Cork floor

No matter what style you have the interior. Cork is one of the most successful decoration materials. In order for the products for a long time rejoicing you with beauty, aestheticism and excellent performance, the correct installation of a cork cover on the floor is very important.

Corking oak bark is the most valuable natural raw material used for the production of various necessary things, from shoes to finishing coatings. In particular, to decorate the floor are issued:

Agglometered cork slabs glued.
Tile or strap made of crushed cork self-adhesive.

Consider every type of more.

Adhesive agglomerated plug

To obtain this type of products, the bark products are crushed into the crumb of the desired size, mixed with thermosetting synthetic resins and is pressed into blocks with a density of 450 to 800 kg / m³. The resulting semi-finished product is cut into sheets with a thickness of 3 to 6 mm, of which tiles or strips of typical dimensions are formed on the machine or strips and a length of up to 120 cm. The edges of the finished products are smooth, so it is necessary to glue them. Product cost - from 700 r. / M² and higher.

Cork stove agglomerate.

The adhesive cork is well combined with a water "warm floor", but it is necessary to choose elastic glue with a mark "for heated bases." We remind you that manufacturers (Corkstyle, Wicanders, etc.) ultimately do not recommend to glue the product on the screed, under which the classical system of electrical (cable) heating is arranged.

Laccued or finishing waxed, this finishing material is perfect for premises such as a kitchen, an entrance hall, a balcony, a living room and other objects with a high degree of hiking and abrasive loads. At the same time, it is equally well combined with ceramic tiles, classic parquet and any other flooring.

Self-adhesive outdoor traffic

The finishing material is thin tiles of standard or veneered agglomerate, on the wrong side of which an industrial adhesive layer is applied under protective paper. The latter prevents the drying of the adhesion coating and significantly facilitates the process of laying on any base, including walls and even the ceiling. The price of the product begins from 800 r. / M².

The cork floor of this series is produced in the form of a tile with a side of no more than 30 cm, a thickness of from 3.6 mm to 5 mm. Very rarely there are planks on the adhesive basis of shortened dimensions - width up to 18 cm, length up to 90 cm. The facial surface is usually clean, in need of protection from water, painting liquids, household chemicals and abrasives. Additionally, adhesive compositions are almost not used, but it is important to carefully prepare the basis under which it is allowed to arrange only water type of heating.

Cork in the interior decorated in Eco style.

According to the manufacturers, the floor cork can be glued to the floor and walls in any rooms with a normal level of humidity: bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, children's. Combinature of products allows you to create interiors in such a popular retro and eco-style today.

A rather interesting and practical solution - on a plate of HDF or a composite hard PVC, a decorative layer of solid veneer or a thin sheet of agglomerated tube is glued. Planks around the perimeter are supplied with a click lock connection for a glorious assembly of products into a single cloth.

Cork laminate with an integrated substrate.

Some manufacturers are added in addition to the standard layers also pinned. For him, as a rule, a high-pressed cork layer is used to a cross section of up to 2 mm. The total thickness of the product does not exceed 12 mm. Production cost - from 1100 r. / M².

The main advantages of this type of product:

No glue, as well as compositions for finishing surface treatment (varnishes, enamel, etc.);
Combination with water and electric "soft" (infrared rolled products, rod mats, etc.) floor heating systems.
The technique of installation of cork laminate is completely identical to the method of assembling an ordinary laminated coating, respectively, it is easily implemented both with their own hands and by the forces of specialized brigades.
A wide range of use, because the cork parquet is produced in almost all load classes - from 21 to 41.

Products on a HDF basis are used in rooms with a normal or partially elevated level of humidity, including living rooms, loggias, kitchens, and shops, beauty salons, cafes, etc. For bathrooms, laundry and other similar objects it is better to lay the product on PVC Plate.

Laying of adhesive cork floor - step-by-step instruction

For mounting flooring from traffic jam, it is necessary to pre-prepare tools and auxiliary means:

Compositions for alignment and repair of concrete or wooden base (bulk floors, cement or epoxy restoration compositions, plywood sheets, chipboard, OSP, etc.);
Groove adhesive for mineral floors or fungicide for a wood-based;
Polymer contact adhesive (DECOL VERN, HOMAKOLL 277, FORBO 650 EUROSTAR FASTCOL, etc.);
Polyurethane or acrylic lacquer with labeling "for floors", finish oil or wax for protection of the surface (Lobadur Supra, OSMO Hartwachs-Öl, Biofa 9032, etc.);
Brushes and other means of applying protective superficial compositions;
Building vacuum cleaner;
Roulette, square, coloring cord and pencil for marking;
Hygrometer and level;
Toothed spatula or velor short-ski roller for applying glue;
Kiyanka or rollers weighting for cork tiles to the floor;
Cutter and drill with crown nozzles for the formation of technological holes or cuts;
Sponge or soft cloth for removing excess glue.

Cork products without a surface protective layer are recommended to be glued with water-dispersion adhesive compositions. And the tiles with a vinyl or lacquer tread layer can be treated with the use of compositions on solvents.

