Cork Flooring Reviews

With the rise in popularity of wood flooring in people’s homes these days, it might interest you to know that one particular type of wood not only looks good in your home, but is also environmentally friendly too, a big positive in today’s climate.

Cork flooring has grown in popularity over the last few years, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that it’s an extremely durable surface. One of the major benefits of cork flooring is that it contains millions of tiny pockets of air, and this allows it to memorize its shape, so that whenever you walk on it, it will always regain how it originally looked. This goes for dropping anything on it as well.

The Green Effect

Another reason for cork flooring growing in popularity is in the way that it’s good for the environment. To fully get the best out of cork flooring, it needs to be at least 25 years old. When the cork reaches this age and is stripped from the tree, the bark is left undamaged and can grow back quite easily. Because of this, cork trees continue to grow, ensuring the air quality of surrounding areas. With such a keen interest in how our world is being treated, many people are now buying cork over many other wood flooring options.

The Benefits of Cork Flooring

As well as looking beautiful when it’s installed, cork flooring is also highly popular amongst homeowners for a variety of other reasons. If you’re one of the millions of pet owners that have been put off buying wood flooring because of possible damage due to scratching, cork flooring is the perfect solution. Although it’s not 100% scratchproof, it will stand up to the rigours of your pet’s claws due to its air pockets.

Central Heating the Natural Way

Another way that cork flooring makes such an attractive proposition when it comes to choosing a wood floor is the way that it absorbs heat. Because of the type of wood that cork is, it’s an extremely effective heat absorber, and it will retain this heat, regardless of the season, so you can have the luxury of walking on warm floors in the middle of December.

It’s also highly efficient at resisting moisture, due to the presence of suberin in the wood, which is similar to wax, which makes it a lot easier to clean up any spills. Add in the fact that suberin is actually a reasonably effective fire barrier, and you can see why cork is so popular.

Easy to Install and Inexpensive

Whether you’re a DIY master or not, you can install cork flooring yourself, although if you are unsure about anything, it’s best to pay the extra to have it done properly. Compared to other wood, cork can be relatively economical, with prices starting from as low as $1.76 per square foot, which is almost half the price of other types of wood flooring. So, not only will it look good for many a year, it won’t leave you too much out of pocket either.