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From times long past, cork is best known for the product used to preserve the quality of wine in bottles. It has also been fashioned to serve as a board on which to post notes or reminders. Yet it is only recently that one of cork’s most unique applications is making a powerful comeback. Cork flooring. Cork flooring isn't a new concept. These floors have been used in the United States since around the turn of the century. One of its best examples can be seen in the Library of Congress. When it comes to durability, cork rates among the best for flooring products on the market. Derived from the bark of the cork oak tree found in the Mediterranean. Cork comes from seven countries including Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Morocco and France. It requires a very involved process to produce cork tiles and planks, starting from the highly trained and skilled workers who strip the bark from the cork oak tree. Once it reaches the manufacturing process it is place under high pressure to insure it will remain intact. Cork will not "break" like a hardwood floor, but it can still get a bit scratched up or develop wear and tear. One benefit of cork is that it is quite resilient against dings and dents. In fact most are not permanent. Cork is capable of rebounding after it has been compressed, where as a dent in hardwood is there forever. Heavy chairs will not damage cork even though they can scratch up the finish...just like they would with hardwood. Give it 3-7 years of wear and then you simply put down another "regular maintenance" coat of water based polyurethane and you’ve got a beautiful new finish for another 3-7 years. Continue this routine for the life of the floor 25-30 years and you’re set. When you touch cork, it feels warm naturally. That’sbecause cork is able to absorbthe ambient temperature of a room and retain it a long time. Material that can trap air in its cell structure will function as a better insulation and cork cells have millions of trapped air cells that preserves the molecular structure. Cork naturally possesses a high specific heat content and with its stable cell structure, is seldom affected by fluctuating temperatures. Cork products won’t deform whether you’re at -60 degree or at 80 degree.Everything in between works well too. Because cork is compressed then placed in a stabilization chamber to allow excess humidity to dry out, shrinking or expansion should not happen. Unlike traditional hardwood, the basis of cork is stabilized before it is sold, so you can expect your cork flooring to maintain an even place. Put cork on your list today and bring its benefits into your home. In addition to being durable, comfortable and affordable, cork flooring is also anti allergic and low maintenance. The best place to check out the range of cork floors is iCork Floor.
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