Cork floating floor?

[ex-sailor]

Hi, folks.
We will be replacing the 20-year-old carpeting in our Pacific Trawler. I have read in other places that cork floating floors such as those sold by Lumber Liquidators (the click lock kind) are possibly a good choice for the saloon/galley/pilothouse floors.

We used this flooring in a house and really loved it. It would be great if we could use it in the boat, particularly the way it dampens sound.

Does anybody here have any experience with this kind of flooring in a trawler?

thanks.

ex-sailor

 

[Northern Spy]

I've had the same idea. I have it in my kitchen. I am interested in the responses too.

 

[John R M]

Haven't used it in a boat but did in 2 houses. First one was a success, the second time, where it was installed on an uneven floor, large gaps appeared in the seams, despite the click system. Not sure if the constant movement of a boat floor would result in the same issue. Perhaps adding glue to the joints would help. btw, not suitable if you have dogs with long nails.

 

[PM]

My guess is that it would work fine. It does not like having liquid spilled on it. I had some in a bathroom in my dirt home. The area near the shower got wet occasionally and didn't hold up very well.

pete

 

[sean9c]

I did pre-finished click together floating cork floor in my house and it faded like crazy wherever it was in the sun. Stupid choice, it went from love to hate in 3 years, to replace in 5.

 

[Comodave]

Maybe look at the vinyl floating flooring. It won’t be damaged by water and id supposed to be very durable.

 

[hollywood8118]

Hi, folks.
We will be replacing the 20-year-old carpeting in our Pacific Trawler. I have read in other places that cork floating floors such as those sold by Lumber Liquidators (the click lock kind) are possibly a good choice for the saloon/galley/pilothouse floors.

We used this flooring in a house and really loved it. It would be great if we could use it in the boat, particularly the way it dampens sound.

Does anybody here have any experience with this kind of flooring in a trawler?

thanks.

ex-sailor

do a glue down cork floor, we had it on Volunteer for 6 years in the galley and the bridge and glue down doesn't care about water.. it can be done in the walls of a shower.. if it works on the deck of a boat as a teak alt. it will work inside great. And its great underfoot. just look for glue down solid cork tiles, then add an additional coat of varnish afterward
HOLLYWOOD

 

[Keysdisease]

No hard floor will be quieter than carpeting, even with a layer of mass loaded vinyl or lead. Will not even come close to carpeting with an acoustic carpet underlayment.

I have wood laminate in two rooms of the house, and they were so sensitive to water that I put vinyl planking in the other bedroom. Looks and wears great, no water issues, I see no reason they would not work in a boat. I had some small pieces that I did glue, just because the "click" connection was short, used regular elmers type glue, seemed to work, still connected.

For noise I would add a layer of mass loaded vinyl under, 1/8" thick that will reduce noise inexpensively.

 

[CaptTom]

I'd love to do a floating floor in my saloon, probably a vinyl plank product held together by adhesive, not click-together.

But my problem is the two engine room hatches in the middle. I'd need some sort of 90-degree angle edging, but I don't want something that will stick up to high above the floor. It would also have to look halfway decent. Haven't found anything yet.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

I'd love to do a floating floor in my saloon, probably a vinyl plank product held together by adhesive, not click-together.

But my problem is the two engine room hatches in the middle. I'd need some sort of 90-degree angle edging, but I don't want something that will stick up to high above the floor. It would also have to look halfway decent. Haven't found anything yet.

If its held together by adhesive, thats not floating floor is it? I'm under the impression that "floating" means not attached by adhesive ,am I missing something ?

 

[CaptTom]

If its held together by adhesive, thats not floating floor is it? I'm under the impression that "floating" means not attached by adhesive ,am I missing something ?

I'm not describing it well. Each "plank" has an "overhang" on two sides, and a matching recess on the other two. Like ship-lap siding. The adhesive is where they overlap, so they stick together on all four sides, but not to the subfloor.

I found this image at a site which sells them:

I bought mine at the big-box home improvement stores. They've worked great in the house, although I don't know how they'll handle temperature swings in a boat.

 

[sbu22]

Same as you, CaptTom. Haven't figured it out. Maybe aluminum angle polished and screwed around floor opening and a mating same width Al flatbar on the hatch. Brass would be nicer but $.

 

[CaptTom]

Same as you, CaptTom. Haven't figured it out. Maybe aluminum angle polished and screwed around floor opening and a mating same width Al flatbar on the hatch. Brass would be nicer but $.

The Admiral nixed the aluminum edging. Brass, or even a dull finish on aluminum, might fly though. Worth a try!

I was even considering the clear vinyl corner protectors they sell for sheetrock corners in a home.

 

[Bacchus]

I'd love to do a floating floor in my saloon, probably a vinyl plank product held together by adhesive, not click-together.