Manufacturers on each pack of goods printed the basic installation guidelines. In particular, it is indicated that the packaging must be placed in 24-48 hours before the start of laying. And all work should be carried out at:

The absence of drafts, working heating devices;
Indoor temperature - from +18 to +25 ° C;
Relative air humidity must be within 55-65%.

Laying of cork sex is not such a difficult event, quite feasible. It is carried out in 4 stages:

Step 1. Careful base preparation

The beauty and durability of decorative and finishing coverage depends on the quality of preparatory work. Cork tiles have a small thickness and a small rigidity, so any base defects immediately manifest on the surface.

The draft floor should be:

Durable, withstand at least 150 MPa compression;
Smooth having a maximum difference in height not more than 2 mm for every 2 meters of surface;
Solid, without cracks, loose, bothering sites and other similar defects;
Clean, without traces of glue, fat, soot, soot, bitumen and old coatings;
Dry. Indicators of residual moisture content of mineral base - 0.5-2%, wooden (including Phaneur and Chipboard) - 8-12%.

Mineral screed is considered the best base for the plug. Paul alignment is also allowed. But you need to choose moisture-resistant products, preferably with tipped edges. This will prevent the belling of the base under the influence of glue and the formation of seams between the elements of the draft floor. The joints between sheets are usually filled with acrylic (not silicone) sealants. But the best way, tested by time - a mixture of sawdust and glue PVA.

To improve the characteristics of the base base, the appropriate primer is used. In particular, for hardening, it is possible to use the composition of firming or deep penetration. And for the alignment of the absorption capacity of the floor and enhancing the coated clutch - adhesion.

After checking the draft floor on the evenness and absence of the slightest defects, you can start a markup. With the help of a laser builder or roulette, the center of the room is marked. In parallel and / or perpendicular to the long wall on the base, the initial line is drawn, relative to which the tiles stand will be made. If the customer demands to glue the lamella diagonally, the axes are marked at an angle of 45 ° to the room walls.

Cork products are pre-folded in a checker order or shifting to a dry surface of the jack along the reference axis as shown in the figure below. The extreme tiles are trimmed with the temperature gap around the perimeter at 8-10 mm. If necessary, the elements are cutting out technological holes for communication. If you want to form a chamfer, then there is enough edge to handle fine-grained emery paper and remove dust with a wet cloth.

Step 2. Printing Cork Coating

The laying process begins from the center of the room to the walls. The glue should be thoroughly stirred, apply on the draft floor and an involnee side of the tiles with a toothed spatula or velor roller. In accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, you need to wait 5-20 minutes so that the composition is partially polymerized. Then the floor element is applied to the base with a small tension, that is, with the formation of a barely noticeable "wave", to smooth and roll with rollers. Speaking surplus of the adhesion mixture must be immediately removed with a wet cloth.

When choosing glue, pay attention to two important parameters. First, the products on solvents refers to the category of professional and makes a strong chemical smell, respectively, the master need a respirator and gloves. And secondly, in the cold season, you need to buy only products with the marking "Frost-resistant", which easily transfers repeated freezing-defrosting and does not resolve.

Some adhesion compositions are distinguished by super-violent instant fixation, that is, they can almost immediately glue two heterogeneous material. But this is not very convenient in work, as it will not be possible to make a small fit of the elements of the floor in the process of laying. Therefore, inexperienced masters, we recommend using universal non-shock adhesives.

Technology of working with self-adhesive products from the traffic jam is much easier. Remove the protective paper, attach the tile to the base and catch up with the xy. Try to work as much as possible and carefully, since the fit can lead to the formation of slots and even breaks.

Step 3. Application of Protective Coating

The stacked cork floor is recommended to cover glossy or matte finishing compositions 12-24 hours after the end of gluing. To do this, it is necessary to clean the surface with a vacuum cleaner or a damp soft cloth. Varnish, wax or oil thoroughly mix and apply a roller, flexible pate or brush in 2-3 layers with intermediate drying for 2-3 hours. You can walk on the floor in a day, and it is allowed to exploit after 3-5 days.

If the lacquer or wax is chosen correctly, then your female heels, nor claws of animals nor falling objects, are not afraid of your sex. Therefore, the higher the load, the more stable the abrasion coating should be. For example, for salons, gyms or hotels are not suitable for standard products for home use. It is necessary to acquire special series of particularly persistent compositions with polyurethane resins.

Step 4. Finish decoration

The easiest stage is the fixation of various moldings, such as plinth, cartoons, angular elements, etc. Their purpose is to provide a smooth and uniform framing of cork coatings, give a complete view of the room.

Plinth from cork agglomerate.

Moldable products use:

Flexible plinth is glued from the agglomerated technical cork to 1 meter long and a height of 40-60 mm. Products are well idle both on smooth walls and curvilinear structures - erkers, columns, etc. There are natural colors, as well as tinted or elected. To protect against water and shock, the surface is covered with varnish.
Semi-rigid planks from an array of agglomerated plug, veneered with natural wood. The length of the product does not exceed 1 meter, the height is up to 60 mm, the thickness is not more than 20 mm. Color gamma includes from 5 to 12 shades.
Hard MDF plinth, covered with a film with imitation under the plug. A good solution for premises with high ceilings, since the length of the products is 2.5 m, the height can reach 100 mm, and the thickness is 30 mm. As a rule, the choice of colors is not too wide - up to 8 tones.
Standard PVC Plinth with a natural plug surface. There is an assortment of almost every manufacturer of hard plastic products, including a molecule with cable channel.

