hot yoga flooring - glue down cork tiles

A floating cork floor in a traditional yoga studio (no heat, no humidity) will receive 2 coats of Loba AT polyurethane at time of install (to be done by the installer) and that makes the floating floor water resistant.  It won’t care (too much) about ‘mopping’.  Of course, “mopping” will be limited to slightly damp mop with the appropriate cleaners applied (can be dealt with at the level of the owner of the flooring = proper cleaning procedures found on our website).

Most yoga studio owners have turned to the glue down cork tile format (with glue and polyurethane needed for the job).  We have recently had an 8mm cork glue down tile installed in a Moksha yoga studio (hot yoga) in Squamish BC.  They went to the trouble of installing 8mm cork glue down tiles with the 2 coats of polyurethane (always need to coat over a glue down tile) in their space.  They had hired a thermodynamic engineer to assess their space and energy needs/expenditure and it was decided the 8mm cork glue down tiles allowed for energy efficiency AND it was insulating enough to protect the ADHESIVE from the excessive heat of the space. They used 3M 30NF Green Fastbond adhesive

salami cork floor yoga meditation exercise room
salami cork floor yoga meditation exercise room

At this stage, the “hot yoga” part of this install is about to throw a wrench into the plans.  Please look closely at what is needed and what the plans are for this space.  The type of subfloor will have to be assessed if a glue down floor is going to be attempted.  A cork floating floor in a hot yoga situation – even with the finish – may have a limited lifespan.  Not because of the mopping, but because of the humidity and the heat.

yoga studios cork flooring

A hot yoga studio is often too hot for interior finishes (like paint, polyurethane, etc).  The indoor range is 18 -30°C (65F – 85F).  And even then, the 30°C is considered “too hot” for a normal interior to be comfortable.  The other issue will be the humidity.  Humidity range for most cork floors = 35% – 65% humidity.  But the hotter you get, the weaker the FINISH becomes when you add humidity.  So a room that is 32°C (90F) with a humidity range of 70% = death to interior fixtures (including cork, paint, drywall, etc).

 

There are two areas of weakness in a cork floor:  the FINISH (the polyurethane) and the ADHESIVES used to get things to stick together.  Usually the glue is MORE SENSITIVE than the finish.  A cork GLUE DOWN tile is 100% cork (can be squares or rectangles or even sheets) is one format.  The click-together floating floor is the other.  The floating floor is SUPER sensitive to HUMIDITY!  Like wildly sensitive.  It isn’t allowed in a bathroom that has a shower!  And the humidity in a hot yoga studio can be identical to the humidity in a full bath after a shower.

 

Again, we recommend cork glue down tiles not floating flooring in a hot yoga. A cork floating floor in a hot yoga situation will have warranty issues.  The heat is one thing…the humidity is the real problem.  The fibre board in the middle is susceptible to humidity retention over time. 

 

Forna Cork in Yoga

2012 Salt Spring Yoga Centre, Salt Spring BC, 7/16” (11mm) Logan Cork Floating Flooring

2012 Anahata Yoga Center Mason, OH, Salami Cork Tiles

2013 Live Yoga, White Rock BC, Leather Cork Floating Flooring

2013 Studio Blue Yoga & Fitness, Toronto ON, Silver Birch Cork Floating Flooring with cork underlay

2014 Main Yoga Montreal, Montreal QC, Golden Beach Cork Floating Flooring

2014 yogagurl.com Mississauga ON, Ambrosia Cork Floating Flooring

2015 Debbie Isabelle Fitness, Saint Alphonse De, Granby PQ, Golden Beach Cork Floating Flooring

2015 Vero Beach Yoga, Vero Beach FL, Salami Cork Floating Flooring

2016 Yoga Lounge Montreal, St Leonard PQ, Golden Beach Cork Floating Flooring                              

2016 Moksha Yoga, Squamish BC, 6mm Silver Birch cork tiles

2016 Ajna Yoga, Victory BC, Golden Beach Cork Floating Flooring

2017 Yoga Lounge, Montreal QC, Golden Beach Cork Floating Flooring

2017 AWE Yoga, Pembroke ON, 12mm Salami Cork Floating Flooring

2018 Yoga in The Heights, JERSEY CITY NJ. Logan ½” (12mm) Floating Cork Floor Logan

2018 Level Yoga, Vero Beach FL, Taupe leather Cork Floating Flooring with 6mm cork underlay

2012 Ajna Yoga Studio, Victoria BC, 10mm Golden Beach Cork Floating Flooring

2011 Samskara Yoga, Cold Lake AB, Golden beach Cork Floating Flooring

2014 Sage Yoga Studio Framington, NM,

2015 Vero Beach Yoga, Vero Beach, FL, 7/16” (11mm) Salami Cork Floating Flooring

brown leather cork flooring yoga exercise working out studio
brown leather cork flooring yoga exercise working out studio

 

brown salami forna cork yoga floor exercise working out studio healthy flooring
brown salami forna cork yoga floor exercise working out studio healthy flooring

 

bleached birch cork floors yoga modern living room home
bleached birch cork floors yoga modern living room home

 

sunny ripple best yoga floor cork young woman practicing yoga near fireplace
sunny ripple best yoga floor cork young woman practicing yoga near fireplace