Installing an Expanko cork floor
Expanko cork planks are so easy to install that many homeowners do it themselves.
Here we present the basic steps. Consult the manufacturer's installation instructions, shipped with the flooring, for more detail.
About cork panels
Warm to the touch and resilient, cork floors are a joy to live with. They put a little spring in each step you take, thanks to the 2 million air-filled cells packed into each cubic inch.
Choosing the right panel
Cork planks work well in most rooms in a house, including high-traffic kitchens and cold basements, but we do not recommend them for bathrooms. The middle layer of the planks is medium-density fiberboard, or MDF, which can swell if soaked with water. (Cork does make a great bathroom floor but use traditional cork tile, which we also sell.) Cork planks also are unsuitable for rooms with extreme temperature or humidity issues, such as saunas and greenhouses.
Settling on a design
If your house has plywood subfloors or a concrete slab, cork planks can run either the length or the width of the room.
If the subfloor is made of individual boards, lay the planks perpendicular to the direction of the floor joists.
Materials needed:
· Cork planks are 1 foot by 3 feet. Expanko bundles have 10 pieces (30 square feet).
· 6 mil polyethylene for a moisture barrier (some circumstances only)
· Floor-patching compound (some circumstances only)
· Supply of spacers short pieces of wood 5/8 inch thick
· Pry bar
· Hammer
· Pencil
· Hand saw
· Jigsaw—handy for trimming planks
· Compass (the type that help draw circles)
Preparing the surface
Costly surface preparation usually isn't needed with cork planks. They can go right on top of most existing flooring, including wood, concrete, tile, thin carpet, vinyl—even flat stone, such as marble.
Over wooden subfloors:
If there are large gaps, fill them with a floor leveling compound.
If the floor is over a dirt crawl space, spread a 6 mil polyethylene moisture barrier over the earth to keep moisture from coming up into the flooring.
Over concrete:
Spread a moisture barrier, such as 6 mil polyethylene, over the floor. Overlap seams 8 inches. Turn up the plastic at the edges of the room so that the barrier reaches up a few inches into the space that will be covered by baseboards.
Installing the floor: Dealing with expansion
At least two days before installation, move closed packages into the room. Do not open them until you are ready to install.
Because cork planks create a floating floor that expands and contracts en masse as humidity changes, you'll need to leave an expansion gap at all edges of the room. Leave 3/8 to 1/2 inch. (Cover the gaps with baseboards at the end of the job.) Rooms that are more than 26 feet wide or 33 feet long also require expansion pieces within the floor. Call us for details.
If you will be installing your flooring over radiant heating, turn the heat on, even if it’s summertime, and leave it on for five days before installation and during installation. If the hot water pipes are embedded in concrete, install a vapor barrier as explained above. The maximum surface temperature should not exceed 85 degrees.
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Testing the fit of the starter rows
Place spacers (two per plank) to preserve the expansion gap around the edges of the room. Then test alignment of the first three rows: mixing planks from several packages so color variations appear random, lay out one row with the groove facing the wall. Just push the planks tight without gluing. Cut the last piece to fit with a circular saw, a chop saw or a jig saw with a fine - tooth blade. Use the piece cut off from the end of one row to start the next row, provided the ends stagger by at least 12 inches. Don't use cutoffs shorter than 12 inches.
When three rows are in place, step back and take a look. If the wall is visibly crooked, use a compass to trace the contour of the wall onto the outside row of planks. Trim them along the line. A jigsaw works best.
Gluing the planks
On the first row, you need to glue only the end joints of each plank. Apply glue to the grooves, not the tongues. Turn the piece over and run a 1/8-inch bead of glue against the lower edge of the groove as far toward the back as you can. Then tip the plank right side up and press it into the tongue piece. Avoid pressing pieces together with so much pressure that you damage the cork. But don't leave the boards loose, either a tight glue joint is needed to seal against water penetration later. Wipe off any excess with a damp cloth.
Glue up only three rows. Let them sit for at least two hours to provide a stable base for the rest of the planks.
Then proceed in the same way across the rest of the floor. Hammer home the glued pieces for a tight fit. Don't hit the planks directly, that could damage the edge. Instead, use a scrap piece of flooring as a hammering block. When you get too close to the far wall to swing the hammer, switch to hammering against a pry bar hooked over the plank edge.
Working out the final two rows
When you have only one full row and a partial row left to fill, slip in a row without glue so you can mark where to cut pieces for the final row. Place a spare plank on top and push it against the wall. Using the outside edge of this top piece as your template, trace the profile of the wall onto the bottom pieces. Then redraw the line 5/8 inch farther into the room. Remove the pieces and cut along the second line. This creates the pieces for the final row.
Lay out a new set of planks for the second-to-the last row and glue them in place. Then glue the trimmed pieces as the final row. Use the pry bar to pull them tight.
Dealing with pipes
If pipes project into the room, such as for radiators, cut plank openings at least 1/8 inch larger to allow for expansion. Drill holes,then cut out a section of the plank along a line that intersects the holes so that you can slip the plank next to the pipes. Glue the patch back into place.
Dealing with door jams and trim
Flooring should extend underneath door trim and door jams for the best appearance. Don't remove the trim, it might split. Instead, cut off the bottom of the casings while they're still in place. Use a scrap piece of flooring as a guide for the saw. (Lay the scrap on the floor and rest the saw flat against that so you can saw sideways into the trim.) When you slip the planks under the shortened trim, don’t forget to leave an expansion gap.
Drying time
Avoid walking on the floor for 12 hours to allow the glue to cure fully.
Covering the gaps
If baseboards aren't thick enough to cover the expansion gaps at the edges of the room, add quarter-round molding. Be sure to nail it toward the wall, not into the flooring, or you'll defeat the purpose of the expansion gap.
Cleanup
If you find dried glue that you didn't wipe off, either chip it off or rub it away with a white Scotch Brite pad.
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