PVC plinth with the imitation of the cork surface.

The first two types of moldings are fixed using contact adhesive adhesives. MDF products can be installed both on "liquid nails" and through traditional self-tapping. For PVC plinths, it is recommended to use original fastenings or dowel-nails.

For clarity, we offer to see a professional video on the correct gluing of cork flooring.

Installation of cork laminate

The laminated parquet, veneered by a plug, is laid according to the standard scheme for this type of coatings - "floating" method. The next set of tools and materials will be required:

Leveling mixtures or sheets of plywood, OSP, chipboard, gvl et al.;
Building vacuum cleaner;
Deep penetration soil;
Waterproofing film with a thickness of 0.2 mm (for mineral bases),
Cork or any other substrate with a cross section of 2-3 mm;
Roulette, square and marker for marking;
Hydroelectory;
Electrolovka for cutting planks, as well as drill with crowns for the formation of holes for pipes;
Spacer wedges for the formation of the temperature gap along the walls;
Kiyanka and picking bar;
Metal bracket for fitting planks.

Work is carried out in 4 stages:

Stage 1 - Preparation of the foundation

The base should be smooth, dry, durable and clean. To do this, you need to carefully examine the draft floor, check on:

The presence of surface drops, chosel, bugro. Permissible level - no more than 2 mm for every 2 row meters. All irregularities need to be aligned locally with the help of improvised tools and repair makers;
The presence of cracks, loose, peeled, damaged areas, which are necessarily eliminated by ready or dry mixtures.
The level of residual humidity. Welcome meter will easily cope with this task. Permissible indicators for a mineral screed - 0.5-4%, for organic - no more than 12%;
Lack of contamination and spots of fat, bitumen, old glue or mastic.

Often the masters assure customers that to eliminate all the flaws it is enough to buy a rolled substrate or in mats thickening. This is an erroneous statement. No lock will endure the backlash formed by a soft underlying layer and just breaks with the load. Therefore, in the presence of a large number of floor defects, it is better to form a new one, the finishing layer with the help of bulk mixtures or a dry team screed.

So, the base is aligned, primed and cleaned with a vacuum cleaner from the slightest signs of dust and sand. It is now recommended that it is recommended to cover the waterproofing film with the adhesive lanes by 10-15 cm. When working on the bandwidth of plywood or chipboard, the moisture barrier layer is not required.

Next you need to put the substrate. Although manufacturers claim that for laminate it is best to choose a cork underlining layer, in fact, absolutely any - from foamed polyethylene, extruded polystyrene foam, extruded coniferous substrate, etc. It is enough to put stripes or mats and fasten them.

Stage 2 - Laying Finish Coating

First, calculate the required number of planks and rows. It is necessary in order to correctly arrange the extreme stripes, because their width must be at least 5 cm. If necessary, you can slit the first row planks.

The first lamella needs to put the crest to the tomb of the door, in the gap insert spacer clins. To the end to put the following strips and fix it. After filling in one row, a new one is formed, and not with a solid flooring, but from trimming the previous strip with a length of at least 30 cm. The lamellas are recommended at an angle of 20-30 ° and snap up to the formation of an even web.

The strips of the last row must be trimmed with the temperature gap, insert into the opening and attract the metal bracket to the snaps of the lock connections.

3 Stage - Installation of decorative migrants

At the end of work, the floor must be allowed and installing the plinth and thresholds. For cork laminate, products from agglomerate, PVC, MDF or Metal are equally well suited. The main thing is that the shades of the selected moldings are not dissoned with the main coating.

Clear floor care

The agglomerated array and tube veneer has a dense structure, but at the same time the surface is not too stable to mechanically load. The first level of protection is various finish coatings, including varnishes, waxes, oils, vinyl films of increased strength. As practice shows, even if they are presented, you can spoil the floor.

Support for stable climatic parameters indoors: humidity from 45% to 65% and temperature from +15 to +35 ° C;
Sticking on the legs of furniture tread linings from felt, silicone;
The presence of rugs at the entrance and under the moving elements of the situation (tea tables, chairs, office chairs);
Protection against contact with rubber products. For example, habituals on a needle-free basis, wheels of bicycles or strollers, soles of sports shoes are categorically contraindicated;
Use to care for soft household chemicals, without the content of abrasive particles;
Application for frequent cleaning of the vacuum cleaner.

Cork floors are good in that they can really restore. So, small dents, holes and similar defects are eliminated by attaching pieces suitable and texture or filling with cork sealant, repair wax.

To eliminate strong contaminants, stains, small risks and minor scuffs, cork coat manufacturers offer a wide range of specialized household chemicals in the form of concentrates or ready-to-use compositions.

For glued cork materials with a hopelessly spoiled lacquer layer, an effective renovation method was developed - re-lacquer. First of all, the remnants of the old protective coating are removed by the grinding machine. Then the floor is cleared of dust, it is ground and a varnish varnish in 1-3 layers.

