Cork Flooring Pros and Cons

With the wide range of flooring types available today people tend to go with whatever is trendy at the time. Unfortunately this means that they miss out on some really good flooring options.

One option that gets overlooked regularly due to a lack of consumer awareness is cork flooring. Most people that think of cork think of wine bottle stoppers or pin boards. They do not realize that cork flooring is attractive, durable, environmentally friendly, comfortable to walk on and above all affordable. For you to appreciate the beauty of cork flooring you need to understand the unique characteristics of cork flooring.

Where cork comes from

Cork actually comes from the bark of a Mediterranean tree, the cork oak tree. On e of the biggest suppliers of cork is Portugal, they supply around 70 % of the worlds cork production from around 30 % of the worlds cork oak trees. The bark is harvested by hand every nine years, with the average tree producing the equivalent of around 4000 corks.

In nature the bark is honeycombed, it contains approximately 90% air and it can be compressed to around 40% of its mass and when released it will quickly return to its original form. This unique feature allows it be used as the perfect natural shock absorber. 

The Benefits of Cork

Read more from cork flooring pros and cons