Benefits of Cork Floors

A little known benefit of cork flooring is its resistance to insects and microbes. The natural composition and cellular make up of cork wards off common insect such as termites, potentially devastating to hardwood floors. Likewise, germs and microbes cannot live in cork, which is one reason cork has been used for centuries to preserve wine.

Consequently, cork flooring is naturally hypoallergenic and mold and mildew resistant. This makes it a perfect choice for individuals and families that have problems with allergens or where immune deficiency is an issue.

Cork flooring is remarkably resilient. It is a soft material, so it will give under pressure from something heavy or impacting such as a large piece of furniture or high heels. However, it has the ability to bounce back astonishingly. That resilience contributes to the durability of cork flooring.

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In fact, cork flooring has the potential to outlast most other types of flooring that cannot stand up to the same amount of abuse. Cork flooring has been around for hundreds of years, and some original cork floors from the 19^th century are still in use even today.

There are several different ways to install cork flooring. Cork comes in planks or tiles and they can be installed using an adhesive or using a no-glue interlocking system. Cork flooring is easy to cut to size making installation easy even for a weekend warrior.

The no-glue installation option is quick and creates no mess. Because you can do the installation yourself, you have the opportunity to save a lot of money over installing hardwood floors. Alternatively, you can have these floors laid by a professional as well.

You can get cork floors that are either unfinished or pre-finished. Unfinished cork flooring will require several layers of urethane to be applied after installation. Pre-finished cork floors come with a vinyl topcoat that makes the flooring easier to clean. No matter which type of cork you choose, it is very easy to maintain this type of flooring and it is sure to last many, many years.

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