Cork Floors: The Pros & Cons Of Natural Cork Flooring

by Regina

flooring and rugs

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natural-cork-flooring-by-sleepyneko.jpg Cork flooring is very popular right now.

Not only is it very resilient, but since cork floors are made only from the bark of the cork oak tree (and the tree itself doesn’t have to be cut down) cork is also a renewable material.

This is one of the many reasons that cork flooring is such a favorite in American households — especially among those who are environmentally conscious.

It’s a renewable resource, harvested every 9 years from trees at least 25 years old in a method that does not harm them.  Source

Now for the pros & cons of using natural cork flooring in your home…

 

Advantages Of Cork Floors

 

Disadvantages Of Cork Floors

A cork floor with the standard polyurethane coat is said to stand up to “normal wear and tear” for only 5-10 years. After which it will need a new coat of poly. Installers recommend adding additional poly to the original install, which will keep your floors looking great longer but also add cost to the job. Refinishing cork is not like refinishing hardwood, where you can refinish almost endlessly to ensure your floors look great from the first year to decades past the 50th. Because the pieces are so thin, usually 3/16ths of an inch, and crumbly, they require unusually gentle sanding between coats.  Source

Cork floors are subject to expansion and contraction due to climate. During heating season, moisture is lost and the tiles may contract slightly showing small spaces between the planks. When moisture levels increase, the tiles will expand. Cork as a rule is more stable than wood flooring for the fact that when wood expands, it does so only in the direction of the grain. With cork, the expansion or contraction process is dispersed in all directions. With proper acclimation, installation and maintenance, any expansion/contraction will not be noticeable.  Source

The exceptions however would be resin reinforced wax cork tile, which can be damp mopped from time to time and ‘vinyl cork tile’ which has a top surface vinyl coating and may be maintained and refinished as vinyl flooring.  Source

  • Cork floors require a lot of maintenance, and some of that maintenance requires the use of chemicals which can impact your indoor air quality. So, if you’re sensitive to chemicals or chemical smells, cork flooring may not work for you.

Personally, I think the advantages of cork flooring far outweigh the disadvantages.

The ecological reasons are justification enough to use cork flooring. Plus, I like the fact that the cork oak trees aren’t damaged by their bark being harvested, and that there are laws in place to ensure that cork oak trees are a renewable resource for many years to come.

Natural cork flooring is beautiful and well worth looking into for your home.

More About Cork Floors