How To Install Cork Floating Floors
Floating floors are the most modern and easiest to install flooring solutions. Moreover, they are extremely easy to maintain, as they require only mop cleaning and vacuuming. They are soft and elegant and good for may types of home interiors, so you can easily make your home better and easier to maintain by using such floors.
This is a brief overview of the floating cork flooring installation procedure:
- Lay down the first plank in a corner of your room. The plank should be placed at a distance of 1/2″ from the walls. You’ll need to use 1/2″ spacers to help you keep the planks in place.
- Put the second plank, locking it together with the first one, on the short side, not on the long one. Locking the planks is easy – observe the indications on the flooring package and you’ll see exactly how you need to position the two planks in order for them to get assembled with ease. No glue is needed, unless you bought the glue-type of flooring.
- Continue with more planks, until you reach the opposite wall. You’ll probably need to cut the last plank in the row at the size that fits perfectly. Don’t forget about that 1/2″ that should remain free at the edges.
- The remainder of your plank will be used to start the second row of flooring. If it is very small, forget about it and use a new one. You should make sure your planks are offset at least by 10″, and not in a straight grid pattern. With a tapping block and a hammer, help the planks to get combined and locked together.
- After you’re done, clean the floor with a vacuum cleaner and a soft cloth. Then you should apply the top sealer coat with great care to spread it evenly across the surface.
- After you’re done, don’t step on your floor for at least 4-5 hours, so you give it the time to dry completely. You need to be aware that more than one week will pass until your floor will be completely cured and ready to be used.
Keep in mind that you should never install floating flooring, be it cork or laminated wood, over old carpets or on nsurfaces which are not perfectly flat. If the subfloor is not flat, you should make sure to flatten it before proceeding with your installation. Or hire a specialist to do it for you, if you feel you can’t handle it properly.