Cork Floors

Alan(CaliforniaRadiant)Forbes

over radiant heating. I know it's come up before and from what I remember, cork is pretty stable and has a low R-value.

But now I have a customer who wants to use it and want to make sure there aren't any problems. Have any of you out there had any experiences with it?

Alan

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Mike T., Swampeast MO

I'd sincerely check with the mfgr. I ordered one cork floor for a customer a few years ago (not radiant floor though). Installation requirements were REALLY finicky and I had a bit of a time finding an installer who would both follow the instructions and guarantee the installation.

In your "golden climate" though it's probably much easier than here where we had to both pre-condition and wait for suitable weather to install. Customer very pleased. Very attractive, soft underfoot, quiet, clean, easy to maintain and surprisingly abrasion resistant.

hr

Check your RPA Flooring Guide

it has some info and contacts. I have one cork job, about 3 years old, over Warmboard. Seems to be fine. Actually works better than some of the hardwoods, as far as movement at the seams, I think.

hot rod

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Alan(CaliforniaRadiant)Forbes

More on cork

Thanks, Mike. Your input is always appreciated.

I did a Google search; cork came up a few times, but it seems to be mentioned only in passing, along with carpet, tile, etc. like it's no big deal.

The RPA "Flooring Guide" mentions an R-value of 1.125 (at .375" thickness) which is no problem.



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Mike T., Swampeast MO

Didn't have my mfgr. literature at the right place... Will bring it in tomorrow. Know they mentioned radiant floors and don't believe they had a problem other than you had to compensate for its insulative value.

There are though different types of cork flooring. Some are glued down, others come on a backing and are installed in "floating" fashion.

hr

Cork flooring

usually is a venner on a lumber core of some sort. I'd guess the R value would be close to 1/2"plywood.

It makes a wonderful floor covering, in my opinion. Soft to the foot, and quieter than hardwoods.

hot rod

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Mike T., Swampeast MO

From \"Natural Cork\" literature

www.naturalcork.com
tech@naturalcork.com

IN-FLOOR RADIANT HEATING SYSTEMS

A radiant heat source directly beneath the flooring may cause the flooring to gain moisture or dry out faster than a conventional heating system would. Natural Cork strongly recommends installing Natural Cork Floating Floors over in-floor systems, as they tend to move as a unit to accommodate moisture changes. Natural Cork parquet tiles may be installed as long as the customer understands that cracks between parquet tiles will be visible during the heating season. For this installation, when the slab has cured, turn the heat on, regardless of season, and leave it on for at least 5-6 days before installation. At the time of installation, the maximum surface temperature should be 85 degrees. Gluing directly on low density concrete slab (less than 3,000 psi) is not recommended.