Cork Flooring
Historically speaking, cork was considered as one of the most significant agricultural products. In ancient times, cork bark was used for several purposes facilitating their everyday lives. Cork was used as floats for fishing nets, food strorage vessels, and musical instuments.
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In the seventeth century Dom Perignon, introduces a brilliant idea to use cork as a bottle stopper which is still being used nowadays by many wine industries. It was not until the very late years of the 19th century when cork was used for flooring material. Cork flooring made an unforgettable impression on the interior designers at once, even though throughout the century the fashion demand for this product was unstabled. From 1900 to 1945 cork flooring became extremely popular and was used in government buildings, banks, and universities and other buildings of great significance such as: Chicago’s First Congregational Church, the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and Lafayette College in Easton, PA. A famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright popularized the trend of cork flooring in housing designs. However, by 1950’s the interest for cork flooring started to fade as a result of a competitive variety of styles and colors that materials like linoleum and vinyl had to offer. It only made it’s comeback once again in 1970’s. Due to the increasing concern for today’s environment – cork flooring once again became a preferred alternative for those that prioritize preservation of natural resources.
Structure:
Cork comes from the cork oak tree which can be found in the Mediterranean countries. The main producers of cork are France, Tunisia, Italy, Morocco, Algeria, Spain and Portugal. Among all, Portugal is the main provider with more than 35% of the world's production. The first cork bark can be harvested from a fully grown tree when it reaches it’s maturity of 25-30years old. The process of stripping off the bark takes place once every nine years using the same manual method as hundreds of years ago. The trees are never harmed during the harvesting period, and the bark fully restores itself
with a smoother, silkier texture. During its life cycle an oak tree can safely produce bark up to 20 times.
What makes cork so unique is its internal molecular structure which is very similar to a honeycomb: comprised of millions of gas cells. Cork can be easily compressed and decompressed, making it highly flexible and versatile.
Benefits:
Resilience & Durability: Cork flooring provides comfort and softness. Due to the air trapped inside its structure it absorbs most shock coming to the floor. The plasticity of the floor tends relieve some stress off the back and feet making it the perfect choice for the areas where you spend a lot of time standing up, like a kitchen for example. Cork flooring is a very durable product, it also has a natural quality of recovering itself from marks and dents caused by furniture, pets, etc. Cork flooring is suitable for areas with high traffics.
Allergy Free: It is also an excellent choice for a kids room, not only because of it’s softness but for the reason that cork is 100% natural product which is non-toxic, odorless and does not contain chemicals that can cause allergic reactions. One of the less known properties of cork is that it contains a substance called “suberin” which greatly repels insects. Cork is considered to be one of the healthiest and resistant material on the market today.
Acoustical Properties: As mentioned above, due to the product’s air trapping structure, cork flooring is an excellent sound insulator. Cork flooring is often used in public places where silence is of great importance such as churches and libraries.
Cork flooring has endless natural qualities. This product is suitable for all areas of the house such as: hallways and living rooms due to its durability; kitchens - due it’s resiliency. Cork flooring is naturally waterproof and can be safely installed in bathrooms. Also this product is non-static which is perfect for computer rooms. Ideal for bedrooms and kid’s rooms because it provides thermal and acoustic insulation.
Cork flooring is suitable for both residential and commercial use.