Cork Flooring
Cork flooring is quite unique. First of all, it is a completely renewable resource, harvested from the bark of living cork trees. Collecting the cork does not destroy the tree. In about nine years, the bark grows back and is ready for another harvest.
Cork is a porous material, with a honeycomb type of structure. Unlike other real wood floors, cork flooring is relatively soft, but still durable. It retains warmth, absorbs sound and vibrations, and resists insects and mold. In addition, it helps to maintain temperatures and provides a degree of thermal insulation.
Cork flooring is not produced in long planks like most real wood flooring. Instead it is available in a wide range of square and rectangle tiles. These tiles are available either as a floating floor, in which the cork is already glued to interlocking tiles of wood, or as individual pieces of cork that can be glued directly to an existing subfloor.
Selecting Cork Flooring
Cork flooring is available in a wide range of colors and styles. Since it typically comes in tiles, you can really get creative with patterns and colors, giving your room a very unique look. Cork is great for living rooms and family rooms since it absorbs sounds and is reasonably soft under foot.
If you plan an installation in a potentially wet area, such as a kitchen or bathroom, you will want to go with a glue-down tiles rather than floating floor tiles. The interlocking tiles of a floating floor are not waterproof, and any water that gets between the tiles and under the floor can do damage. Once cork flooring the tiles are glued down, however, a protective finish is applied over top that seals the floor from water.
Quick Look at Cork Flooring
- Renewable and sustainable real wood flooring, since it does not require killing the tree when harvesting
- Absorbs sound and vibrations
- Is relatively soft under foot
- Provides a measure of thermal insulation
- Available in a wide variety of colored tiles that allow you to get very creative with your cork flooring design