But my problem is the two engine room hatches in the middle. I'd need some sort of 90-degree angle edging, but I don't want something that will stick up to high above the floor. It would also have to look halfway decent. Haven't found anything yet.

I only had 1 small hatch in fwd cabin but on advice from PlasTeak/PlasDeck Pres I did it w/o any trim. I also used the foam underlayment and really like the combination.
I used a sharpie to color the edge of the underlayment to make it much less visible. See...
https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46119

 

[sbu22]

The Admiral nixed the aluminum edging. Brass, or even a dull finish on aluminum, might fly though. Worth a try!

I was even considering the clear vinyl corner protectors they sell for sheetrock corners in a home.

I looked at https://www.mcmaster.com/brass-stock - 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 "architectural brass" angle material would run about $170 in material for the deck opening. Another $90 for 1 1/2" flatbar for the hatch. I'm figuring the hatch is a 2'x2' opening on mine. Might reconsider - not as bad as I recalled.

 

[Exctyengr]

I have used cork flooring in my kitchen and found that it does not like water at all. It swells and begins to disintegrate. My suggestion is not to use it in a marine environment.

 

[EricH]

Cork flooring

I put self-adhesive, pre-finished 12"x12" cork squares in my galley 10 years ago. Edged around the hatch with oak stained to a similar color. It's been working great for over 10 years. Doesn't do anything more noise.

 

[BruceK]

I have used cork flooring in my kitchen and found that it does not like water at all. It swells and begins to disintegrate. My suggestion is not to use it in a marine environment.

Ours was laid in 1985, neither of those things have happened. I suppose cork tiles must vary in quality.

 

[ghost]

Lots of the current cork flooring is shall we say “engineered”. Which means it is like a lot of engineered flooring material, complete junk.

I’m likely to try a traditional glue down cork in my master head. One year in on my cork countertops, I’d do them again in a heartbeat. But then that was high density inch and a quarter, so not terribly comparable to flooring.

 

[Lou_tribal]

Ours was laid in 1985, neither of those things have happened. I suppose cork tiles must vary in quality.

Cork itself is resistant to water.
Beyond this issue can be from underlying layer if "engineered" floor, meaning cork glued onto a layer usually made from cheap material, or from glue used to agglomerate cork chunks when it is not plain sliced cork that is more expensive.
Also cork can be varnished like any hard wood floor what would add protection.

L

 

[Little dougie]

Hi, folks.
We will be replacing the 20-year-old carpeting in our Pacific Trawler. I have read in other places that cork floating floors such as those sold by Lumber Liquidators (the click lock kind) are possibly a good choice for the saloon/galley/pilothouse floors.

We used this flooring in a house and really loved it. It would be great if we could use it in the boat, particularly the way it dampens sound.

Does anybody here have any experience with this kind of flooring in a trawler?

thanks.

ex-sailor

Its junk. Cant use any type over hatches. Will peak anytime it gets wet. Not made for boats. Dont waste your money. You can get glue down vinyl flooring will work ok, but from the movement of the boat will separate at joints. Then you have a crack between planks.

 

[sean9c]

The click together pre-finished cork floors are a layer of cork glued to a pressboard backing, it wont like moisture or water. You can get glue down unfinished cork tile, so you put it down in flooring adhesive and then apply finish. It won't care about moisture or getting wet.

 

[CaptTom]

I looked at https://www.mcmaster.com/brass-stock - 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 "architectural brass" angle material would run about $170 in material for the deck opening. Another $90 for 1 1/2" flatbar for the hatch. I'm figuring the hatch is a 2'x2' opening on mine. Might reconsider - not as bad as I recalled.

I was thinking of something more along these lines ($16 for a 72" piece):
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Columbia-Aluminum-Products-1-125-in-x-72-in-Gold-Carpet-Bar/50047549

 

[Bkay]

I have looked at a lot of non-standard flooring options for boats. I also have a good source of information from people who really know flooring because my wife is in the industry and has friends who specialize in commercial flooring.

When I started researching I was advised to look closely at manufacturer's installation specifications and confirmed the flooring was suitable for "below grade" at a minimum and "waterproof" as the best option. Also, given the temperature swings on our boats, I was also steered to flooring that would survive temperatures from -20 to 150 degrees. I know my boat interior will not see that swing of temp (at least I hope), but that is the industry standard for high temperature range flooring. I found many floors that would work great as long as I kept the temperature between 30 degrees and 100 degrees year round (or something like that) - which is not feasible for me.

Also, most commercial flooring has a slip resistance rating set by the American National Standards Institute - I actually recall there are 3 standards that a flooring can cite to measure slip resistance.

https://safetydirectamerica.com/ansi-standards-floor-slip-resistance/

When I made my decision I made a matrix that captured all these factors - I ruled out anything that didn't meet minimum temperature, waterproofness (if that's a word), and slip resistance requirements. Then picked among what was left based on things unique to me - like ease of installation, cost, style.