of visitors, and a cat.
|
magnolialover
Oregon, WI
(Zone 5a)
September 2, 2007
9:28 PM Post #3930007
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Very, very suitable in high traffic situations. Call someone who knows about this type of flooring or check out a showroom. That's the very best way to see what will work for you. Not sure where Thornton is prairie, but Ecofriendly Flooring is excellent and in Madison, Wi. They have a whole lot of samples on site. |
PrairieGirlZ5
Thornton, IL
September 3, 2007
11:26 AM Post #3931630
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I will look locally first, this has certainly got me interested. |
brigidlily
Lumberton, TX
(Zone 8b)
September 4, 2007
1:25 PM Post #3936322
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One of the reasons I'd considered it is that the courtrooms at the federal courthouse here have cork floors. I don't know what all they have to do to maintain them, but they've been there for decades and look great. |
PrairieGirlZ5
Thornton, IL
September 4, 2007
3:20 PM Post #3936685
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Well I would imagine courtrooms are pretty busy places. |