Cork floors covered with oil or wax can also be renovated. But for this it is better to turn to professionals, as special equipment and special industrial means will be required.

Tip! If you need repair masters, there is a very convenient service for their selection. Just send in the form below a detailed description of the works that you need to perform and offers to you in the post office with prices from building brigades and firms. You can see the reviews about each of them and photos with examples of work. This is free and does not oblige anything.

The cork floor was widespread relatively recently. Nevertheless, the popularity of cork coating for the floor is growing: manufacturers are developing and offered full-fledged relatively inexpensive substitutes for a solid natural cork veneer, and the laying of the cork floor is available with their own hands to a person having the initial home repair skills.

However, it is possible not everywhere to fit the cork floors. Therefore, before purchasing the material and take for work, you should understand what the cork floor is, and, especially, what are his dignity and disadvantages. Otherwise, dear material and painstaking work can go to the Nammark.

Types of cork floors

The most expensive one is solid cork veneer, or cork board (slice of cork cork oak), covered with wear-resistant varnish. Do not confuse it with school cork boards. Absolutely eco-friendly material, combines both the best advantages and the most serious shortcomings of the plug. Can be produced in large (up to 6 square meters. M) layers with a thickness of 4-6 mm and in rolls; Also - in the form of tiles. Often it is offended, not the facial side, protect the vinyl film, facilitating sticking and laying on the concrete floor.
MDF panel with cork. Medium in price category material. It is also often called a cork board, although in fact it is a cork laminate: the base from the MDF, then the layer of the cork-baked cork treated, and from above, a layer of cork veneer in 2-4 mm, protected by varnished and / or vinyl film. For useful qualities, it is practically equal to whole veneer, but not so demanding to the quality of the underlying surface.
Cork laminate Produced standard for size and thickness laminate.
Pressed cork crumb. It is made of inexpensive cork tile. It is easy to find out on sale on fine-grained texture, similar to a plug from inexpensive wine. The colors of the whole tube is complex figures of the wrong shape in the yellow-brown gamma. Nevertheless, the cork tile gives a coating, the quality is little inferior to such from the solid veneer. For budget cork - the optimal option.
The main sizes of cork tiles are 30x30, 60x60 and 60x90 cm. On sale, under the guise of the price of the tile, you can find trimming and waste of solid veneer. They are small, but if there is a desire, time and artistic taste, of which you can gain such a coating that the sophisticated sophisticated experts.

What is good and the bad cork floor

The cork floor excellent springs, not slippery even with a protective coating. Well "plays" the load, including a regular alternate. Gives excellent sound and thermal insulation. Absolutely environmentally friendly and harmless: for the entire centuries-old testing of traffic jam, no signs of its impact on health are noted.

However, there are also substantial minuses of cork floors. In addition to the high price - fragility and sufficient complexity of laying on glue. Without skillful hands and an accurate eyelaster for the adhesive cork floor, it is better not to take.

Next - high even for wood temperature expansion coefficient. In addition, the stopper swells strongly if the water contains dissolved organic matter. As a result, the plug is well absorbs and firmly keeps the smell and painting of the impurity. Perhaps you somewhere drank the old wine plug somewhere - try to bring the cylindrical shape to it, bring the color and smell from the part former in the bottle.

As a consequence of the above, the cork floor is short-lived in any rooms in an alternating temperature mode: from heat deformations the cork will soon begin crumble. Therefore, the answer to the question is whether the cork floor is possible in the kitchen, the balcony and in the hallway: only cork laminate with a protective coating, and it is not very desirable.

As for the toilet and the bathroom - the cork floor here is unambiguous "no". Even if you and your guests, with the most ragged fun, use the services absolutely neatly, anyway, microcracks are formed in the cork coating soon, which will pass moisture, and then delays, most often in hidden places: under plinth or under the bath where water pairs are stared.

The antiseptic properties of the cork does not possess; It is a biologically neutral material. Therefore, if you find and open up such a "poultry", it will be discovered under it a disgusting type of mucus, from the content of which under the microscope it is not indifferent to its work the microbiologist immediately fainted.

Where are the cork floors

However, there are types of premises, where cork floors are very recommended, and others, where they are quite acceptable:

Children's Here you can install any cork floor; In the presence of funds - better from solid veneer. First, the child will always be warm. Secondly, a slapped levit will not hurt anything. Thirdly, walking with bare feet in a traffic jamming gives a somewhat irrational, but the feeling of livelihood with nature has been having a beneficial effect on the psyche and the development of the mind.
Bedroom - for the same reasons as in the nursery.
Study. In addition to all the same, the cork is well shuffling sounds, without creating a dead silence at the same time.
Living room. It is better to use cork laminate, as in any other frequently visited premises. Cork gender Even with perfect care for him is no longer different.

How to fill cork floors

Laying the cork coating on the floor can be carried out not two, as often written, and three different ways:

Cork laminate, with some additional precautions regarding the tool and laying technology, see below.
The same cork laminate and one-piece veneer can be laid freely, without fastening - this is a floating cork floor.
Cork floors of any kind can also be laid on the glue.

Floating cork floor laying technology and adhesive are fundamentally different. But the requirements for the preparation of the premises coincide. The tool is also used special.

