Cork pad under the laminate

Cork in the interior is quite popular. It is used both for finishing walls and ceiling, and for repairing floors. This material belongs to the class of natural and therefore it is often used for children and bedrooms. The cork substrate under the laminate is one of the most reliable and safe.

Cork flooring: disadvantages

Now a few words about the problems that you may encounter. The first thing to consider is the ability of the material to sag. If in one place a very long time there will be very heavy furniture, small dents or traces may remain of it. With the naked eye, this may be unnoticeable, but when you walk on the surface, be sure to feel it.

Also, the cork substrate is completely useless if you want to make warm floors. The thermal conductivity of this material is very low and the heat from the heating element will not flow to the surface of the laminate. But the cork itself copes quite well with this function and the floor will never be cold, which is very important in the apartments.

The last and obvious among the disadvantages of cork flooring is its cost. Natural and environmentally friendly materials will always be quite expensive. But its price justifies the price and its service life is much longer than many synthetic analogues.

Cork pad under the laminate: how to choose?

Most unscrupulous contractors offer to purchase the thickest substrate, motivating it in an additional way to level the surface. In fact, the thickness of the substrate on the floor without screed is completely useless.

Of course, noise insulation will increase significantly, but there will be another problem. The thicker the substrate layer you take, the faster it will start to deform. As a result, the laminate joints will quickly deteriorate. Optimum thickness of the substrate is about 2-3 mm. There are three main types of cork substrates.

1. Bitumen-cork. This species belongs to the category of moisture resistant cork floor covering. This type not only behaves well in conditions of high humidity, but also helps to expel moisture from the floor covering. The substrate consists of a layer of thick paper that is located between the layers of bitumen and cork. The cork is laid down with a coating and thus provides additional waterproofing.
2. Rubber cork substrate. It differs by a higher level of noise absorption. It is a mixture of cork and synthetic rubber. The more noise insulation level you need, the thicker the coating should be.
3. Cork cloth. The cheapest option of all. This type is produced in sheets or rolls 2-4 mm thick.

Glutinous cork floor covering

It is worth mentioning this kind of flooring. It is a panel thickness of 4-6 mm. These panels are most often produced in sizes of 330x33 mm or 300x600 mm. This coating is characterized by the fact that the tile has a strong water-resistant a layer of varnish.

Glutinous cork flooring is no worse than a traditional laminate and in many cases even better. The only thing that complicates matters is the preparation of the surface. Laying the cork for the floor assumes a perfectly flat and smooth surface. So the screed must be done qualitatively.

But in conditions of high humidity, such coating shows excellent results. You can safely use it for bathroom, kitchen and even sauna. The material does not absorb moisture and does not rot, which makes it durable and versatile.