Wood flooring
Cork is the floor people choose for comfort. It is warm underfoot, quiet, and easy on knees and backs. Kitchener Prestige Flooring installs glue-down cork tiles and floating cork planks for homeowners, condo owners and small offices across Kitchener and Waterloo Region.
Our installers bring more than 16 years of flooring experience and 1,700+ completed jobs to every project. We know cork's strengths and its limits, and we explain both before you choose it.
Each installation is licensed, insured, WSIB covered and protected by a written 1-year labour warranty. We measure, test the subfloor and give you a fixed written quote in your home.
Cork is harvested from the bark of the cork oak. The tree is not cut down, and the bark regrows in about nine years.
Each cubic centimetre of cork holds millions of tiny air-filled cells. That structure makes the floor warm to touch, soft to stand on and naturally quiet.
Our customers usually choose it for kitchens where someone stands for hours, playrooms, home offices and basements. It is a comfort product first and a style choice second.
Cork comes in two main formats. They install differently and suit different rooms.
Solid cork tiles, usually 4 to 6 mm thick, are bonded with a water-based contact adhesive applied to both the tile and the subfloor. Once they touch, they stay, so layout lines have to be exact.
Glue-down tiles have no core to swell, and the seams can be sealed with a site-applied finish. That makes them the better choice for kitchens and any room where spills happen.
Floating planks bond a cork face and cork backing to a high density fibreboard core with a click-lock edge. They go down quickly over most flat subfloors without adhesive.
They are ideal for bedrooms, offices and condos. Because the core dislikes water, we keep them out of bathrooms, laundry rooms and damp basements.
Cork is one of the best materials for stopping footstep noise. It absorbs impact before it reaches the structure below.
That matters in condos, where boards often set a minimum impact insulation rating for new floors. It also matters on upper floors of family homes, where kitchens sit above bedrooms.
Adding a cork underlayment below the finished floor improves the rating further. For projects where noise is the main concern, see our soundproof flooring service.
Here is the honest limitation. Cork compresses under weight and springs back, but heavy point loads can leave permanent dents.
Chair legs, dining tables and couches are fine on wide felt pads. Pianos, heavy dressers on thin legs and office chairs on hard castors need castor cups or a chair mat.
We talk through your furniture during the estimate. If your room holds heavy, narrow-footed pieces, we may suggest a different floor in that space.
A cork floor is only as durable as its finish. Factory-finished planks usually carry a urethane or ceramic-reinforced coat, and glue-down tiles get two to three site-applied coats.
In kitchens and entries, plan on a light screen and a maintenance coat every three to five years. It takes a day and costs a fraction of replacement.
Want to protect the seams in a kitchen or mudroom? Our floor sealing and waterproofing service adds an extra barrier coat.
Cork changes colour in direct sunlight. Natural tones tend to lighten, and darker stained cork can fade unevenly.
Under a rug or a sofa, you may see a clear outline after a year or two. Moving rugs occasionally and adding UV-filtering window film on south and west windows keeps the tone even.
Cork insulates well over concrete, which makes it one of the few floors that makes a basement feel warm. It still needs a dry slab.
We test the slab's moisture first. Floating planks go over a 6 mil polyethylene vapour barrier, and glue-down tiles only go on slabs that pass testing.
If your basement has seen water in the past, luxury vinyl plank is a safer choice. We will give you our honest recommendation after the moisture test.
Quality cork material runs about $4 to $9 per square foot. Floating plank installation usually costs $3.00 to $5.00 per square foot in Waterloo Region.
Glue-down tiles take longer because of adhesive time, layout and site finishing, typically $4.50 to $7.00 per square foot installed labour. Levelling and underlayment are listed separately on your quote.
Every cork floor we install carries our 1-year labour warranty.
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FAQ
Straight answers to the questions we hear most. Still unsure? Call and ask.
Ask for a Free QuoteCork recovers from most everyday pressure, like footsteps and chair feet. Heavy, narrow point loads such as piano legs or bed rails can leave lasting marks. Wide felt pads and castor cups spread the weight and prevent that.
No. A sealed cork surface resists spills well, but standing water at the seams will swell it. Floating planks with a fibreboard core are the most sensitive, so we avoid them in bathrooms and wet basements.
In busy rooms like kitchens and entries, plan on a maintenance coat every three to five years. Bedrooms and offices can go longer. Recoating before the finish wears through keeps the cork itself from absorbing dirt and water.
It is one of the warmest floors you can put on concrete, because cork is full of tiny air cells that insulate. Over a dry, tested slab with a vapour barrier, it makes a basement feel noticeably more comfortable.
Free estimate
Tell us about the floor. We will call to book a time, measure on site, check the subfloor and moisture, and leave you a written quote.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call and speak to a flooring specialist directly.
Kitchener Prestige Flooring
137 Glasgow St, Kitchener, ON N2M 5E3
Monday to Saturday: 7:00am to 9:30pm
Sunday: 9:00am to 9:00pm