It is necessary to flatten the cork floor in the warm season so that the temperature difference when delivery from the seller's warehouse does not exceed 5-7 degrees. It is also desirable that the humidity of the air indoor under the floor was no more than 60%; Humidity in 75% is already unacceptable when laying.

Tool, accessories and additional materials

To lay a cork floor, you will need primarily rubber joiner hammer (cynicha). Then - a manual disk saw or an electrolybiz with a circle or saw "Clear cut", very finely frozen. From any manual saw, the cork will turn around the edge. For the adhesive floor, you will need a roller for a cursory - similar to a greasy, but metal, heavy, and small, 20-30 cm, but the exact level.

Sleeping boosters for floating floors will have to correct and align. Specked wedges for this will need to make from its screaming - wooden will open the cork. Also, the rule for fitting - trimming of a cork board, which be resting into the customized and rule, slightly tapping with rubber Cyans. Use for tightening the cork laminate clamp-hook can not.

Of the additional materials you need a special plinth for cork floor, which is attached to the wall. It is impossible to make cork floors in the doorways, so they will also need special thresholds. For adhesive floor - special glue and also a special spatula for applying: wide, finely small.

Small, but an important device for the flooring of glued cork floor - a can of canned food or coffee with a quickly, but tightly closing lid. It will need to keep a rag moistened with solvent - many small flaps. Rag erase glue flows. Outside a tightly closed vessel, it will quickly dry, and a plentifully moistened spoil coating.

Preparation of the room

Any cork floor must be laid on a flat, smooth and dry surface. The aligned concrete screed is not enough - it is rough. Cork when walking on it, or rolling the chair "plays". Concrete in this case works as abrasive; The cork is soft, and is quickly wiping even on the glue layer.

Especially "does not like" a cork floor of a wet underlying surface. The point here is not only and not so much that the adhesive connection will be fragile, but in swelling the plug. Because of this, somewhere yes, "pupyr", described in the section on the bathroom, and with the same contents. Therefore, before the cork flooring, the foundation must be aligned and dry.

Concrete floor needs to check the moisture. For this room or part of it, but not less than 2 sq. M, on a day we are covered with a plastic film, about a rectangular piece, not a strip. If, a day on the yield of the film did not asslave moisture - you can proceed to final alignment. If not - you need to dry. Numerous complaints that, they say, the whole floor of 60-80 euros per square after a week went stains and swelling, explained precisely too wet foundation.

Note: moisture can pass from the neighbors from below. Therefore, immediately inspect the "naked" floor carefully, and close all the cracks; Especially - in the risers of heating.

Paul alignment

The base floor under the tube is aligned with a liquid alignment. Dry align (layered composite from soft material between two layers of plastic film) is not suitable: the plug is harder and fragile. From the heel-stud or legs of the chair, the cork floor on this basis can crack.

(Read more about the wet tie for floor alignment)

Even the cheapest cork floor - the pleasure is not cheap, and its reliability and durability are highly dependent on the basis. Therefore, it can be recommended before the cork, the cheapest, even non-chandom:

Mechanical properties of marmoleum coincide with such corks; The vertex failure does not happen from the concentrated load.
Marmoleum "Complete" by the urgency of the basics, and its upper surface will remain smooth.
Marmoleum has bactericidal properties: suddenly under the plug formed malicious "poultry", marmoleum will not give a malicious microflora in it.

If the linoleum, laminate or already laid on the floor, then it is better not to touch them, and lay the plug on top.

Floating floor

Floating cork floor can be a set embedded, from a solid piece of veneer or its large parts, and from cork laminate. The first two options are the prerogative of the brigade at least from two well-worked professionals. Independent attempts of this kind are completed by a breakdown of a darling coating: the price of a cork veneer with an increase in the sizes of a piece is rapidly increasing.

Flooring the floating floor from cork laminate is as follows:

The room is measured, the material is purchased. Delivery is unpackled and a day for acclimatization is maintained - leveling temperature and humidity.
The base gender in the meantime is covered with a plastic film with a overlap at 20-30 cm and with a wall at 10-15 cm. The joints of the films are glued with scotch.
Incomplete strings of the row are cut into size from the row of the tongue; Paz can not be touched. When laying with a shift shift half half of the extreme boards is collected in half in length.
Laminate plate laminated from a long corner with transverse rows with shutter shifts on a third or half of the board length, like the usual laminate: The compence of the subsequent board is inserted into the grooves of the previous one, holding it at an angle, is unscrewed and lowered. Tighten up to place by rule and rubber Cyans. From the walls you need to withstand an indent of 20-30 mm. It is kept, and pull up with extreme in front of the wall board with spacer wedges.
Excess films cut off.
It is attached to the wall on the mounting glue "cork" plinth. He must not lie on the floor, but hang over it for 1-2 mm. To do this, it is convenient to use matches or toothpicks. True, then to do with garbage, which inevitably misses the slot before the traffic jam will do, manufacturers of cork floors are not reported.
The floor is ready, you can immediately walk on it.

