Cork isn’t just useful for plugging up our wine bottles. It’s also a material used for high-quality hard flooring that’s more eco-friendly than traditional hardwoods. If you want to add a unique touch to your home, cork flooring may be the right option for you – flooring from manufacturers like WE Cork.
WE Cork flooring is made from cork derived from the cork tree, which regenerates its bark every 9 years. This makes it a great eco-friendly option if you want to have a greener home. But WE Cork also promises additional benefits, including durability, comfort, and sound control.
It’s not uncommon for manufacturers to make this claim about their own products, so we decided to dig deep to find out if these claims are true. We’ll take a look at what past customers have said about WE Cork flooring, from the good to the bad and possibly the downright ugly. We’ve done our research to help you determine if this flooring is right for your home.
Can WE Cork Floors Be Damaged?
All floors can be damaged, but some are more susceptible to damage than others. When put to the test, how do WE Cork floors perform?
With proper care and maintenance, WE Cork floors can last for many years. On average, cork flooring can last for about 25 years before you need to replace it. If you take some additional precautions, it may last even longer.
One of the first things to be aware of is that pet claws can damage WE Cork flooring. While pets with trimmed claws that are well-behaved may not have an effect on the floor, pets with long claws or that scratch or dig at the flooring will cause surface scratches. Furniture may also scratch the finish of the floor, so using felt feet to protect the flooring underneath is a precaution you should take.
Heavy furniture and appliances can also cause denting to occur. Moving your furniture around on a regular basis can help prevent this problem. If denting does occur, the floor will spring back over time. Furniture coasters can also be used to help displace weight and reduce denting.
Exposure to sun may cause your cork flooring to fade. You can prevent this problem by treating windows with a UV protectant, using rugs in areas where there’s excessive exposure to sunlight, or hanging blinds, shades, or other window treatments.
It is important to note that these issues aren’t unique to WE Cork. All cork flooring can scratch or dent over time, so this doesn’t mean that WE Cork is low-quality flooring. These are simply issues that homeowners face when choosing cork as their flooring material.
What Benefits Do WE Cork Floors Offer Over Other Hard Floor Types?
WE Cork flooring offers many benefits over solid hardwoods and other flooring types. One of the biggest benefits is that it’s a sustainable, eco-friendly flooring.
Cork flooring is also extremely durable. As we mentioned before, this type of flooring may last 25 years or longer with proper care and maintenance. WE Cork flooring is hypoallergenic, insect-resistant, and antimicrobial.
WE Cork flooring is also more resistant to moisture than hardwood and bamboo flooring. You can install WE Cork flooring in bathrooms, kitchens, and even basements. However, the manufacturer recommends using a floating floor installation only for basements and glue-down tiles or planks in bathrooms.
WE Cork flooring also has acoustic installation, meaning its much quieter than other bare flooring options. It also has thermal insulation, so it isn’t cold like wood-look tile. It is also more comfortable to walk on than harder floor types like hardwood or ceramic tile.
Is WE Cork Flooring Easy to Install?
WE Cork makes it easy to install your new floors. If you want to save a few hundred (or thousand) dollars, you can use the handy resources provided on the WE Cork website.
The manufacturer provides detailed installation instructions for all of its collections. These guides provide you with everything you need from start to finish, including a list of the tools needed to complete the job, what to do before installing your floors, and different methods for installing your floors.
If you’re more of a visual learner, WE Cork also provides video tutorials for floating floor and glue-down floor installations.
Even with all of these resources, though, installing your new cork flooring will take a ton of work. Make sure that you have the tools and the time to do the job properly. Improperly installed floors will not only look bad, but misuse may also void your manufacturer’s warranty.
However, if you are ready to take the time to learn how to install your floors and follow the directions carefully, you can do the job and save money. Otherwise, consider hiring a professional installer to tackle the job.
How Do I Care For & Maintain My New Flooring?
The care and maintenance routine for your cork flooring depends on the type of flooring you purchase. For all flooring, you can use a dust mop or hard floor vacuum for everyday cleaning.
You will need to buff waxed flooring with a paste wax to retain its beauty. You can damp mop varnish and polyurethane flooring with a wood floor cleaner or a solution of vinegar and water.
In addition, you can use liquid polishes on most WE Cork floors to achieve a shinier appearance, but you should never use products containing wax on varnish and polyurethane matte floors.
Need to do heavier cleaning on waxed floors? You can remove wax and dirt with a buffing machine. Then you can apply new coats of wax with a wool pad to restore the beauty of your floors.
Does WE Cork Offer Colors & Styles to Suit My Home?
If you shop WE Cork products, you will find a variety of different styles and colors to suit any home. WE Cork offers multiple collections, including Corkoleum, Classic, Serenity, and Traditional.
Cork flooring is available in multiple colors to mimic traditional wood, from Vintage Gray to French Autumn Oak and Bourbon Road. Cork tiles are also available to look like other materials, including slate, travertine, and marble.
WE Cork flooring products are available in aged and antiqued styles or more sleek and modern styles. You can choose from multiple products including rolls of Corkoleum that are easy to install, panels, or tiles.
Final Verdict
WE Cork flooring is a great choice for anyone that wants a beautiful and eco-friendly flooring option. The brand has a very competitive price for cork flooring, but don’t let that fool you. Consumers say that this flooring is extremely high-quality.
While you may have to worry about some damage that may occur through regular wear and tear, this is common for this type of flooring. The benefits it offers – sustainable flooring that’s more water-resistant, comfortable, and durable than other flooring – easily outweigh the few drawbacks.
WE Cork comes in a variety of styles, colors, and finishes, making it easy to find the right flooring for your home. While this flooring isn’t exactly easy to install, the manufacturer provides its customers with the resources needed to save money with do-it-yourself installation.
I’m a contractor/cabinetmaker who installed 800 sf over a 10 mil vapor barrier over 60 y.o. concrete in dry walkout foundation. I’d give WeCork a 9/10 rating, marked down to 9 is unfair to WeCork though. The cork is beautiful, wears well, milling was great, all good. The nature of cork is the one problem I have – it is very “unstable”, expands and contracts a lot! So I’m writing to warn others to know they should lay the flooring in a more humid month of the year, let it acclimate to the space for a week+ before installation, be very thoughtful about humidity/vapor issues, vapor barriers and don’t skimp on the expansion space and shoe moulding to mask expansion. My floor, at one point, is 25′ wide and it contracted 3/4″+ (actually 5/16″ gap on each end today but it heaved up last summer) I will probably cut the floor though a doorway in the middle of the 25′ to make two 12.5″ wide rooms. I fell prey to my wishful thinking early on. It is very unstable. Make provisions for expansion so it doesn’t heave and buckle like mine did. Can’t fix an imperfect tile in the middle of a floor… lesson learned…
I would like to thank wecork for sending g us a batch of click together planks that were unusable due to manufacturing damage and then refusing to deal with the issue in a timely manner. It is really great that our baby’s first Christmas pics will feature all the mess of having torn up floors for a month.
Thanks wecork!