I am starting a DIY kitchen renovation. I would like some advice on a couple of issues.

My current flooring is real wood (imagine that!) parquet. However, reality to the nuttiness of having hardwood flooring in a room with plumbing came to fruition a few years ago. The dreaded "my water line to the refrigerator burst while on vacation" happened.

It was actually just a pin hole and it was only going for a few days. It did enough to buckle three squares of our parquet. I removed three slats and it was enough for it to lay down, but I now have a rug covering the area with the gaps.

So...I'm starting a renovation and am undecided on my flooring. I've wanted cork in there mainly because of its natural properties with handling water, plus with all its other pros seems like a great idea.

I'm now finding out that my options at the big box stores have MDF or HDF for a core. Doesn't this counteract the positive relationship that cork has with water?

Is there a cork flooring out there that doesn't have a wood base? I'm assuming that in the event of another leak it would have the same trouble as my parquet.

If that is the case, maybe my best option is to refinish my parquet. Not real sure how to repair it though.

Sexy Satie, you can buy cork tiles all day long, even online. Here's a vendor I trust; http://www.flooringstoreonline.com/
If you want to get fancy go to Globus Cork: http://www.corkfloor.com/

Or, you can go to a local ProSource if there is one near you. But not open to general public so you can use my name and tell them your working with me as a consultant. I'd call first and ask if they have samples of cork tiles. The box stores just recently started carrying cork, least out here. I'd definetly have a professional experienced in installing cork tiles as installation can be a little daunting for a DIY.
Glued down cork is pretty much industructible as far as water goes after you apply a finish coat on.

Thank you, I'll definitely check them out. I did find some at Menards, but wasn't sure about the quality.

So I should focus on the glue down tiles rather than the floating floor...

I'll have to do a bit more research on the specifics. Like, do I adhere it directly to the subfloor? I hate to say it, but as much as I'm told to hire a professional - I'm not going to. I enjoy doing this stuff. If I screw it up, I'll learn and get better.



It's going to break my heart to rip out real wood flooring. Any thoughts on how to re-purpose the parquet tiles would be welcome.