Video instruction on laying cork coverage

As far as good is a glue cork floor, largely depends on glue. Coat manufacturers recommend each one, but the best need to recognize adhesives without a flying aggressive solvent - "Casco Flex" and the like. They are not toxic and will dry out longer (5-10 minutes); This is enough to fit the tile or board. But such adhesives of the road, so the question is often asked: is it possible to lay the cork floor on PVA?

On the liquid PVA, it is impossible to fit the cork gender: this glue on a water basis, which is contraindicated with a plug. You can quickly dry the PVA to turning out with pressure (15-25 minutes) so that all the water has evaporated from it. But then every tile will have to put right away in place: to move it impossible; She immediately grabs tightly. And you can only apply the liquid PVA on one surface - the base floor, and this is a violation of gluing technology. And air humidity in the process will increase. So recommend to lay the cork floor on a cheap PVA, alas, it is impossible.

Fill the same adhesive tube so:

We work from the center of the spiral room. Right or left twisted - as you are more convenient. For the rightmost more conveniently "unwind" clockwise.
We apply glue on the base with a smooth layer, put the tile, tighten with your hands or rule.
We press the roller.
Level twice, diagonally, check the horizontality. If the next tile has risen somewhere - we subscribe to rubber in China.
Speaking outward at any stage of the work of the adhesive instantly erased by a rag moistened with solvent. We throw away the flap: if it is mistakenly used to use the secondary, it will only smear the adhesive stream, and it is impossible to remove dried glue from the plug.
By perimeter, we leave the same gap as for a floating gender.
At the end of the work, we are waiting for a day, we sew the slot plinth - the floor is ready.

Video: process of laying cork coverage for glue

HDF cork laminate

The cheapest cork floor material is HDF (high density fibreboard) covered with pressed cork crumb. But for the "smart" ingenic abbreviation, a well-known Fiberboard is hidden, not coordinated by properties with a traffic jam and with the "chemical" impregnation. Therefore, to recommend a HDF cork for flooring can be possible only in one case: if you want to be cheap to say familiar, that you have sex cork.

Summary

Cork floor can be both very good and useful and very bad and harmful. It depends on whether it is imposed in suitable for it. And on only its decorative qualities depend on the price category of material and the method of laying.

The floor inevitably falls in the field of our view, forming the image of the room as a whole. It should be comfortable and beautiful, because every day you have to come into contact with its surface. Basic requirements include insulating characteristics, environmental friendliness, wear resistance, representative appearance. The selection of the surface material should include both the specifics of the room, so, the level of humidity, the number of visits in the bathroom, hallway and children's vulnerable. Among the sets of options, of course, preference is worth paying a tree. It is always in fashion and comes up to any style and color. This material is capricious and invalid indoors where the level of humidity is increased, condensate, steam often appear. Thus, it is worth excluding the bathroom, a toilet, a kitchen. Wooden floor is both whole boards, MDF, and laminate, and combined coatings. There is another way to arrange the floor in the living rooms - to do the laying of cork sex with your own hands. This procedure will take the whole family, becoming a bright joint memoir. The material is fuel and pleasant to the touch, and its fixation and distribution do not require special skills.

The origin of the material, its types

Cork is a relatively new material. Only in the 17th century it began to apply it to clog wines, guided by the properties of a material that does not affect the taste of wine. Now the cork tree is used in construction and decoration. This is a layer of cork of cork oak, which is removed from the tree, starting with its 25th anniversary. It is during this period that the bark is easily moving away from the branches and does not harm him. Material then passes several stages of processing, which at the moment are quite effectively working with large volumes of traffic.

Cork floors are divided into types, the laying differs depending on this, because the video instructions differ from each other, taking into account the type of material used. The most expensive material is a solid cork veneer. This is a slice that can be different thickness. The form can be both solid - in the form of a board and flexible - in the form of rolls. The surface of the surface is yellow-brown, with a large natural pattern of dark saturated color. The material can be cut on the tiles, since a solid piece is difficult to decompose, and the surface under it is perfectly prepared. The bottom side can be covered with a film for better adhesion of glue with the surface.

Laying of cork floor from panels is similar to picking up puzzles. In this case, special technology is used for each plate. The base of the MDF is covered with a layer of pressed crumbs from the tube, and then glued a glass of veneer from the tube on the front side. This type of floor can use trimming and waste that are assembled in the manufacture of a solid cork canvase, so it is cheaper. In addition, those who are going to perform work on laying the cork gender independently, it will be easier to work with this material. A separate category is a laminate from the plug, which is already prepared for fasteners and can be laid after the preliminary calculation of the pattern.

There are also offers from construction stores, where knowledge of cork laying technology will help create a masterpiece. We are talking about cork tiles, which is made from the crumb. Under the influence of high temperature, it is pressed, resulting in a yellowish basic tone, darkened with small grains of a darker color. The properties of the material, such as elasticity, thermal insulation, environmental friendliness, are preserved in this case. The size of the tiles traditionally repeats the parameters of the ceramic plates - these are squares and rectangles with a face 30, 60 cm. There are smaller tiles, they rather resemble parts of the stained glass, thanks to a bizarre form and a small size. Only an experienced master will be able to gather qualitatively.

