Cork Flooring 101

You may not have considered using cork for your next flooring renovation but perhaps you should. Cork flooring comes from the bark of trees, rather from the felled trees themselves, as does hardwood flooring. This makes it a great "Green" option and one that is far less expensive than many other choices.

What Is Cork?

Cork comes as either tiles or planks and is available in various thicknesses for your floors. It is made by grinding the bark of trees into small pieces. These pieces are then coated with a non-toxic resin binder. Now, these floors don't look like those bulletin boards that you are used to seeing made of cork! Cork floors can look amazingly professional and come in many patterns and textures.

The Environmental Benefits

Certainly, you'll be doing your part for the environment if you select cork flooring. The trees are peeled to create the cork, but they aren't cut down. This means that you'll have beautiful floors without damaging our trees and you'll be helping to preserve nature and the natural habitat.

Keep It Quiet

Cork flooring helps to create a quiet atmosphere in the home. Fifty percent of the volume in a cork floor is air. This means that it creates a natural shock absorber and a sound absorber. This is great in a play room, a high traffic family room, or another area of the home where there is a lot of sound.

Keep It Insulated

In addition, cork is a great insulator. The air pockets keep the heat in and are great when installed over concrete floors. Cork can help you to reduce your heating bills and can make your home feel cozier and warmer.

Keep It Clean and Durable

Cork is a clean choice for flooring. Cork is naturally anti-allergenic and anti-static which makes it easier to clean and maintain. It's also incredibly durable and often outlasts other choices such as hardwoods or vinyl.

The Drawbacks

As with any choice you make, there are some drawbacks to this selection. Cork is very soft, which means that your furniture may damage and dent it. Using furniture pads beneath your table and furniture legs should help you to diminish this problem. In addition, cork is permeable by water, so this type of flooring is not a good choice in basements or bathrooms where there could be flooding or water seepage.

Explore the options available to you with cork. This is a creative and easy flooring choice that just might be right for you!