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Post by nana on May 4, 2015 19:51:43 GMT -5
Vaporvac--the Globus glue down tiles are 3/16 thick, which is much thicker than the cork layer on the floating type flooring. How thin were the ones from Lumber Liquidators? They also had the adhesive that needs to be put down and used with careful timing, but from reading the installation instructions it didn't seem to be too temperamental. More like don't put down more adhesive than you can use in a day. They are so extensively informative on their website, and so obviously "into" their product, it would be really surprising to me if they were just pushing a cheap throwaway floor. I am just cynical enough to be able to believe in the possibility however.
As for UV fading, if that's the only problem with dyed cork, I'll be OK. The way my windows are in my kitchen, there's not a lot of direct strong sun. I'm going to order some samples from them and see if I like it. It's more expensive than the click lock stuff, but we can install it ourselves, so that saves $. My husband has done tile work and feels confident in our ability to do it right.
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Post by pooka on May 5, 2015 0:24:36 GMT -5
While I don't doubt that the new owner of Anne Slater's apartment remodeled it, these aren't necessarily pics of her old place. That listing says about the building at 998 Fifth Avenue; "It is designed with six duplexes, which are all located on the southern corner, and 11 simplexes, each of which has seventeen rooms." Later it says; "In 1974, 998 Fifth Avenue became a city Landmark." That probably means you can't do anything to alter the exterior or public spaces of the building, but it's most likely open season on the interior. When you spend that kind of money on an apartment in New York, sadly, you do what you want to it, history be damned. Whoever bought Anne Slater's place probably took one look at that Imperial & said, what a dinosaur. That's gotta go. Here's a blowup of the pic of Ann's kitchen with the dark cork floor, & the remodeled kitchens from the listing. I didn't remember the Persian carpet before. This one is beautiful, but a bit too elegant for my taste. It looks like a Chambers would slide right in after you pull out that modern stainless commercial range. This would be a great setting for an ivory colored model with a black porcelain cook-top. According to a comment at Wikimapia, 998 Fifth Avenue (New York City, New York) has "5 5000 sqf duplexes,10 5750 sqf simplexes and 2 full floor 8500 sqf mansions in the sky." I',m sure some of those units have been gutted & remodeled, & other may have been little touched since 1912 when it was built. This right across the street from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I saw one listing of a condo in that building for $16,500,000, & another for an apartment for $28,000,000. At those prices, you do what you want to your place.
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Post by nana on May 5, 2015 19:30:52 GMT -5
My friend installed the Lumber liguidator tile which was average by today's standards, but thin compared to the old stuff. He did half his first floor and every corner cupped. Vaporvac, did you let the tiles that cupped acclimate to the conditions in the house first? I didn't read the entire list of instructions but I glanced over them and I know they recommended to let the tiles adjust to the humidity and temperature levels of your house before trying to install them, because they shrink and swell with the humidity just like wood does. They had some special techniques to deal with these changes which I figured I would study in more detail when the time came. Something to do with the top of the tile expanding or shrinking while the bottom stays glued down.
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Post by vaporvac on May 5, 2015 20:00:07 GMT -5
He did everything correctly 2x! LL said it was because the glue either hadn't dried enough OR had dried too much, I don't recall which.He did the rest of his house extra carefully and it still did it. Super annoying. He bit the bullet and installed the clik flooring directly over it. One has to let all flooring acclimate before installtion, not just the tiles. I've installed the old-style thicker tile many times and never worried about the glue...there was no problem, but that was so long ago I don't remember what I used to glue it down.
I'm sure the people you're dealing with are helpful and know the web is a powerful tool when things go wrong. It sounds like they're aware of the problem and help folks get it right. LL made no mention of the possible issue.
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Post by Chuckie on May 5, 2015 20:35:05 GMT -5
While I don't doubt that the new owner of Anne Slater's apartment remodeled it, these aren't necessarily pics of her old place. That listing says about the building at 998 Fifth Avenue; "It is designed with six duplexes, which are all located on the southern corner, and 11 simplexes, each of which has seventeen rooms." At those prices, you do what you want to your place.
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Post by nana on Aug 28, 2015 18:53:11 GMT -5
Thank you, thank you, thank you Vaporvac for suggesting cork flooring!!!!
I just finished putting the final coat of sealant on my new floor and I couldn't be happier. It is beautiful. Thank you!
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Post by vaporvac on Aug 28, 2015 19:00:14 GMT -5
That is TRHILLING. I can't wait to see pics!
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Post by Chuckie on Aug 28, 2015 23:18:04 GMT -5
Thank you, thank you, thank you Vaporvac for suggesting cork flooring!!!! I just finished putting the final coat of sealant on my new floor and I couldn't be happier. It is beautiful. Thank you! .....U-H-H-H-H-H, you KNOW were all VISUALISTS here---any chance of PICTURES??!!!!!!! CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by nana on Aug 29, 2015 9:38:56 GMT -5
I know, I know...Pictures will have to wait until my husband gets back from his business trip--I am technologically challenged.
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Post by pooka on Aug 29, 2015 11:02:12 GMT -5
We can't all be good at everything as much as we might like to be. We all have our individual talents. We can wait.
