Tree
Bark-The Cork flooring of tomorrow!
With
the growing concern today with our environment, cork
is the only tree that after every harvest, it can regenerate
itself. Cork oak has a protective, thin layer of inner
bark that gives it the ability to regenerate, thus it
can survive the debarking process. Known as QUERCUS
SUBER, botanically speaking, the oak tree that cork
flooring is made from is found primarily in Spain and
Portugal. Over 75% is grown over in those 2 countries!
Cork
Flooring and its Benefits
With
a unique cellular makeup, cork has many characteristics
due to the fact that it contains miilions of small,
air filled cells per cubic inch. With this it has many
benefits including:
- Fire
retardant
- Cork
flooring Is resistant to insects
- Resistant
to rot, mold and mildew
- Noise
and vibration reduction
- Comfort
due to its compession and recovery.Even under the
heaviest traffic, it will not decompress.
Cork
flooring is ideal for families with infants and
toddlers, because it has anti-microbial properties.
With this in mind it is a great choice for childrens
play areas as well as kitchens. Known for his preference
in using natural materials, Frank Lloyd Wright, a renowned
architect, for his Falling Water home, used cork flooring
in some areas.
Maintaining
cork floors is simple and very minimal. Just sweep and
mop regularly, you will want to lightly sand every few
years and also re-coat the surface with urethane. This
also make cork a great option for bathrooms. You can
read more about the care of cork flooring by visiting
our cork floor maintenance page.
To
view cork flooring pictures, you may visit our gallery
of cork flooring pictures located on the right of this
page, or click on any of the links located below for
more information of cork flooring.
-
More Cork Floor benefits
-
Cork Flooring Maintenance
-
The Harvesting Process of Cork
