| You might not notice it but it is there! Cork flooring is | | | | rooms! |
| now fast becoming the flooring of choice for most | | | | What makes cork such a hit in the construction of |
| notable buildings such as churches, museums, | | | | modern buildings? |
| hospitals, schools, libraries and hotels. With its | | | | Well, aside from the fact that it greatly reduces noise |
| excellent noise buffering quality and the comfort it | | | | (offers up to 50 decibels noise reduction when used |
| provides to tired feet, who can resist it? | | | | as a flooring underlay), cork has the following |
| Isn't cork just for bottle stoppers? What is it really | | | | features: |
| and how is it converted to building materials? | | | | . Durable. Cork is naturally resistant and recovers well |
| Cork is derived from the outer bark of the cork oak | | | | from compression. Treating it with a protective finish |
| tree, Quercus suber, which is commonly cultivated in | | | | further enhances this feature. |
| the Mediterranean. Among the major cork-producing | | | | . Provides thermal and moisture insulation. Cork cells |
| countries are Portugal (which supplies 50% of the | | | | are multi-sided and have very strong and flexible |
| total world's demand for cork), Algeria, Spain, | | | | cellular walls. They are joined together in a |
| Morocco, France, Italy and Tunisia. In these countries, | | | | honeycomb fashion making them airtight and very |
| the trees are considered valued treasures. And why | | | | resistant to moisture. |
| not? Cork is fast becoming a prime export | | | | . Provides underfoot comfort. Cork's natural structure |
| commodity and having expansive cork oak forests | | | | makes it compressible so that it provides a |
| translates to big local and foreign earnings! | | | | comforting feel whenever you step on it. |
| The bark of the cork oak tree is typically harvested | | | | . Easy to clean and easy to maintain. Cleaning cork |
| every nine or ten years. The harvested raw materials | | | | flooring can be done in a breeze! For waxed finished |
| are then cleaned, boiled and have their rough outer | | | | cork flooring, all you need is a dry or damp mop. |
| bark stripped away. The finest slabs in the batch are | | | | Liquid solvent wax can be applied occasionally to |
| then selected and from these, cork bottle stoppers | | | | maintain the glossy finish. Or for a more serious |
| are made. | | | | cleaning stint, you can use electric buffing using 00 |
| Nothing ever goes to waste in the production | | | | steel wool discs. Lamb's wool pads can be used |
| process of these valuable resources. The scraps | | | | afterwards. |
| resulting from the manufacture of stoppers are | | | | For polyurethane finished cork flooring, routine |
| collected and grounded into small granules. These are | | | | cleaning can also be done by using dry or damp mop. |
| mixed with an appropriate binding material, molded | | | | Refinishing it can be successfully done by using |
| into larger blocks and then baked to come up with | | | | power floor machine with 00 wool disc and then |
| the natural cork material which can be used for | | | | applying polyurethane as per prescribed directions. |
| construction purposes. | | | | . Cork is manufactured without any significant |
| Cork can be used in a variety of ways. They can be | | | | negative environmental impacts. Cork-producing |
| used in the flooring, walls and ceilings. They can even | | | | nations strictly enforce laws with regards to the |
| be formed into baseboards and moldings. Cork finds | | | | harvesting and manufacture of cork. The barks of |
| its way into most commercial, institutional and | | | | the trees are harvested in such a way that the trees |
| residential buildings due mainly to its moisture, mold | | | | survive the process and zero waste management |
| and rot-resistant attributes. In most modern houses, | | | | techniques are imposed in the manufacturing |
| cork materials can be found in almost all of the major | | | | procedure. |