We don’t think much about floors. We walk all over them, treat them like doormats; we don’t think of them as something that might be around for years and years, bringing us a quality of life we would otherwise lack. We might forget a floor’s ability to improve the air quality in our homes, help reduce landfill, or fill the gap in your sustainable local marketplace. Surprising news? They can.
Sustainable Solution — Cork
The first life of a cork floor is tree bark. These Mediterranean trees have been growing for generations; the bark is harvested using a centuries old technique without harming the tree or habitat. If 50% of a tree’s cork bark is stripped away, the tree itself can live up to 200 years. If the cork produced by the tree is up-to-snuff, it is destined for wine corks and fly rod handles. The seconds are destined for corkboards, cork flooring and composite cork products.
Speaking of seconds, if you are adding a floor over an existing floor, cork is an excellent product choice. The honeycomb shape of the cork’s structure absorbs, rather than transmits, sound. Unlike wood, cork muffles sound and it creates a soft but durable surface. This same soft durability makes it an excellent surface for areas that might keep you on your feet: the kitchen, the laundry room, or a hallway outside bedrooms that you hope to keep quiet.
Keep the karma going; use a natural floor finish when finishing a cork floor. A polyurethane floor finish is neither biodegradable nor as easy to keep clean as a natural floor finish. Beeswax or natural plant oils (as with all natural materials) will repel dust mites, mold, and mildew. The cork itself will deter common pests, the spread of flame, moisture, and rot. A natural oil finish will also allow you to spot treat the floor as it wears, resealing only the areas that need it.
Cork flooring is also available in click together planks, which are easily installed over an existing floor. Click flooring consists of a cork veneer over a substrate of natural materials and typically comes in planks or tiles. A simple cutting tool, a block, and a rubber mallet are the only tools required for installation. Click together flooring is great for renters looking for a temporary improvement that can travel, basements that lack a perfect subsurface, kitchens that need a natural, nontoxic update, or any room that has adequate ventilation and could benefit from a soft, warm, quiet surface. Click flooring, as well as glue down cork tiles, can both be cut to create intricate inlay patterns or simple layouts, depending on the whims of the installer.
Good quality cork will have a 25-year warranty. From harvest to production to installation to eventual recycling, cork is sustainable, nontoxic, and healthy.
