Cork is produced on a commercial basis from the Cork Oak tree which is typically found in the countries of south western Europe and north western Africa. Cork has a variety of uses, but it is widely used as a bottle stopper for wine bottles is particular. It is also used for cork flooring, making bulletin boards, fishing floats, and even wind instruments. Cork flooring in the recent years has become an attractive and a comfortable alternate floor material option to vinyl and linoleum. Since cork is a natural resource, installing cork flooring can add that natural aura to your new house.
Cork Flooring
Even though cork flooring has become popular among decorators, there are some cork flooring pros and cons. Cork is entirely a renewable resource as to harvest the cork, one does not need to cut down the entire tree. So households that are environment conscious have embraced the beauty of cork flooring readily. Cork provides a cushiony feeling because of the air that is trapped in the cells of the tree. As a result, cork floor has the capacity to act as shock absorbers and is perfect for a kitchen where you tend to spend a lot of your time standing. Cork flooring has caught the eye of the designers because cork tiles and sheets are available in wide range of colors and has the potential to offer a multitude of visual texture. Now, the air filled cork floor not only acts as a sound absorber, but also has the capacity to reduce sound and vibration. Unlike the other hard surfaces like tile, vinyl or wood, the exclusive natural properties of cork underlayment makes the cork floor silent as it does not reflect the sound and reduces the effect of the sounds of footsteps or things dropping on the floor.
Because of the natural properties of cork, cork tiles and sheets are insect resistant and anti-allergenic, making it durable against insects, mold and termites and shields against rotting too. Cork floor is fire resistant and does not release any toxic gases if it catches fire. All these above properties, makes cork a perfectly healthy and harmless material for flooring. Cork flooring is easy to maintain and is well known for its durability and has been in use in quite a public buildings like churches and libraries.
However other than the pros, cork flooring does have some cons too. The pattern of the cork tiles and sheets are quite heavy as you can see all the loops and eddies of the cork tree and so, it might not be a right choice of flooring for you if you are looking for something light and plain. The softness that cork floor provides is great for the rooms you have to stand in a lot, but in rooms where you plan to stash your heavy furniture like the couch, bookcase and bed, you need to make sure that the flooring is done properly so that it can withstand the weight of the furniture or you might end up getting divots on your floor which can ruin the entire decoration of the room. To prevent ending up with divots, you can use coasters under the legs of the furniture in order to distribute the weight effectively.
Cork floor is usually shielded with layers of polyurethane but that does not make it water resistant and you need to take care to wipe off the spills quickly. If the cork tile is exposed to too much water, it starts to warp and peels off from the sub floor. So, it might not be such a good idea to use cork tiles in your kitchen because even though you spend a lot of time standing there, the kitchen is a potential wet room. Just like any other natural materials, cork will become discolored with extensive exposure to sunlight. To combat this, you can install blinds to protect your cork flooring. Even though cork flooring is not the most expensive flooring options, it is not one of your cheap flooring options either. In fact it costs more than linoleum or a tiled floor, so you have to sit down and make a proper budget, go through some of the cork flooring reviews before you venture into cork flooring.
Going through the cork flooring reviews online, helps you to get an idea of the cork flooring pros and cons and what you can expect. From the cork flooring reviews you can get to know the regulation rules that are involved in the production of cork tiles and sheets and realize that the entire process is eco friendly. Even though it is not one of the options for cheap flooring, cork floor with its bodily structure of cork underlayment is an efficient aural insulating substance. Thus evaluating you requirements, space, budget, personal choice in mind, you should go ahead for cork flooring.