Cork makes for a really great bottle stopper right? Cork also makes a great floor covering option and many of us have been walking on cork floors for years probably without knowing it. Modern cork flooring can be a beautiful choice for your home or business and cork flooring has some important advantages over other types of floor coverings such as carpet or vinyl.
All cork comes from the cork tree and is grown in several Mediterranean countries with Portugal being the worlds largest exporter of cork. The tree itself is not harvested but rather the bark is removed and the process of producing cork products begins after prime cork has been punched out. After being harvested the prime cork is used in the production of bottle stoppers. The balance of the harvested bark if ground up and processed into sheets in a way that creates very little waste. The renewable nature of cork bark, which is harvested every ten years or so, makes cork an excellent choice for homeowners and builders looking for ways to use environmentally friendly materials in construction and furnishings.
Cork flooring is comfortable to walk on and offers a great deal of resilience, recovering from compression from things like chair legs and shoe heels. The unique color and patterns found in cork flooring is quite different from other types of flooring covering. Color and pattern styles can vary from nearly solid color to beautiful burl wood patterns that can be adapted to any home decor.
Natural cork flooring is not the same as cork composite products which are manufactured by combining cork with PVC or polyvinylchloride. Even though the ground cork is bound together with various polymers, modern cork flooring is not known outgas like other types of flooring material like carpet or vinyl. Out gassing is the process where chemical vapors are released into the surrounding air, in this case the air inside your home. Out gassing can be a significant source of indoor air pollution and has been tightly regulated in states like California. Cork is naturally water resistant and that property extends to its use as a flooring material, but as with any flooring material, cork can withstand only so much contact with moisture and cork flooring is recommended for on grade or above grade applications.
Cork flooring has been around for almost one hundred years and like many types of wood floor coverings, modern cork flooring has become easier to install. As with engineered hardwood flooring, cork flooring can be purchased in pre finished planks and can be installed directly to the sub floor or installed as a floating floor. Cork flooring can be purchased unfinished and finished after installation. Cork flooring can even be used as part of in floor radiant heat systems. Special preparation and installation techniques may be required and it is advisable to consult a professional installer or your local carpeting retailer to make sure that your installation goes smoothly. Properly installed and maintained, your cork floor can last for years, rivaling the wear properties of many hardwoods, with some manufacturers offering 25 year warranties.
Cork flooring can be the perfect combination of durability, resilience and beauty. In addition to these qualities, cork is without a doubt, extremely friendly to the environment as the harvesting of cork bark is controlled in most of the countries where the trees are grown and cork flooring can give your home the beauty of wood without the need to harvest old growth hardwood trees. So whether you are building a new home or redecorating your existing home, consider cork flooring.
Many people from Scottsdale (Arizona) think of a bulletin board when they think of cork flooring. This is not the case at all. This material is beautiful and available in a wide variety of colors and shades, from very light to dark. There is a cork floor to match any home décor. It also comes in a wide variety of textures and patterns, including marble and wood grain patterns that resemble pergo flooring.
Cork is an all-natural product, harvested from the bark of the cork oak tree. With all the demand for green construction, a truly sustainable resource such as cork is a perfect fit. When the cork oak reaches maturity, usually around 20-25 years, the bark of the cork oak tree is first harvested. Every 9 years from then on for the life of the tree, which can be anywhere from 100 to 250 years old, the cork is harvested leaving a product of superior quality each time. Aside from cork being an environmentally responsible product, the physical and aesthetic properties make cork an ideal choice for a stunning and durable floor.
Cork flooring is made from the bark of the cork oak tree, native to Southern Europe, especially Portugal, where the bark is collected by hand. Cork is a very durable, resistant-to-moisture, and anti-static flooring material. Cork flooring is environmentally sound and, as a result of stringent harvesting rules, a renewable resource of a very high order.
So what is it exactly that makes cork such an attractive solution for flooring in Scottsdale? The renewable nature of the material, its versatility, and its availability make it so. Moreover, the harvesting practices for natural cork flooring and the possible health benefits of having cork floors are also additional attractions. Natural cork flooring is a very multipurpose building material, which has been used successfully to the satisfaction of building owners.
For the kind of foot traffic that a home or office floor will have to endure, cork flooring is very resilient. It is also comfortable to walk on, and its soft surface is able to take the impact of footfalls. Cork flooring is well known for retaining heat and cold, which makes it a very practical flooring solution. Another reason why cork flooring is gaining popularity is because it is keeps the sound from walking to a minimum.
Cork flooring is a one-of–a-kind ornamental material because each tile comes with its own unique speckles and spirals. Cork flooring is first formed into sheets and then baked. This process creates understated variations in color, making room for creativity while laying the floor.
Cork flooring is considered ideal for quiet interiors because it emits no sound from footfalls. When complete insulation from sound is an absolute necessity, like in a sound-studio for example, then cork flooring is ideal. Flooring made from cork is aesthetically pleasing, environmentally friendly, and helps in creating an atmosphere of serenity. It is also water resistant, and that makes it ideal for use in the bathroom and kitchen any home of Scottsdale (Arizona).
Both Mitch Endick & Lara Newcomb are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mitch Endick has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home, Puppies Dogs and Education. Mitch Endick is a staff writer for the quality online store .Shop for. Mitch Endick's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.
Lara Newcomb has sinced written about articles on various topics from Certified Public Accountants, Search Engine Marketing and Architecture. - Our flooring professionals have years of experience and can help you determine the correct flooring choice for your home.. Lara Newcomb's top article generates over 823000 views. to your Favourites.