Scratched cork flooring
How do I repair an old cork floor or remove it?
by
Julie Medved
+4
We purchased an old 1980's doer upper early this year. We will be repacing the old kitchen and the flooring possibly. Should I keep this scratched up cork floor? If so how to repair scratches? Or should I remove it? If so how?
Use Self Adhesive Tiles on top of warn tiles in some sort of pattern..............
Hi Julie, Until your budget allows for a new floor, why not paint or stain your floor a darker color? Or, you could go with a weathered white wash look which will actually hide those scratches. Best of luck.
Keep the cork floor if your thresholds will accommodate, and put peel & stick tiles on it until you can replace. That cork is another layer of insulation.
Can't fix scratched cork, and probably can't match it anymore, so replace it.
Don't waste your time. If they are securely glued don't mess with them. Consider them the base for flooring.
As a 40+yr Comm. Surface Coating Contr. my recommendation for the last decade+ has been "Cork" #1, "Bamboo" #2. I'm just bias, they are both equal, and always my highest recommendation. You will never replace in your kids lifetime. & unless it is in your garage for the car to drive over w/ studded tires you will never have to refinish either one... either. But, you can... quick sand & 3 coats acrylic varnish. Short of dropping an old fashioned TV from the ceiling you can't kill either one... either. Easiest to install, ever. Just sweep any grit, 'cause you will be putting down a fiber cloth. They are floating floors, have to be, so don't be tempted to glue. They both look like real wood: oak, pine, cherry, walnut, reclaimed barn board, a combination of woods, and more. Just clean w/ dish soap in water. The floors are always warm, characteristics of cork & bamboo. They feel softer than regular wood, and are quiet, dropping something clangy on the floor, it is muffled, again characteristics of the woods. Well, cork is the naturally pealing (exfoliating) bark of the cork tree, & bamboo is an invasive grass that desperately needs culling constantly. Cork & bamboo are renewable & have a tiny carbon footprint, and not affected by humidity, and it is a floating floor, so no buckling, binding. The both are microbial resistant. My 30 yr old house is wide soft pine throughout, kitch, bath, all. If I ever get my basement finished, I won't be researching floors, just can't make up my mind... cork... bamboo... I can't decide...
Yes, I would lightly sand.