DIY glue down cork tiles in the kitchen?

How easy is it to do a DIY install of cork floor tiles in a kitchen?

We are looking at using a 12“ x 12“ square tile that is either 5/8“ or 3/8“ in thickness. There’s no hard backing to the tile and they don’t click together. It’s just pieces of cork that will be glued down.

The installation company is charging 3x more to do the installation then the tiles cost themselves ($4500 for a relatively small space, 75% of which is installation cost). The company even sells the same glue their installers use for the tiles.

Has anyone ever installed their own tiles? How hard is it? Any tips for making the process go smoothly?

[95BE44DF-68B1-4962-BD10-BCA023E90001](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:Kgd4:95be44df68b14962bd10bca023e90001.png.jpg)

bbrc

in General Discussion 4 years and 11 months ago

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stevecym | 4 years and 11 months ago

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i will not comment to the suitability of cork but to the cost of the project. when i was younger a contractor told me that with any installation (not custom fabrication) charge 3 times the cost of the materials in the suburbs and 4 times in the city. using this approach, they sound fair.

if they have no stick, my guess is you will be using weldwood contact cement and this stuff is a pain in the neck to use and once it is stuck, there is no moving it. you will be ripping the cork apart to move a misplaced piece.

if you have a clean and level surface you might explore putting the tiles down yourself (you really need a plywood underlay; were they putting down underlay?). other than that the cement is a pain the neck to use, the job will be easy. draw a line down the center of your kitchen and work off that and work from the center out toward the walls. if you have cabinets and wish to balance the cut tiles running along each row of cabinets, center the line between the cabinets and work off it. always work a tile floor from the center out.

resident2 | 4 years and 11 months ago

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Cork Tiles are NOT good for a kitchen floor. They are not hard-waring. You need something much more robust in a kitchen.