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Most people think about wine stoppers when you say the word ‘cork’, but cork is an excellent renewable resource that can be used to make sustainable flooring that has many benefits that other types of flooring don’t possess.
Cork flooring combines durability and strength with softness. Unlike bamboo and hardwood flooring, cork flooring feels soft and warm underfoot. It is perfect for children and pets because of its softness. And yet cork flooring can last an incredibly long time. The oldest cork floor on record is near Chicago in the USA and dates back to 1898. Cork has long been a favorite flooring choice for public buildings in the USA because it is strong, long lasting and has excellent thermal and acoustic insulative properties. This is because cork has a honeycomb structure that contains 85% air which allows it to absorb heat and sound. The structure of cork also gives it an amazing elasticity that means that cork flooring can deal with heavy traffic and furniture. After a heavy weight is applied to the cork flooring it literally ‘springs back’ to its former shape and no imprint or mark remains on the flooring.
Cork comes from the cork oak tree that grows widely in Southern Europe and Northern Africa. Cork oak forests cover 25,000 square kilometers and the European cork industry provides jobs for 30,000 people. The main difference between cork and any other wood or woody plant is that the tree is unharmed in harvesting. With all hardwoods and bamboo it is necessary to chop down the tree to harvest. With cork the thick bark is removed without damage to the tree. It is from the bark that cork products are produced. Cork trees can be harvested for their bark every 9 years. The cork tree lives between 150 to 250 years. This means one tree can be harvested for its bark many times. At the same time the cork tree continues to provide natural habitat for a diverse range of species including the endangered Iberian lynx. Because cork can be harvested without damaging the tree and each tree can be harvested many times over the span of its life, cork is a renewable resource and perhaps the most environmentally friendly type of sustainable flooring on the market.
Cork flooring comes in a wide range of colors and designs. It is easy to install either as a floating installation or a glue down installation. Many cork flooring products now come with a water based solvent finish which means that cork flooring is completely free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that cause respiratory problems for many people.
The cork tree has a high level of the waxy substance called suberin. The suberin in cork makes cork flooring anti-allergenic and insect resistant. Suberin also provides cork flooring with a natural resistance to mold and makes cork flooring fire resistant. Cork flooring fulfills all the criteria stipulated by LEED guidelines: it is from a renewable resource, it is energy saving (because it is a good insulator) and is free of toxic chemicals that reduce indoor air quality.
And finally cork flooring looks stunning and feels soft and warm underfoot. And it doesn’t cost more than hardwood or bamboo flooring. You will be hard pressed to find a more comfortable or environmentally friendly flooring type than cork flooring.
