Eco-friendly Cork Flooring from BuildDirect.com

I was doing some research on dark colored flooring and was surprised to find a beautiful cork flooring from a company called BuildDirect.com and sent for some Free samples.

Cork flooring was first used popularly at the end of the 19 th century. By the early 20 th century, Frank Lloyd Wright was incorporating cork flooring in some of the public buildings he designed. Many of these buildings still feature these original cork floors.

Cork flooring is a product made from the bark of the cork oak tree, a material which is ground, processed into sheets and baked in a kiln to produce tiles that serve as flooring for offices, light commercial locations, and residences. Cork flooring is most popularly harvested, manufactured, and sourced in Southern Europe, with Portugal being one of the most prominent regions from which cork comes. This is an area where the cork oak species is plentiful and where hand-harvesting is most practical.

Why is cork known to be an environmentally sensitive choice?

Harvesting the cork oak for its bark is strictly regulated, limiting such harvesting into nine-year cycles. The individual cork oaks must be at least 25 years old before they are harvested and when they are, the health of those cork oaks must be ensured. The cork oak is harvested by hand, and remains unaffected by the harvesting process. The bark of the cork oak grows back, leaving the cork oak as healthy as ever. As such, cork flooring is one of the most renewable sources for flooring there is. The cellular nature of cork flooring allows warmth to be held in, making it a very warm flooring to walk on, even in winter months. Another aspect of the kind of insulation cork flooring provides is that of sound, which is naturally absorbed. This makes for almost silent footfalls and can have a significant quieting effect in areas which are normally associated with echoes and other distracting ambient sounds, such as in foyers and hallways.

A natural substance found in cork called suberin, a waxy material that is a key component in the makeup of the cells in found in cork, is responsible for the moisture-resistant nature of cork and cork flooring. Suberin is also insect-resistant as well as adding a level of fire resistance.