How Much Does Cork Flooring Cost? Factors That Affect Pricing

Cork is an amazingly versatile material: soft but resilient, resistant to humidity, and it has great sound and heat insulation properties. It’s eco-friendly and beautiful to look at. All of this makes it a great and increasingly popular option as a flooring solution for your home or office.

Yet, when it comes time to decide, one question is inevitable: how expensive is cork flooring?

In this article, we will try to find an answer to this question and give you all the information you need to know. 

Costs of material

We should start with another important question: do all cork floorings cost the same? The answer is no, and as usual in this sort of matter, if you are a little too diligent about cutting costs, you may end up disappointed.

For example, a treatment to add extra protection against water may be an additional expense, but it’s very often worth it, increasing the durability of the floor and helping to keep it in good condition.

Costs will vary depending mainly on the quality and type of cork, design, thickness, and surface treatment.

For example, our standard Tradition Glue-Down Cork Floors cost £110 for a 1.98m²  area (corresponding to about £55/m²), but, depending on your favourite pattern, this value can go up to £220 (c. £111/m²). These are great for high-traffic areas, as well as spaces with frequent water spills, such as kitchens or bathrooms, but you should take care to varnish them after installation, for extra durability. They have a thickness of 0.40cm.

Our Fein-patterned Naturtrend Cork Interlocking Floors cost £199 for a 2,184m²  area (about £91/m²), and are 0.95cm thick. Interlocking floors use a patented tongue-and-groove system for easy, fast installation. 

Our Element-patterned Natural Cork Interlocking Floors, to give another example, cost £262 for a 1.91m² area (about £137/m²) and are 1.05cm thick. These floors come pre-sealed and require no further sealing.

These values should give you a good idea of the cost of cork flooring, both in the lower and in the upper ranges, but visit our cork flooring page to find plenty of different options.

Installation

Installing cork flooring isn’t particularly complex and a lot of people choose to do it themselves. Apart from a little know-how, and depending on the type of installation, you may need a few tools and materials, including varnish for the finish – apart, of course, from the time and effort required.

On the other hand, there are often problems to solve, and an experienced professional will be better prepared to handle them.

There are too many variables, like the size and characteristics of the area, or what preparations are needed, as well as which company you choose, to give precise predictions about installation costs. 

For an estimate, use £30/m2, and more than that – around £50/m2 – for glue-down installation.

Maintenance

One last important factor to answer the question of how much cork flooring costs is maintenance.

Cork is a resilient, durable type of material that doesn’t require a lot of attention on your part.

Simply sweep or vacuum regularly, and every once in a while use a damp mop for a more thorough cleaning. Reparations are usually easy, through colour-matched wood filler or plank replacement.

Ideally, you should refinish your cork flooring with a cork sealant every few years, which isn’t hard to do yourself, if you enjoy DIY projects.

A properly maintained cork floor can last 40 years or more. Its longevity is one of the factors that makes cork such great value for money in the long run.

Conclusion

There are a number of factors that may influence the cost of cork flooring, as well as the cost of installing and maintaining it.

One of the most important factors is simply your choices when it comes to the type and quality of the materials. Installation costs may depend on details, such as whether the removal of the previous flooring is needed, the type of installation required, and, of course, the area covered. However, this is not an excessively complicated process, and some people opt to do it themselves.

Maintaining cork flooring is simple and, in the long run, inexpensive. Cork is resilient, naturally resistant to water and microorganisms, and easy to clean.

There is quite a bit of flexibility and margin of choice when it comes to budget, so you are sure to find something perfect for you.