Work on laying

Any construction and repair work require concentration, short desire and strength. In order for everything and the result did not disappoint, you need to choose the correct materials in the store, calculate their necessary volume, find out what is better to start work and how to do with the room after its end. Work on laying the cork sex is not easy, as it requires accuracy, good eyelasier and patience, but a child will cope with it from a technological point of view.

The base is a rough floor. It should be smooth, clean and dry. If your base is made of concrete - clean it from dirt and dust, read the surface for cracks and chips. If any, they need to be embedded with putty, and if the floor is covered with irregularities, it is better to apply a layer of screed. Do not forget that the liquid layer must dry completely, and the week may be required. Wood floor can be additionally coated with plywood layer.

Next you need to buy glue, depending on the type of coating you chose. On the package, the parameters of this product are usually indicated, so it is worth navigating the instructions and advice of sellers. Do not take the usual water-based glue, it will not dry to the end and give the dampness of the plug, which will quickly flashes and starts to break down and climb.

In case of laying of cork sex, it's more about the panels of different sizes, and it is very important to position them correctly. We start not from the walls, but from the center of the room. It can be determined by stretching the rope from the corner to the prick and fixing their middle. It is from this point and a layout will go. It is important to observe the symmetry so that the lanes of the laid panels or tiles were parallel to the wall lines.

Cork laminate and solid panels

There are two ways to laying the floor from the tube - it is adhesive and dry. One-piece plug, laminate, MDF panels with a veneered coating can be laid, attacking them with each other with special grooves. Such gender is called "floating" or lock. On one side of the tile there is a narrow hole along the entire length, and on the other - the comb. One panel is placed under another and snaps. This method is pleasant, since there is no need to be with glue, rub it out and breathe it with pairs. For such a method, a specially prepared layer is needed on the draft floor for better isolation. It can be a plastic film bonded at the joints of a tape or furniture stapler, and maybe a layer of wood. The floor of the laminate or whole tube can be laid on the carpet, if it is clean and smooth.

Styling of cork floor starts from the wall. A second panel is applied to the first panel, a little at an angle, then it goes down, and the castle itself snaps. After laying the first row, you can go to the second, and so on. It is better if the tiles are placed in a checker order, for this you need to start the row from half a plan. Laying such a cork floor does not even require a training video, everything is clearly intuitive. He received its name and thanks to the gaps between the planks, which must be left (about 7 mm), and due to the absence of fastening at the wall - the plinth only hangs over the floor, without attaching it.

Tile - Master Weapon

Cork tile is a cheap coating, but it does not regulate the styling pattern, giving fantasy space. It is very important to work properly with glue. It is better to buy a dear sample so that work does not go to the pump. The first step is the tile distribution. To do this, we define the center of the room from which we begin to turn the tiles dry. First, we define the main points, laying the biggest tiles. By covering the room space, lay small tiles into crevices. As soon as you liked the result, starting sticking. It is made on the same principle - ranging from the center, from the largest tile. Remember that they must lay down to each other.

The glue is applied to the tile, and on the base, the impregnation time of the cork is indicated on the package. Tube laying technology involves the tile application with pressure so that the glue is better grabbed. Surplus You need to immediately wipe so that there are no stains left, for this you can use a sponge. After the large tiles are glued, you can fill the space between them with smaller pieces. If you do not have a suitable size, the tile can be cut into some smaller knife.

Laying the cork floor can take from one day to several, it all depends on the draft surface. If you poured the floor with a tie, it is better to wait for an excess day so that everything finally dried, if you drown the cork base, then the period may be smaller. Choosing the cork floor, take care of the plinth into the tone. Knowing how to lay a tile, you can assemble a whole composition using various shades of the cork or even undermining it, but such panels are more likely for the walls.

A number of warnings

The plug has a number of minuses. She swells and expands from moisture and swears from dryness and heat. These are the usual properties of wood, so they can not get rid of them. In addition, she absorbs odors. Such a floor is unacceptable in the country that you take a long time closed and unheated, in the bathroom, where there is constantly high humidity, in the kitchen, where food smells are soaked.

Despite all the advantages of natural material - softness, depreciation when walking, the feeling of natural texture, there is also the reverse side of the question - the plug is not an antiseptic. In this case, you can see under the dispensary tile or on another area, which is probably the microbes started. This is a raid, dubious liquid similar to glue.

Of course, if the surface is pasted on the right glue, the humidity will always be normal, and you will regularly clean up, the probability of familiar with the microbes face to face is minimal.

Care

The traffic jam will serve you for a long time with gentle handling. For regular cleaning, quite clean water or soap solution, but it is not worth using chemicals, there is a risk of damaging a natural surface. If you have a lot of furniture, which is also moving, it is better to fasten the tubes on the legs, this trick will avoid scratches. Use rugs from rubber or latex, for example, those that are sold to yoga classes are not worth it, as they leave the stains on the traffic jam, which then do not output.

Cork floor is warm for your feet, the ability to lie and sit on the floor for your children. It will not allow such injuries when falling as a concrete base, it will be absorbed with your walking, creating the effect of contact with nature. Choose high-quality floor, follow the instructions and your apartment will gain unsurpassed appearance and convenience.

