Bricoflor Eis White Cork Flooring

For any of you who are longtime viewers of my web site, you will surely know about my love affair with cork. It is 1 of my all-time favourite components for so numerous causes and after I frequented the cork harvest in Portugal back in 2019, I became an even even larger supporter of this pure, sustainable and flexible content.

Over the earlier number of years, we have found architects, designers and decorators rediscovering and embracing cork as they have recognised its exceptional features and the positive aspects that it can provide to their assignments. We have increasingly noticed the development field undertake cork as the substance of alternative for residential and commercial jobs, specifically when it will come to insulation and wall and floor coverings.

And this is what I’d like to speak about right now. A cork flooring is picked out by several property owners at present because of to the obvious rewards that it gives around options. And no will need to be concerned about it catapulting you right again to the 1970s. Thanks to improvements in engineering and a robust concentrate on style and design, now cork is incorporated into refined ground coverings in a vast assortment of textures and colours, perfect for present day-working day tastes.

Offered the transfer in direction of purely natural supplies, organic and natural textures, biophilic design and sustainability in interiors it’s no question that cork is getting a little bit of a instant.

A white cork floor from Bricoflor in a bedroom

Bricoflor Mystic White Cork Flooring

So let us choose a glimpse at some of the properties that make cork these types of a particular material.

What are the Added benefits of a Cork Floor?

Many thanks to the innate properties of cork, this intriguing all-natural materials features lots of advantages that make it perfect for use in flooring.

Hypoallergenic

Cork is one of the most effective remedies for people who put up with from allergic reactions since it does not collect static electrical energy and consequently does not bring in or take in dust, pollen or modest fibres. This, together with its resistance to humidity makes it a fantastic option for individuals at danger of allergic reactions or for asthma sufferers.

Warmth and Audio Insulation

Cork presents distinct positive aspects in phrases of acoustic insulation and can enable to minimize sounds owing to the purely natural absorption potential of cork. It also will help with thermal insulation, regulates room temperature, and prevents decline of heat into the atmosphere. This can in turn lower vitality consumption and final result in fiscal cost savings for house owners, which is a huge additionally given the existing price tag of power.

Watertight

Cork is a in a natural way watertight developing content and due to its composition, it does not take up drinking water. So is a cork ground waterproof? Nicely, this relies upon on the style of floor that you pick out. The glue-down cork ground tiles can be mounted in any place, but click cork tiles or floating tiles, are unable to be put in in wet rooms, as there is an HDF board in the plank composition, which is inclined to h2o problems.

So if you have been asking yourself ‘is a cork ground fantastic for kitchens?’ or ‘is a cork flooring good for loos?’ the solution is indeed. As extensive as edges are sealed, a drinking water-resistant lacquer is employed and the cork flooring has a drinking water-resistant main, then a cork floor is beautifully appropriate for loos and kitchens.

Bricoflor Sprint Cork Floor in a living room

Bricoflor’s Sprint Cork Ground

Fireplace-retardant

Cork also performs perfectly went it will come to fire as it is a purely natural fire retardant. It is even utilized by the aerospace industry due to its distinctive attributes. When it undergoes combustion it burns with no a flame and does not emit poisonous gasses.

Resistant to Mould, Mildew and Termites

Cork is in a natural way resistant to mould, mildew and termites due to a compound termed suberin. The inner walls of cork cells are lined with suberin, a fatty compound that is remarkably impermeable to gases and drinking water. This is what helps make cork inherently antimicrobial.

Soft and Heat Underfoot

Cork is a fantastic flooring materials for the reason that it is at ease to stroll on and stand on for extended intervals of time. Cork is often pleasurable to the contact due to weak thermal conduction.

Elastic and Compressible

Cork floors are shock absorbent and will keep their initial condition when exposed to typical compression. This usually means that they complete well underneath major furnishings. Cork can actually be compressed to close to 50 % its thickness and will get well its shape and quantity once produced. Its elasticity usually means it is equipped to adapt to variations in temperature and force devoid of currently being altered.

