Why Change Over To Cork Flooring?

By Author: Vikram Kumar
Total Articles: 9400
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Do you have stone or hard wood flooring in your home? For the last century almost every home had one or both of these two types of flooring, however, with the latest innovations homeowners now have a wider range of material to choose from for their flooring needs. One of the new flooring materials is becoming increasingly more popular. Which one you ask? Cork. Yep, that’s right, the wine stopper is now renewing its stint as a floor covering.

More and more people are choosing this option. Wondering what it is about cork floors that make it so popular? There are several reasons. Cork flooring is affordable, durable, easy to maintain and versatile. In addition to all of this, cork flooring is also environmentally friendly, which is something that most other flooring cannot boast of.

Cork is derived from the bark off the cork oak tree. This bark is first peeled off in layers for the production of wine bottle corks, which are efficiently punched out of the sheets of cork. The remaining bark is then pulverized in a machine. The crushed cork nodules are mixed with an adhesive, after which it will be compressed ...
... to form a cork tile. These tiles are then used as the base for cork flooring. Once the tree is debarked, it left alone to regrow a new skin, nine years are allotted to this regeneration before the tree is deemed ready to be harvested again. Because, the tree can regenerate its bark and can be stripped several times, cork is considered environmentally friendly. This is a plus as not one tree needs to be cut down to provide material.

The structure of cork is such that it is compressed of tightly packed cells. These cells are filled with air. These air filled chambers give cork flooring some pretty unique properties. One of the properties is insulation against noise and temperature changes. If you drop something heavy on a stone floor, guaranteed you will hear a loud thump and if the object is made of glass it is sure to shatter and break. With cork flooring, you won’t hear the loud noise as the air in the cells absorbs it. This can be a boon if you happen to be living in an apartment or if you have young hyper-energetic kids.

Another unique feature is the additional comfort that these floors offer.

The air-filled cells also help to keep the temperature in a home at an ambient level. This can be great in the cold of winter as cork flooring does transfer cold from a subfloor and therefore does not itself get very cold. This means you will not need to have the heating set high just to get the room warm enough. This can help to save a considerable amount on your power bills. With a cork floor, you can even walk around the house without slippers or socks as the surface of the floor tends to hold the warmth of the room.

Another beneficial feature of cork is that it is naturally insect resistant so you know it cannot be damaged by termites or any other type of insect. Anyone who has hardwood flooring knows the devastation termites can cause and how quickly the flooring can be destroyed. With cork flooring, you have a longer lasting material without having to worry about termites. And because of the resistant nature of cork, there is also a lesser chance of the flooring become infected by mold and mildew.

With so many benefits, it is definitely a good idea to change over to cork flooring.

Today, more and more home owners are changing their stone or hardwood flooring over to cork flooring because of the many advantage it offers. To know more about cork floors and the different types available, go to iCork Floors today.