Forna Flooring Pros and Cons of Cork Flooring

Posted by articlelink01 on September 27th, 2014

We see a variety of products made from cork every day. Cork is used as stoppers for wine bottles, bulletin boards in offices, and flask covers in laboratories. Moreover, cork is used as interior flooring for commercial establishments and residences. Construction companies in Europe have been using cork flooring for over a century. Although it has also been used in the United States for some time, it gained popularity only recently.

Would it be a smart decision to use this type of flooring material in your home? To help you decide, let’s look at the pros and cons of cork flooring.

Pros

Perhaps the biggest factor that contributed to the rise in popularity of cork as a flooring material is that it is eco-friendly.  Many parts of the world, especially the United States have become environmentally conscious. More people are choosing products and building materials that do not harm the environment. In the case of cork flooring, from production to installation, the product is guaranteed to be environmentally friendly.

Cork is produced from the bark of a cork oak tree that can only be found in the Mediterranean region. The tree is known to have a life span of 250 years. Every 9 years, a layer of bark is removed from the tree. A thin layer is allowed to remain to grow. This will once again be harvested after 9 years. Since only the bark is removed, the tree is expected to live its life expectancy.

The removed bark is processed in a plant that produces cork stoppers for wine bottles. Excess bark is collected and reprocessed to manufacture cork floorings of different shapes and sizes. Installation of flooring may sometimes use adhesives that can be harmful to the environment. However, many installers choose to use eco-friendly adhesives.

Another reason why cork flooring has become so popular is its characteristics. Cork is soft yet durable. It acts like a thin cushion when used as a flooring material. Additionally, since it can be produced in many different shapes and sizes, matching the flooring to the overall theme of the room is a lot easier.

Cork floors have a long life span since they are very durable. Damaged portions can easily be repaired by a bit of sanding and recoating. They are also fire resistant, non-toxic, and prevent the growth of molds, bacteria, and mildew.

Cons

The main downside of cork floors is that these are expensive. They can be 4 times the cost of regular flooring materials such as tiles. If it is to be installed in a large area, then the cost of materials plus labor may not be attractive to some people.

Although cork is durable, it can be damaged by sharp objects such as high heels and the nails of cats and dogs. Much care should be exercised to prevent the flooring from being damaged prematurely.

Cork floors will fade faster when exposed to sunlight. One way to prevent this is to have UV protection installed on windows and this translates into additional costs.

 Since cork floors - http://cancork.com  are susceptible to damage from the sun’s UV rays, it’s imperative that they be protected as much as possible. Forna Flooring’s wood coating protects the tile by improving its first line of defense. Not only does Forna Flooring provide additional protection, it enhances the shine and overall beauty of the cork floor .