Cork floor in kitchen - yay or nay?

[Zinnia]

Anyone got a cork floor in their kitchen/diner and care to share their thoughts? We're planning an extension and I'm going through the usual flooring dilemma (have read a LOT of MN kitchen renovation threads).

Cork seems to tick a lot of boxes - environmentally-friendly, warm, moisture-resistant, forgiving of breakages, looks good - but am concerned about durability in a high-traffic area, and fading in sunlight (we will have veluxes in new room).

Any recommendations for UK suppliers also welcome (I know about Colour Flooring but would be great to hear about others).

For context, no pets and DC old enough not to wreak havoc in theory.

I'm thinking something like this... TIA

Thank you!

@juno76 that looks gorgeous! Love your new room too - you must be so happy with it all.

Thanks so much for reporting back - sorry it's taken me so long to realise there were new posts.

Could you tell me exactly what you ordered (and cost per sqm if you want to)? I think that's exactly what we'd like to go for.

Did you need to re-seal after installation, or was it just glue and go?

@LATBOTG we've just received some click samples but they have a softwood core, which I'm not sure about. The surface cork layer is also incredibly thin (although the bottom cork layer is thick) and I'm worried they won't wear well. Where did you find the solid cork click version?

@JustCallMeDory we’re looking to get them from https://www.colourflooring.co.uk/

@LATBOTG - thank you! ☺️ I think this is just what I need for a floor I need to do! And I didn't even know it existed until now. 🤣👌

@JustCallMeDory just glue and go (although the laying was a bit fiddly; apparently best to lay them in a brick bond pattern which we didn’t realise as otherwise the line of the joins can look a bit wobbly over a large area). I had bought some lacquer to do an extra coat in the bathrooms but haven’t used it as it doesn’t seem necessary and I don’t want the finish to be different. I think that it’s the core of the click type that is susceptible to water; these solid cork ones should be ok.

Buying direct from granorte was the cheapest we found and was approximately £25 per m2. But the floor had to have a thin layer of latex (like a self-levelling compound) applied first, which was an unforeseen cost.

Overall I am very pleased with it and it’s lovely underfoot. It also doesn’t show dust or dirt much at all. It seems to work ok with the underfloor heating but we haven’t used it much since having it fitted.

@LATBOTG - thank you, I'll check them out.

@juno76 £25sqm is a great price. And thanks for the laying advice - noted. That's interesting about the latex layer. Our kitchen fitter is talking about putting down a layer of plywood to create a completely flat surface before tiling. I'm wondering if we'll need the latex layer too.

Really good to hear that you like 'living' with the floor and that it's working out well for you. I think we're going to go for the same thing as you, as long as we can convince our fitter to lay it.

Any further updates on cork flooring?! I've spent the last two months going round in circles. I really like it but can't afford for it to go wrong!

Any updates on your cork floors? Here I am in 2024 with all the same questions :)

really enjoying my cork floors. They look exactly as they did when they were laid a year ago, except for two things: they have faded where the sunlight falls directly on them and there are a couple of places where the legs of the sofa have caused indentations. This could probably have been avoided if I’d used caster cups to spread the load. The fading doesn’t show too much but could be annoying in a different type of room I suppose. I will take a photo.

really enjoying my cork floors. They look exactly as they did when they were laid a year ago, except for two things: they have faded where the sunlight falls directly on them and there are a couple of places where the legs of the sofa have caused indentations. This could probably have been avoided if I’d used caster cups to spread the load. The fading doesn’t show too much but could be annoying in a different type of room I suppose. I will take a photo.

Here are a couple of photos.

It’s very good for not showing the dirt!

@Zinnia did you go for it in the end and if so, which company did you use and how is it holding up? I am thinking of installing cork tiles in our kitchen extension. (Yes! 1970s tiles! I love them.)

@juno76 which brand did you use?