Hi, We had a cork floor installed in our new house a year ago July. The tiles were installed right out of the box after having been carried in from the van. Our AC wasn't yet hooked up. After a few days I noticed ridges running the length of many of the tiles. I've since learned that this is called "peaking". Our floor retailer asserts that this is normal. Other retailers selling the same floor say it's not, and that the cork should have be acclimatized before installation. Has your floor developed any ridges between the tiles? Steve

' I'd listen to floorguy more closely than CR! ' While I don't find Consumer Reports to be very reliable, I find Flooring America salesmen to be even less so. Recent example: I am looking for a type of flooring for my basement that can withstand rare incursions of moisture. Last week, a Flooring America guy said Quick-step laminate was THE ANSWER to my basement flooring problem. However, the manufacturer's website revealed the product is not recommended for bathrooms or ~any~ other areas with potential wetness. The product's lifetime warranty excludes wetness damage of any kind. ( Actually, the Lifetime Warranty excludes damages from just about everything else, too. ) Flooring America rep. either was not knowledgeable about the product, or not honest.

At this point, I would suggest picking a wood and going with it. You have already "renovated" yourself into a corner. You have 4 different floors inside of 20 linear feet. The only way to get this to look "less patchworky" is to remove two (the best would be three...but it doesn't sound like that's an option) and replace it with ONE. Then you are down to THREE floors inside of 20 linear feet. Doesn't sound that great does it? That's why you want to remove THREE floors and replace with one. Personally I prefer tile/stone in kitchens (I live in Canada which means snow and "wet" are things we are sensitive to) and then wood elsewhere. You have just discovered what goes on in the flooring world. A 'man made floor' (tile, factory finished hardwood, laminate, vinyl, etc) will be produced/available for around 18 months...and then it is gone forever. I'm sorry you find yourself in this predicament. This is the way of man-made flooring. It is here today and gone tomorrow. The good news is, you can blame your husband (tongue firmly in cheek;-) and get the entire downstairs refinished in a SINGLE hardwood! Yah! Total score! :-P Leave the kitchen tile....it is acceptable/allowed to have kitchens/baths in a different material. I would source more of the oak and then have everything refinished all at once. Do NOT touch your stairs until you have made your decision. Find a HIGH end wood flooring professional who can source everything - including a finishing carpenter to do all the stair work you need.

Hi, I have been looking around for tiles for a long time. We have a bathroom shower, tub and a double vanity. I am thinking of doing a marble carraa 3 x 6 for the backsplash all the way to the walls for the vanity. The countertop is a vadara carrara. Its a curbless shower with a linear drain. I really like the marble look but dont want the upkeep especially since there will be a steam shower. Would it be okay to do http://www.vallelungacer.it/collezioni/carrara/?lang=en for the shower walls (long 24 x 48). Unfortunately, I can't use the above long tiles for the shower floor since they are slippery. I dont want to use the small tiles since I want the curbless shower floor to flow with the rest of the bathroom. I am considering doing a https://happy-floors.com/products/baltimore/ for the floors and wrap that all the way to the tub walls for a free standing tub. My question is would the contrast be too much? Unfortunately, I dont like the smaller tiles on the floors due to the grout lines. Thanks!