It is my understanding that glue down cork is okay in bathrooms and kitchens, but floating is a no-no. We have glue down in our kitchen and have had loads of water on it. Just recently we had a house fire and then an accompanying broken pipe. There was a good inch of water sitting on the floor that froze over night, then melted and sat for at least a few more hours and you'd never know it - floor looks the same. This is with the finish taken off in several places because for some weird reason our 10 year old cat has decided in the last year that scratching the cork floor makes her happy.

I've heard that no matter how well you seal the planks, water can get in and swell them ruining the floating floor. Our experience with the glue down (done by a reputable company with years of experience) is that it is okay with water.

Glue down is only OK with a non water based glue. Floating or click, totally not OK with water at all.

No. About 15 years ago I installed some in a laundry closet and my wife hatted it.

I use cork under hardwood installs with urethane glue. That's it. I would think this is quite a poor choice for any room unless it is being used as a thermal break or sound break under another flooring option.

You might find a sealer that can seal all the thousands of pores but it is not something I have ever come across.

The correct material, installed correctly, will perform fine in a bathroom.

Pretty much in agreement with what the other posters wrote. I recommend a 100% cork, glued down. Sealed post-instalation.

I had all these questions a year or so ago. Ended up deciding to go ahead and use the glue-down cork in the MBR (to avoid a material change from bedroom and closet). We are doing two coats of the sealer-- I don't recall what it was, but it was a two-part solution that you mixed just before applying. It went on pretty easily. (We didn't do the tile installation, our GC did, but he used whatever they recommended at the cork store.)

You are not trying to "fill the pores" in the cork, you are trying to seal up any micro-openings where the cork tiles are butted up against each other. We decided this would work for us since it is our bathroom, we use a shower mat, and anyway, it won't be used by kids who leave giant pools of water behind (how DO they do that?)

Cork is not 100% waterproof and the pores can extend right through the material. I think this is why they ask some many questions at the flooring store when selecting the proper glue to install it.

Some cork is added on top of engineered wood and may be sealed.

Some cork is higher grade. Some low grade.

I like the insight of the topical sealers and would think this would be something that would be required by any cork supplier.

John, I'd be interested to hear why your wife didn't like it. We found it to be just about the perfect floor. It's warm, soft on the feet, cleans up like a dream and looks great. Ours has a coat of white stain on it that makes it look a lot like a stone floor without all the drawbacks of stone. Just wondering what she objected to.

I don't know why. I loved it. She just hates cork.

I set some cork in my mudroom as a thermal break and never have finished the space. Still no heat. No tile. We have used it as a wear surface for years and it is stuck so well. Set the cork with Laticrete 254 Platinum over a scratched up repair cement floor on grade.

The cork I installed years back was attached to engineered wood and a floating system.

I'll be using cork tile on a vestibule floor sometime in the next 4-6 weeks. It'll be glue-down and sealed post-installation.

Don't have any cork flooring in my own home, but I have a couple of rooms with cork walls; my office and my son's bedroom. The cork I used has a strong visual pattern. Not for the faint of heart! But we love it.

Lots of great info, thank you