Confused about which finish you want for your new cork floors? Cork flooring often comes with a factory-applied finish, so make sure you know what you're getting ahead of time. These are your main options:

1. Polyurethane: This water-based finish is easy to maintain, offering a durable, scratch-resistant surface that lasts up to seven years with normal use. While minor scratching is possible, this can be fixed by buffing your cork floors to get rid of scuff marks, or simply refinishing the floors to eliminate unsightly scratches in the finish.

2. Wax: The better your wax, the better your finish. For great-looking cork floors, stick with 100% natural wax that hasn't been diluted with oil or water. Wax finishes require more regular maintenance than other types of finishes, but they're also more durable. You can buff and re-wax them without removing the original finish, so they stay looking good even in high traffic areas. Although small scratches can be removed simply by re-waxing the offending area, the entire floor does need to be refinished every 6-12 months.

3. UV-cured acrylic: The least durable of your finishing options, UV-cured acrylic finishes are more susceptible to scratching and cracking, and the entire finish has to be removed before the floor can be refinished. This type of finish will hold up for about four years before it needs redoing.

If you're still not sure which finish is right for you, get in touch with a qualified flooring professional. Use FindAnyFloor.com's search directory to find one near you.