Interesting points about ventilation—I've seen plenty of showers fail prematurely just because the airflow wasn't up to par. Curious, has anyone experimented with heated flooring under cork? Wondering if that might help dry things out quicker...
Good call on ventilation—seen way too many showers bite the dust 'cause moisture just hangs around. About your heated flooring idea under cork... I've installed radiant heat under tile and vinyl plenty of times, works great for drying things out quicker. Cork though, hmm... it's naturally insulating, so it might slow down heat transfer a bit. Still, could be worth a try—might just take longer to warm up. If you go for it, definitely let us know how it pans out.
"Cork though, hmm... it's naturally insulating, so it might slow down heat transfer a bit."
Good point about cork's insulation. I've seen radiant heat under cork once—worked okay eventually, but the homeowner mentioned it took forever to feel warm. Tile or vinyl definitely transfers heat quicker from what I've seen.
Yeah, cork can be tricky with radiant heat. Did a project a few years back where the client insisted on cork flooring in the bathroom because they loved the softness underfoot. Looked fantastic, but they ended up mentioning similar frustrations about slow heat-up times. Plus, cork tends to expand and contract more noticeably with temperature shifts, so we had to leave a bit more expansion gap than usual. Definitely something to keep in mind if you're set on cork with underfloor heating...
Had a similar experience with cork flooring in a kitchen remodel last year. Client loved the look and feel, but we definitely ran into some quirks with temperature swings. Radiant heat took forever to warm up, and the expansion gaps were a must. On the plus side, it did look pretty amazing once we got the hang of it. Just gotta weigh the pros and cons carefully if you're considering cork in moisture-heavy areas...