I glad your happy with it. This sound like an interesting option if & when I ever get around to redoing my floors, but I need something that wears like iron. I've waffled between toasted bamboo because I like the warm look of it, but I'm really leaning towards old fashioned battleship linoleum. It's notorious for lasting seemingly forever. That's what my house was built with in 1939. It's still there, but they laid a vinyl floor over it in the 70s, & I don't care for it at all. It hasn't held up so well.
I'm interested what cork feels like to walk on. I have very keen senses of touch & feel. Cork floors seem like they would be like having those commercial rubber anti fatigue mats over the entire floor, but has the rich warm look of hardwood.
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Post by nana on Aug 29, 2015 11:17:07 GMT -5
The cork feels marvelous underfoot. We've had some nights in the low 50's and upper 40's these past few days and I can really tell the difference in the morning between the wood and the cork as far as feeling warmer to my feet. And it will be so much better than the old tiles were. It's not spongy or bouncy, but it has a sense of forgiveness to it that is almost alive, if that makes any sense at all!
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Post by pooka on Aug 29, 2015 11:50:38 GMT -5
That make perfect sense. The very properties that make it a good insulator for things like hot pads for under hot dishes & pans on a table or counter do the same on the floor. Cork is even less dense than wood, so it doesn't heat up or cool down & hold a temperature like wood or other harder materials. Walking on it must be like having a second cushion insole in your shoes. It must feel very strange with your shoes off.
At work the floors are quarry tiles. They're tough & durable, but they're hard on your feet after a while. I have a rubber safety mat where I mostly stand & it's a world of difference than having to stand on the hard floor for six or eight hours. I would think cork flooring would have a similar feel. You don't necessarily feel it right away, but you do notice it.
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Post by nana on Aug 29, 2015 20:08:33 GMT -5
Actually, it feels so good on bare feet that I find myself just walking into the kitchen for no reason a dozen times a day...for truly no good reason at all because my old stove and my refrigerator are still in my dining room, along with my washer and dryer because I had the floor in the back entry/laundry room done as well in the cork, and until my better(ie stronger)half gets home that's where they'll stay. Not a whole lot of cooking going on, but I like just standing on it.
I've been eating over my daughter's house a lot, or using my portable camp stove that I set up on the front porch to boil water for tea and cook eggs.
It is amazing the difference a floor can make for your back. When I was working in the copy room at school a few years ago it had a cement floor, and I would go home with such a backache, and halfway through the year they put in one of those rubber mats and it was like night and day.
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Post by nana on Sept 4, 2015 19:38:07 GMT -5
Here is my new kitchen floor. Feast your eyes!
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Post by Chuckie on Sept 4, 2015 21:09:35 GMT -5
Here is my new kitchen floor. Feast your eyes! HMMMMMMMMMMMMM, one word comes to mind--- W-O-W!!!!! SPECTACULAR!! Congrats on a job well done!! CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by vaporvac on Sept 4, 2015 21:48:56 GMT -5
That is absolutely STUNNING!!! It goes SO WELL with the cabinets and tile, and looks modern and old-fashioned at the same time. I love the different colours. REALLY, really beautiful.
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Post by wizardoftrance on Sept 4, 2015 22:37:58 GMT -5
That looks wonderful!... is cork very expensive?
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Post by pooka on Sept 5, 2015 2:58:40 GMT -5
I like it! It blends right in like it's always been there. It has the perfect warm tone to complement it's surroundings. It's funny that you had imitation brick tile before, now it has the the suggestion of brick in the herringbone pattern that it's laid in, only cushier.
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Post by evangeline on Sept 5, 2015 6:44:02 GMT -5
Yes what everyone's said! Goes so well with your quilt pattern backsplash too. Did you design that? Are you a quilter? I've never seen that done and it's fabulous!
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Post by nana on Sept 5, 2015 7:00:46 GMT -5
Depends on what expensive means to you, WOT. It was more than a sheet of vinyl from Home Depot, and my normal budget would have not allowed it. But I had saved up for about 4 years to get a Chambers, and when the time came it turned out that I had enough extra to do the floor the way I wanted, so I spent it without hesitation because it was already set aside. The tiles were about $9.50 a square foot, plus the adhesive and finish, which ran me $40. We paid someone to do it, but it you could do it yourself if you're handy like that.
My tiles were a custom size, their standard sizes are cheaper. I think I could have gotten them a little cheaper ordering straight from the company, but I went through a store because of all the help they gave figuring out amounts and colors, and all.
The brick pattern is no accident! The house I grew up in had brick pattern linoleum, and the old brick pattern tiles that were in this kitchen played no small part in making it feel like home to me when we were house hunting. I've always loved herringbone brick walkways too. The lighter tiles do give it a little bit of a funky 50's linoleum feel: a happy accident. All in all I couldn't be more pleased!
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Post by karitx on Sept 5, 2015 12:04:52 GMT -5
I love it, Nana! It's a perfect fit for your kitchen!
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Post by vaporvac on Sept 5, 2015 13:06:31 GMT -5
From whom did you eventually get your tiles and how thick were they?
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Post by nana on Sept 6, 2015 7:22:40 GMT -5
The manufacturer is Globus Cork, and the tiles are 3/16" thick.
Thank you for the compliment about the back splash, but my husband deserves all the credit. It was a Christmas present years ago that he did with the tiles left over from doing the bathroom. We still have enough to make a matching one for Marilyn. All contractors seem to have a pathological fear of running out of materials with us, so they always order so much extra.
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