See also Installation of
Floating Cork Floor Planks

1. Unfinished, ready to urethane

 

 

Cork tile, should be kept in a dry, well ventilated area with a relative humidity level between 40% and 60% before and after installation. It is recommended that you acclimatize the tiles on site, in their original packaging, for at least 24 hours prior to installation. The site temperature should be between 18C degrees and 27C degrees at least one day before installation and during installation and maintained thereafter.

 

Begin by opening the packages of cork tile. Shuffle the cork tiles before laying. This will achieve a pleasing variation of shading, which is common to cork tiles. Store unused cork tiles front to back to prevent tiles from sticking to one another. The adhesives and surface coatings are all water-based liquid materials. These materials must be kept from freezing.

 

Our cork flooring can be installed on properly cured concrete, floor grade lauan Mahogany plywood, Structure Board, Pro-board or Multi-ply. Inspect the floor for visible irregularities. The substrates must be free of contaminants, such as dirt, weak concrete, grease, oil, oil sealers, curing compounds, old adhesives and finishes. The surface should be level and all construction seams, expansion joints and holes must be filled. When patching or skim coating a floor always use a Portland (cement) based floor patch, following manufacturer's instructions. (DO NOT USE GYPSUM BASED FLOOR PATCH) Cork flooring should be installed on dry concrete only if it containing less than 3% moisture. Your tiles will already be pre-glued on the back with water-based contact adhesive. "Noble" quality, prefinished and unfinished cork tiles are not pre-glued on the back of the tile. Glue must be applied to the back of each tile. You must apply the recommended water-based contact adhesive with a medium haired paint roller to the sub-floor. Apply a thin coat to as large an area as can be installed in one day. The adhesive must be completely dry before installing the tile. Once dry, the adhesive will become transparent. You will have 4 to 5 hours to install the tile to the adhesive. The tiles should be butted together closely but not too tight. Once the tile is installed to the floor, further movement is not possible. The edges of the tile should be rolled with a 2" roller or gently padded with a rubber mallet to prevent the edges from peaking. Once the tile floor is installed it should be rolled with a 100-pound roller to insure the complete bonding of the tile to the sub-floor.

 

Prefinished, urethane-covered cork will require one coat of urethane to be applied with a pad applicator. Apply sparingly. Keep the room well ventilated. This application of urethane will insure that the edges of the cork tile are protected from excess water or other spills. Allow three to four hours drying time. Light foot traffic may be allowed four to five hours after application of urethane. Area rugs should not be placed for 10 days.

 

 

Cork tile, should be kept in a dry, well ventilated area with a relative humidity level between 40% and 60% before and after installation. It is recommended that you acclimatize the tiles on site, in their original packaging, for at least 24 hours prior to installation. The site temperature should be between 18C degrees and 27C degrees at least one day before installation and two days after installation.

 

Our cork flooring can be installed on properly cured concrete, Mahogany plywood, Structure Board, Pro-board or Multi-ply. Inspect the floor for visible irregularities. The substrates must be free of contaminants, such as dirt, weak concrete, grease, oil, oil sealers, curing compounds, old adhesives and finishes. The surface should be level and all construction seams, expansion joints and holes should be filled. When patching or skim coating a floor always use a Portland (cement) based floor patch, following manufacturer's instructions. Cork flooring should be installed on dry concrete containing less than 3% moisture.

 

Apply adhesive to the sub-floor in small sections of 6 to 8 square feet. The tile must be placed into the wet adhesive before the adhesive forms a skin on its surface. If a skin is present, remove the adhesive and reapply. Open time for the adhesive is approximately 20 to 25 minutes depending on the level of humidity.

 

Install the tile on each prepared area, pressing down each tile by hand. Wipe away any excess adhesive. Roll each finished area carefully with a 100-pound roller to ensure the tiles are firmly bedded into the adhesive.

 

Allow the tiles to set. The floor can be walked on after 4 to 6 hours.

 

Always read and follow the manufacturer's installation instructions.