Eco-welcoming

Cork is a certainly wonderful product for the reason that it is 100% pure, sustainable, renewable and recyclable. Cork oak trees have the one of a kind skill to absorb C02 from the atmosphere. It is estimated that the cork oak forests can take up up to 14 million tons of CO2 per yr.

Cork is also categorized as an eco-effective product. This is simply because any waste produced all through the producing system can be reused as biomass to create new merchandise.

It is a truly environmentally friendly product that does not hurt the atmosphere.

A terracotta cork floor from Bricoflor in a living room

Bricoflor Castello-Terracotta Cork Floor

So now we know the added benefits of cork, let’s acquire a glimpse at some other routinely requested thoughts when it comes to selecting regardless of whether or not to select a cork floor.

How is Cork Flooring Made?

Cork oak trees being harvested in Portugal. Image copyright Stacey Sheppard

Cork is harvested from the cork oak forest in Portgual. The cork oak tree has a everyday living span of 250-350 yrs and the cork can be harvested for the initially time when the tree reaches maturity at 25 a long time of age. The harvesting approach is finished by hand instead than with devices so that the trees are not harmed. After the cork has been stripped it will increase back again and can be harvested each nine several years. A cork oak tree can be securely harvested up to 20 periods all through its daily life cycle.

At the time harvested, the cork planks will need to relaxation for up to 6 months exterior so that they can stabilize. Then the planks are selected by high-quality and thickness and the appropriate ones are picked for flooring.

Cork planks being left outside to stabilize. Image copyright Stacey Sheppard

Is a Cork Flooring Hard Sporting?

Certainly, cork flooring is hard putting on and is incredibly resistant to abrasion. Its honeycomb composition would make it resistant to affect and friction so it is additional tough-putting on than quite a few other really hard surfaces. Nevertheless, it is nevertheless rather a tender material does demand specified actions to make certain that it is saved in very good situation. Specially if you opt for raw cork tiles, you will require to make sure that they are varnished correctly in buy to safeguard the grain construction from hurt.

How to Clean a Cork Floor?

A cork flooring is rather quick to keep and hold clean up. When hoovering a cork flooring you need to normally use the hardwood flooring setting on the vacuum cleaner, or even use a flooring duster. This is since cork floors are pretty smooth and you may danger scratching the varnish.

Cork floors can be washed just like laminate flooring with diluted cleaning detergent answer and a moist mop. Make confident you wipe up any huge spills rapidly, especial if the cork floor has an HDF board in its composition.

What Glance Can I Realize with a Cork Flooring?

For lots of people today, a cork flooring stirs up lousy recollections from the 1970’s, but technological developments mean that cork flooring has arrive a lengthy way because then and can now be utilised to obtain several various looks and kinds with different distinct colours and finishes.

The pure color of cork is a light tan shade which instantaneously provides heat to a room. It can come in several brown shades based on the tint and varnished utilised. But it is also readily available in black versions as perfectly as grey and whitewashed shades.

You can also insert various degrees of texture to your room based on the dimensions of the granules in the cork flooring. Even bigger granules insert extra texture even though more compact granules give a smoother finish.

If you want a far more textured glimpse, then you really should go for bigger granules. The small granule cork gives a clean texture. Peeled cork is a further solution and this is made by taking strips of cork and putting them future to each individual other to generate a streamlined look.

The all-natural cork patterns are not that functional when as opposed to the versatility out there in LVT or laminate flooring, as they are confined by the cork sample. But the a lot of added benefits that a cork ground can present considerably outweigh this insignificant aesthetic disadvantage.

The place can I buy Cork Flooring?

Bricoflor materials two various brand names of cork flooring and focuses generally on floating cork tiles with manufacturing unit applied finish, as these are best to set up and can be employed right away right after set up.


If you have uncovered this put up useful, do not overlook to save it for later by pinning the impression underneath. And as generally, I would like to read through your responses about cork flooring. Do you have it set up in your residence? If not, would you look at it?