Is it possible to lay a cork foil under linoleum
Hello.
In a multi-story building, the apartment made a screed (cement-ballast). The thickness came out with differences from 4 to 12 cm. It turned out pretty well. Next, I want to lay linoleum. I wanted to know if it is possible to lay a cork foil substrate under linoleum?
Denis
Expert Answer
Hello Denis.
Yes, the rigidity of the cork foil substrate allows you to use it even for thin varieties of linoleum. But if the basis you have chosen will satisfy all the requirements put forward for it is a big question. Cork is a fairly soft material, which in your case can play both a plus and a minus. On the one hand, such a coating has good thermal insulation and soundproofing properties, and in addition, it is pleasantly springy when walking. On the other hand, on linoleum with a cork substrate, fatal traces from the legs of sofas, cabinets or nightstands quickly enough appear. For this reason, such a “layer cake” is recommended to be used in rooms with a minimal amount of furniture or where interior items are installed permanently.
In order not to go into unnecessary reasoning, we note that cork roll insulation is most often chosen to solve such problems:
- Elimination of roughnesses of the concrete base.
- The need for additional insulation of the cold floor (for example, for rooms above the basement or garage).
- If necessary, lay linoleum without a base.
Since you are saying that you have equipped a flat and smooth base, we omit the first point. The second one is also easy to figure out - you know better on the spot if there is a need for thermal insulation. As for the third, we recommend instead of cork substrate to use multilayer linoleum with a base of foamed polyvinyl chloride or jute fiber. Such material has proven itself in terms of durability and will serve as no less reliable protection against the cold coming from below than cork.
