Cork flooring, adhesive decol.

Choosing a floor covering, first of all the buyer is guided by good thermal insulation and noise suppressing characteristics. These qualities are perfectly combined in cork coverings, the assortment of which is very diverse today. About what kinds of cork coverings exist and about the qualities we'll tell in this article.

Cork floor, pros and cons

Thanks to a large number of advantages, the cork coating has become very popular among consumers. But, there may be shortcomings in such coverage, which sellers are silent. About all the advantages and disadvantages of this flooring, let's try to tell in more detail. Cork cover is environmentally friendly, and is a crushed and specially treated cork oak cork. It is from this that the top layer of the cork coating is made.

Positive features of the cork floor:

• The material is absolutely natural and safe for human health.
• Pleasant to the touch, absolutely not slippery even when wet. This reduces the load on the locomotor system when walking on this coating.
• It serves additional heat and sound insulation in the room.
• Cork does not attract dust, so it is very easy to take care of such sexes.
• Cork covers do not burn, and when smoldering smoke does not emit.
• This coating does not absorb moisture.
• The cork is quite a strong covering, on its surface there may be small dents from the furniture, but after a while they disappear. It is possible for small indicators of permanent deformation, only 2%.

There are many positive features of this coating. It is worth considering and   negative qualities:

• The plug is not compatible with the "warm floor" system, due to its good thermal insulation properties, it will not pass heat from the heating element in the floor.
• High cost in comparison with other floor coverings (laminate, linoleum).

Still need to pay attention to the cork floor fixing system. There are models with a joint spike groove, and you can find glue floors from cork. The first are easier to install and, if necessary, you can easily change the spoiled item. Mount the cork on the adhesive is difficult enough and requires a certain skill. In addition, it will not be easy to replace any of its parts. Now you know the advantages and disadvantages of a cork cover.

Types of cork flooring

To date, the cork coating market is represented by two types:

1. laminate of cork;
2. cork parquet.

Consider each of the species in more detail.
Cork laminate.
Cork laminate externally does not differ from ordinary laminate. It also has a multi-layered structure and a latching of the laths. Each bar is made of several layers:

1. the bottom layer is made of pressed cork crumb and serves as a base;
2. the second layer is MDF or fiberboard;
3. the third layer is also a plug;
4. the fourth layer is veneer cork or any other tree;
5. the top layer is a varnish or vinyl coating.

The coating can be laid both glue-free and glue-free. Externally, such a coating is similar to parquet or ordinary laminate, but does not have synthetic components in its composition.

Cork flooring.
  Parquet from cork is a set of small plates, which can be laid out in a certain pattern or deck way. In the latter case, a full impression of the floor from the massive board will be created. Thanks to modern technology, you can apply any kind of wood texture to the cork. Therefore, the floor of such a parquet will be absolutely unique and unique.

Cork glue

If you decide to glue the cork, then the choice of adhesive should be carefully approached. First of all, the glue must be safe and non-toxic. It is best to give preference to materials on a water basis, because the solvent may damage the plug. Among the brands of glue there are also professional compositions. If you are not sure of your abilities, it's best not to use them. They quickly get up and work with them must be neat and fast. One of the special adhesives is Decol. Let's talk about it in more detail.

adhesive decol

The producer of this glue is Portugal. This material is recommended by the leading manufacturers of cork coatings for installation. It contains synthetic resins, which ensure good adhesion of the material to the floor surface. The average consumption of this adhesive is 250 300 g per square meter. m. In an average package of 5 liters will be enough to equip the floor for 8 10 square meters. m of the room. When working with decol glue, there are certain requirements for the room:

1. humidity in the room is 65% (not higher);
2. air temperature is not below zero degrees;
3. the humidity of the floor is about 3%.

If these requirements are met, floor installation will occur quickly and the glue will not lose its quality. The composition is applied to the tile and waiting for at least 15 minutes, then glued lightly pressing it. Completely glue dries in 48 hours. The cost of this material is an average of 2300 rubles for 5 liters. With this glue you can securely install the cork floor in your home.

Cork laying, step by step

Cork flooring is a laborious and time consuming process. It is necessary to prepare the necessary tools and materials in advance. Calculate all the nuances, and if necessary, consult specialists. Let's consider in more detail all the stages of work on the installation of a coating of cork.

foundation preparation

To begin with, you need to properly prepare the room, namely the floor. It should be absolutely smooth and dry. Cork material is brittle, and the slightest irregularities can lead to its destruction. Also the surface must be dry. This can easily be checked with a dense film in the form of a square. We make a part of the room and wait for 24 hours. Then carefully examine it, if there is condensation on the surface of the film, then the room should be dried. If there is no moisture, you can proceed with installation. Level the floor with liquid mixtures that fill all small irregularities well. If the floor has an old coating (linoleum, parquet), it is best to leave it and lay the cork over it. The main surface should be cleaned from dust and absolutely flat.

material, tools for work

Before laying the cover, you must prepare the tools in advance. To install the plug you will need:

• kiyanka rubber hammer for adjusting the laths;
• circular saw or electric jigsaw, the blade must be finely toothed (the hand saw will not work, because the material is strongly crumbled around it from the edges);
• roller for material rolling (metal);
• glue, if you plan a glue installation method;
• spatula for glue with fine teeth; plinth for cork floor (fixed to the wall).

Prepared these tools, you will not be distracted from installing the floor and the work will go faster.

laying rules

The plug can be laid in two ways:

1. floating;
2. glued.

Let's consider each of the methods separately.
Floating floor   can be mounted on their own. For this it is necessary to observe the following algorithm of actions:

• the floor area is calculated and, based on these indicators, the material is bought;
• after delivery it is brought into the room and left for a day for acclimatization;
• the floor is leveled and covered with a strong film with an overlap between sheets of 20-30 cm, and it should go to the walls of centimeters by 15, for reliability, the joints of the film can be glued with adhesive tape;
• the installation of the floor starts from the far corner, inserting the planks into the groove of the previous ones at an angle, pushing a little, lowering it down;
• from the coating to the wall it is necessary to leave a gap of about 3 cm, and the cork strips can additionally be fixed with wedges against the wall;
• excess film is cut off;
• we fix the skirting board to the wall with the help of a mounting glue, and it should be from the floor at a distance of 1 2 mm (to withstand this gap it is possible to lay between the floor and the plinth of the match).

The floor is laid out and you can walk safely on it.

Adhesive way of laying   It is more difficult and requires a certain skill. Installation is as follows:

• at the very beginning of the work it is necessary to find the center of the room (we measure the length of each wall and divide it in half, then from the middle of each conduct a straight line to the opposite wall, the place of their intersection is the center of the room);
• using a putty knife we ​​apply glue on the floor and lay the covering, leveling;
• continue to lay the material in a spiral, moving on or counter-clockwise;
• material roll by roller for better gluing;
• check the construction level of the smoothness of the coating;
• if there are traces of the glue coming out, we remove them with a cloth soaked in a solvent;
• we leave the gap between the wall and the cork cover, as in the previous case;
• after the installation of the coating, it is necessary to allow the adhesive to dry for a day;
• we fix the plinth and walk calmly along the cover and arrange the furniture.

In this way, you can lay the cork with glue.

This article describes the types of cork flooring. Tells about the adhesive for this material. The course of works on installation of a floor by a floating method and stacking on glue is resulted. Using the advice of the article, you can easily pick up the necessary kind of cork material and put it in your own house. Successful work.