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Background
My husband and I own an 1800s house. We have spent the last 4 years upgrading every aspect of our house-- painting, bathrooms, outdoor reconstruction, garages, etc. We recently thought we were finished when we got sucked into a new project-- finishing our basement.
Here's the scoop-- we always left the basement alone since we didnt need the room. But, now that we have two active kids that have taken over our house, we thought we better venture into the land down under. This will hopefully give us some form of kiddie toy relief in our main living space!
Boy-- this was no small task. As a point of reference, we could have grown things in our basement--- I think we may have-- with mold! We basically had a dirt floor. So, flooring and foundation became a big decision for us.
Goals
Since we have hardwood floors throughout our house, we wanted to keep with that classic style. However, we were worried that it may feel "cold". So, we had a couple of basic goals in mind; we wanted:
1. Environmentally friendly
2. Great with little ones- playdo, coloring, etc
3. Can handle spills, water, or other mishaps
4. Brings warmth to our basement
5. Has a classic look (we wanted to keep with the direct style of our home)
Our decision- cork flooring
We narrowed down our options to hardwood and alternative products. After doing some digging, we settled on CORK. Yes, CORK. It actually achieved all of the above goals. It is only made from the outer layer of trees, it is softer than traditional wood, repels water, has significantly more warmth than hardwood, yet looks very similar. And, it is actually pretty easy to install. In fact, many people install it themselves. (we didnt, because we needed a subfloor, but they sent along the adhesive so that we could do it alone if we desired. If you are doing a kitchen or another room, it is probably pretty easy to do)
The only downside of course, was price. Cork generally costs the same as hardwood-- I think $6-$10/sqft depending on the quality and design. That includes everything-- installation and material. So, for 1,000sqft, plan to spend around $10k for everything. Is it pricey? Yes! But, it looks really nice and was a great alternative to carpet and hardwood.
So, do we like our cork flooring??? So far, YES!
1. We really like the way it looks. Cork flooring comes in many different colors and patterns. So, there are lots of great options available to you. It has a very classic look and is a nice complement to our hardwood floors throughout the house.
2. Our kids have already spilled and stuck playdo all over the floor and no problemo- everything comes right up!
3. The basement feels warm... really warm. We arent carpet people, so this was the best alternative.
4. It's soft. Walking on it without shoes is no problem. It not only feels warm, but it feels soft.
Our bottom line on cork flooring
Overall, I would say that we are really pleased with our cork flooring. If you are in the process of making home improvements, you should definitely consider this alternative material. It has so many advantages over wood-- and it's great for the environment too!
Last edited on Oct 02, 2007
Cork Flooring is recommended by Jolie
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