Cork Flooring

Hi All,
Well, I've finally convinced the missuss that carpet in the dunny is not the way to go but she now wants cork. I've done a few searches and spoke to some nice chaps in various stores around melbs. Before I commit has anyone got experience laying these? It will be on a timber hardwood floor in a toilet only room 2.5m x 1m. I intend to masonite the boards then contact adhesive the tiles onto the masonite. Lightly sand then apply a couple of coats urethane gloss sanding between coats. Any comments?

Don't mind the cork look, however as with most things there is good cork and cheap cork, so I believe... check what you are buying and get good stuff.

I laid cork in all my wet areas including toilet over 20 years ago. You will find that when you sand the raw cork, you will get fine dust particles in suspension floating through the house. Try to ensure you use some type of dust extraction system on your sander.

Kev M

Yes that was the process we used to lay cork in kitchen and laundry. Found it relatively easy to lay and cutting much simpler than ceramic tiles.

Only problems we encountered were airborne dust and when laundry floor had water on it, the surface was lethally slippery. We recoated 5 years later using a satin finish and the dust not as visible. Also used a poly hardener in the mix which prolongs the life of the finish.

Thanks guys,

I can hook up our old vacuum to my sander to get rid of the dust. I was gonna go satin finish anyway to match our other boards in the house. Looking forward to getting into it now! whats the best way to cut cork tiles, with a stanley?

Not sure about laying cork, but I have it in my kitchen and hallway. Easy to walk on and I think it looks great.

Just ensure the kids don't get into the habit of practicing throwing knives at it like mine did once :mad: :eek: :mad: . I think he still has my footprint on his a#se.

I used a stanley knife to cut all mine, found I needed to to keep the blade very sharp, so ended up rubbing regularly with a stone to keep the edge on the blade.


Kev M

All good fellas,

Laid the masonite tonight. Will nail it tomorrow and then lay the cork tiles. Have latex adhesive for the job. Then a quick sand and 2 coats of cabots urethane covering for tiles I reckon.