Cork Flooring Is The Best Option Around For Durability
And Aesthetic Value
By Kevin Brown
It is inevitable,
almost everyone no matter how long they have lived in their house,
wants to replace their flooring at some point. Do you have carpet
that is covered in pet stains, juice, coffee or wine stains?
Carpet gets matted down and shows wear patterns quickly. Alternatively,
maybe you have hardwood floors that are full of scratches and
dents. Linoleum that is peeling up at the edges and seams and
has rips and tears in it.
No matter what type
of flooring you currently have. If you are not happy with what
you are walking on, it can reduce the value and appearance of
your home dramatically. If you are considering a new floor, you
owe it to yourself to look into cork flooring as an option.
What Is Cork Flooring?
Cork has been used
in a variety of capacities for thousands of years including flooring.
Because of all of the wonderful properties found naturally in
cork, it is a perfect choice for flooring, sound proofing, and
of course in wine bottles.
Cork is taken from
the bark of the cork oak tree. The cork can be harvested after
the tree is 25 years of age. And after that, the tree can be
harvested every nine years for the rest of the lifetime. In addition,
since each cork oak tree can live to be over two hundred years
old, cork is a renewable resource, making it an excellent option
for environmentally conscious consumers.
How Durable Is
Cork?
When you think of
cork, you may think immediately of wine corks or small cork plugs
that are used to plug bottles of all shapes and sizes. You may
have had the experience of a cork used in a wine bottle breaking
off into your wine. If this has happened to you, you might be
wondering if cork really is strong enough for a flooring option.
The answer is a
resounding yes! In fact, cork is probably one of the strongest
flooring options available on the market today! Cork is much
less affected by impact and friction than hardwood, laminate
or tile flooring. Therefore, cork can stand up to much more use
and abuse than any other flooring type.
In fact, cork has
an amazing resistant and is extremely resilient to pressure.
If you stand on a cork floor with high heels, the floor will
make an impression or a dent. However, when you remove the pressure,
the floor will spring back to its original shape almost immediately,
and leave no lasting mark or impression! This is handy if you
plan to place any heavy furniture on your floor. With other types
of flooring such as carpet, heavy furniture will leave a permanent
mark when it is moved. However with cork, when you remove the
furniture, the floor with look as good as new.
When you drop heavy
items on tile floors, they are prone to cracking and breaking.
However, with a cork floor, the item will not leave a mark. This
is an excellent property if you have small children or are just
clumsy!
What About Water?
Cork contains a
natural substance called suberin. Suberin is a waxy type of substance
that makes the cork impervious to liquids and the cork will not
rot if it is exposed to water or liquid like a hardwood or laminate.
This makes cork flooring a perfect choice for kitchens or bathroom
areas. Cork is the best seal around which is evidenced by the
use of cork to stop up wine bottles for centuries.
If you spill anything
on a cork floor, you do not have to worry about staining or any
other damage, you simply wipe it up, and the mess is gone. Unlike
carpet or hardwood where you would have to worry about a permanent
stain or discoloration of the floor.
What Other Properties
Does Cork Have?
Cork is the perfect
choice if you suffer from allergies or if you have an illness
that requires your living environment to be very clean. Because
cork is a natural barrier to insects, common problem insects
such as termites and ants cannot get into the flooring and infest
the house.
In addition, cork
is naturally germ resistant which means that no allergens can
hid in the floor such as with carpet. The floor will not absorb
dust or allow any molds or funguses to grow. It is easy to clean
and is not produced with any harsh chemicals, which makes it
the perfect choice for people suffering with allergies or any
major illness.
Can I Install It
Myself?
If you are a do
it yourselfer and you like home projects, than cork is definitely
something that you can install over a weekend. Many manufactures
are now producing cork-flooring tiles with a glue-less technology.
You simply snap the tiles in place like a floating floor. This
makes the installation easy and it does not require any special
tools.
The Final Decision
Cork is the
perfect choice for flooring if you need something that will stand
up to use and abuse, be long lasting, is resistant to water and
stains and be safe for the environment. An excellent value for
your money, cork will last forever and is only half the price
of many other popular flooring options.
© 2005 http://www.laminate-flooring-now.com
Kevin Brown is successful
author and publisher of many informative websites including http://www.laminate-flooring-now.com
. His websites offer tips and advice on a wide array of topics
including laminate flooring, hardwood floors, cork flooring and
more.
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