Cork Flooring Center

Cork has to be one of the best eco flooring options available to modern day consumers. When you harvest cork it doesn’t kill the tree as the cork is essentially a byproduct of the tree. This gives the tree huge eco credentials as compared to hard woods that have to be felled before being utilized.

Because of the way cork is harvested it means that the cork tree has a working profitable life of over 170 years.  Whereas traditional hardwoods can take up to 50-60 years to mature and subsequently are only valuable the year they are felled. In comparison the cork tree starts to produce enough bark to start being valuable after only 20 years of growth thus making it much more economically viable than your more traditional hard wood.

The harvesting process of cork is done by hand therefore not adding to global pollution by spewing emissions into the air from the use of machines to harvest and produce the product. To harvest the cork tree the vegetable tissue is stripped from the bark in late spring – early summer which allows the tree to protect itself with a new layer of cork before the weather turns cold.

Besides its green beginnings cork has some of the best qualities when it comes down to being an amazing flooring material.

Cork naturally comes in six different patterns but through the use of pigment dyes you can find it in a wide range of colors, even though most people prefer to pick a more natural color for their flooring. By being creative you can make some interesting borders and mosaics with different shapes and cuts of cork flooring

Cork has wonderful thermal properties further adding to its eco credentials. Due to its cell structure it is able to remain warm in the winter and cool in the summer unlike hardwood flooring options which are temperature neutral.

Cork also has remarkable sound absorption properties which is why you can find it in recording studios around the world.  So whether you want to set up a room to rock out with your drums in or just dampen the ambient sound levels in your house, then cork is the way to go.

It is also low cost and incredibly durable. It has a memory allowing it to reform its original shape after it has been distorted by passing traffic or the weight of furniture that has been sitting on it.

Overall cork has great benefits as a flooring option and what more its certifiably a green building option, due to its renewable harvesting process and its amazing thermal insulation properties. If you want green flooring than be sure to choose cork!