Cork backing

When installing linoleum or laminate, a cork substrate should be used in those cases when you need an ideal flooring surface with a not very even base. In addition, this damping material provides a soundproof barrier between your home and the neighbors below. Cork substrate also provides certain additional advantages: the floor will become noticeably warmer even in winter; due to the elasticity of the cork, the probability of damaging linoleum or breaking an object when it falls is reduced.

Perhaps one of the few drawbacks of such a solution is the increasing price, but if there is not quite an even foundation, this may be one of the best solutions. It is worth saying that the use of a cork substrate for linoleum or laminate reviews has the most favorable, about all the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution, read below.

Reviews on the use of cork linoleum underlay

Alla

Cork backing is expensive and beautiful.

A comment

When laying linoleum, the masters advised to make a substrate of cork. Having said that she has good heat and sound insulation, but forgot to warn that from heavy furniture, she bends and leaves a dent in linoleum, so that it can be deformed. Fortunately, the neighbors warned. And nothing happened. Furniture was placed in the apartment, given this fact. So far, they have only changed the flooring in the corridor. Improvements are noticeable. It got a lot warmer. You can even walk barefoot on the floor, and not only in the summer. We plan to lay the substrate in the rooms as well, but here we will think cork or another.

pros

appearance, it has become warmer to walk on the floor.

Minuses

material price

Term of use

more than one year

Recommendation to others

Recommend

Quality
4/5
Practicality
4/5
Price
4/5

Alexei

Portuguese linoleum flooring - warm floor of the first floor

A comment

The linoleum flooring substrate was purchased in the corridor of the first floor to improve the thermal insulation characteristics of the floor. Material manufacturer - Portugal. Increased thermal insulation was needed because under the floor there is a basement unheated room with ventilation windows, which occupies 2/3 of the floor area. Linoleum on the base was laid on top of the substrate, since the built-in hatch in the floor did not allow laying another floor covering.

The linoleum substrate was installed 1.5 years ago with a thickness of 2 mm. It was glued with Novopren glue to the concrete base. The joints were glued with reinforced tape. The floor turned out to be without drafts, in the corridor it became much warmer. The coating after laying linoleum became pleasant to the touch and very soft.

There are no complaints about the quality of styling. The substrate does not require additional processing during operation. With intensive walking, the coating did not lag behind, did not cause discomfort. For 1.5 years, the substrate did not deform. Dents on the coating remained only under the legs of the wardrobe.

pros

- high-quality thermal insulation: you can walk on the floor in socks, you can’t feel the cold from the basement in extreme cold and windy weather;

- condensation does not form under the manhole cover, the wooden box of the manhole under the substrate is not covered by mold and fungus;

- not demanding on the base: laid on a clean concrete floor base;

- depreciation: the floor has become softer to the touch, softens the fall of objects;

- masks floor irregularities: the hatch under the linoleum is invisible.

Minuses

- for mounting to the floor on a concrete base, use only glue for cork materials.

Term of use

more than three years

Recommendation to others

Recommend

Quality
5/5
Practicality
5/5
Price
4/5

Vladimir

What the cork substrate did not help when laying linoleum

A comment

A substrate of oak bark is placed under linoleum to achieve the following results:

- so that the linoleum itself looks even;

- in order to prevent loud noises when walking or moving on the floor;

- if you have a basement under the floor, then such a heat-insulating layer will come in handy.

It should be noted that the substrate of oak bark fully meets all the requirements that apply to the base under linoleum. It is solid, strong, dry, has no exfoliating areas.

Based on the final results of personal experience, I can say that cork substrate successfully solves all these problems. Due to its use, it was possible to achieve good sound insulation, the surface of the laid linoleum turned out to be perfectly smooth, although the base was defective.

The basic rule is to prevent overlapping overlap sheets. For greater reliability, so that there is no formation of blisters and irregularities, I fasten the seams between the sheets of the substrate to each other with tape.

pros

The advantage of using a substrate is an increase in the linoleum's lifespan, a flat surface and additional sound insulation.

Minuses

However, it is worth considering the following circumstance: if heavy pieces of furniture, etc. are installed on linoleum on a cork substrate, then after some time elapsed traces are formed in this place.

Term of use

half a year

Recommendation to others

Difficult to answer

Quality
5/5
Practicality
4/5
Price
4/5

Vova

Cork linoleum substrate - as a way to insulate a cold floor

A comment

Making repairs in my country house in the village, I had a problem with choosing the base for linoleum flooring. More precisely, no reason - the floor was a monolithic concrete slab, poured twenty years ago, made using cement of "Soviet" production and large thickness, that is, it was practically impossible to dismantle it without damaging the foundation. It was possible to level its surface with a self-leveling mixture, but one problem remained - the laid linoleum passed the cold of concrete, especially in spring and winter.

Construction experts advised using a cork lining for linoleum. This is such a natural material from cork oak bark, strong enough and dense, made from natural natural material. It does not contain any impurities, and even the impregnation used in its production, which makes it completely non-combustible, does not have any harmful substances in its content.

The result exceeded all my expectations - in installation, cork lining is much simpler and more convenient than standard polypropylene lining materials, and by the results obtained it is even more practical at times.

pros

A worthy advantage of such a gasket is its property not to cause allergies. But it’s also natural - what I needed more - it works perfectly as a thermal insulator, completely avoiding the cold from the concrete base of the floor.

Minuses

The only minus was that the price “bit” a little, but my own health and comfort cost no money - therefore, a little creaking from greed, I decided to buy the quantity I needed.

Term of use

half a year

Recommendation to others

Recommend