The cork floor is an excellent material, unknownly common in Russia. The plug is better than the rest of natural coatings absorbs the sound, keeps heat. Moreover, the cork floor is an orthopedic coating, because Reduces the load on the spine and joints.

There are two main options for cork floor - adhesive and cloth. The lock allows you to carry out fast laying, but only on the perfectly level basis. The adhesive tube can be pasted even on an uneven surface, but it is necessary to cover with a varnish. The finish coating is varnished, however, makes the surface of the monolithic and protects the floor from the spilled fluid. It is in the adhesive version that the qualities of the plug are better manifested. cork layer thicker.

The adhesive cork can be poked into the joint with other coatings - for example, with a porcelain stoneware or parquet, as well as lay the cork floor across the apartment without a single thoroughbre. Blowless cork floors are connected only through the threshings, even if the same plug is laid in different rooms due to the singularities of the floating technology.

Preparation of the foundation

In order for the cork sex for many years he pleased with stability, did not swear and not loosened, it should be kept on the perfectly smooth surface. For a glorious plug, this is a prerequisite. The backlash in the junctions of corkless beamless plates is the cause of the screens and breakage of the locks. There are several types of base under the plug.

Plywood base. In this case, the sheets of moisture-resistant plywood or chipboard are attached to the aligned screed and carefully grind to perfect smoothness. You can use the so-called "adjustable floor" - while plywood sheets are aligned by lining special bolts. If the cork floor is already with the finished cork bottom layer, the substrate is not required to use on the phane.
Linoleum. Laying on linoleum is possible only if the floor is smooth and smooth. If it has at least the slightest bloatings, hillocks and whether pits, linoleum should be removed, and the floor prepare, as when laying the traffic jam on the screed. Linoleum does not require laying additional substrate.
Screed or concrete base. Most often this is the method of mounting the cork floor. In this case, the screed should be dried and aligned with a grinding machine or an aligning mixture. The leveling mixture must be used by the one that does not contain as part of the casein, it is desirable to add an amplifier like a primer to ensure proper adhesion. When laying on the screed, it is necessary to use waterproofing. To do this, you can use either a substrate with moisture protection (for example, Tuplex), or to sharpen a polyethylene film with a thickness of 200 microns with a wide adhesive under a regular substrate (cork, for example).

After the basis is prepared, you need to warm the room to the optimum temperature in 18-22 ° C. Cork floor tiles should withstand in the room about a day for acclimatization.

Glue for mounting adhesive cork should also be warm. For cork floor, it is not recommended to use PVA glue or water-soluble adhesives - they lead to swelling and damping of the coating. The optimal version is a special cork glue, which includes polychloroprene and synthetic rubber. Such adhesive is well seized, it does not harm the coating and quickly dries - you can walk immediately after laying. The peculiarity of the cork adhesives is a snap-inness, so lesing the plug sheet to the base, it cannot be moved, observe the maximum accuracy.

Step-by-step instructions for laying adhesive cork

First you need to place the room. The plug places from the center of the room towards the walls. For this, the center of the room is noted and parallel lines in the direction of the walls are written. It is pre-"trying out" the tiles, decomposing them without glue - it is quickly grasped, so if the tiles are laid with a displacement, they will have to tear and re-align the base.
The glue is applied to the base using a toothed spatula. It is desirable that it was a tool with triangular teeth, located after 2 mm.
The glue is left at 20-30 minutes (depending on the characteristics of the glue and its quantity), after which the sheets of jacking plugs without gaps are stacked and tightly pressed. After laying, the cork floor is closed with a rubber hammer or rolled by a special roller. If the glue hit in the process of laying on the tiles, it must be immediately removed. As a rule, the glue completely dries in 48 hours - for this it is necessary that the room is well ventilated.
At the walls, where entire tiles are not placed, you need to cut them. The gaps between the coating and the wall of 3-4 mm are left. If there is a door in the room, its bottom should be trimmed on the thickness of the cork floor.
After laying the cork floor polished and degreases. A protective lacquer for cork or wax is applied to its surface. How much use layers of varnish depends on the source material. The plug is released without coating or primed. If the plug is without coating, you need to be coated in 3-4 layers, if the projected - in 1-2.

Laying of Besleless Cork

There is also a ready-made solution that does not require laying on glue are cork slabs with a plywood or wooden core, which are stacked by a floating manner using a blissful compound. Such a floor, as a rule, is supplied immediately with the substrate and the protective layer - it is enough to accurately fix it by snapping the lock, like a laminate.

Stacking should be made from the edge of the same wall to another row by side. Docked the plates you need to rotate or brickwork, preventing the junction of 4-plates at the same time.

It is possible to cover varnish and a volatile plug for moisture protection. Or you can use specialized gels-sealants for joints.

Caring for cork floors

Cork floor can be washed with an ordinary wet sponge, it is not afraid of the effects of ethyl alcohol and solvents based on benzene or trichloroethane. It should be avoided to enter the surface of the plug of aggressive alkalis. If the surface is severely contaminated, it is possible to carefully clean it with the help of a special means, an emulsion that gives the surface of the shine. If necessary, the contaminated surface can be pulled and re-coated with a protective agent - polyurethane varnish or wax for cork.