Floor coverings - cork flooring

Historians argue that the cork was known in ancient Rome. At that time it was clogged with amphorae. In the construction of the cork tree began to apply in the eighteenth century. It was then that the Portuguese first tried to use the bark of the cork tree as a roofing material. In the middle of the nineteenth century a new way of pressing the cork appeared - the appearance of this method gave a powerful impetus to the use of a cork as a floor covering.

Cork oak grows in the countries of the Western Mediterranean. The territory occupied by cork forests is huge. In total, in seven countries it is more than two million hectares. The main plantations are located in Portugal (33%), followed by Spain (23%), followed by a whole group of countries: Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco (33%), and Italy and France (11%) complete the list. . The main enterprises for processing cork raw materials (more than 80%) are concentrated in Portugal.

Cork oak differs from other trees with a double-layered bark. The old top layer is manually removed in the summer without causing any harm to the tree. The first time the cork material is obtained when the tree is 25 years old. The average age of cork oak varies from 150 to 170 years.

Cork parquet is a natural coating from the bark of cork oak. It has excellent thermal insulation properties. On such a coating it is pleasant to walk barefoot, it slightly springs when walking and this removes the load from the spine. It is hypoallergenic, does not collect dust, it does not accumulate static electricity.

Cork parquet can be of two types - glued and floating. The glued parquet is a 30x30 mm tile. Such tiles can be varnished. The main disadvantage of this coating is the complicated laying of cork parquet. It will require careful preparation of the base of the floor, which must be leveled with plywood. The main advantage is the moisture resistance of such a floor.

Floating cork parquet is a cork plate that is not attached to the base, but is connected with locks. Tiles of this type of parquet are multi-layered. The middle layer is rigid, from MDF. The base of the tile is an insulating layer of cork (a substrate), and the top is a cork with a pattern. Floating cork parquet is available in the form of slabs measuring 900x300 mm and thickness from 9 to 12 mm. Both types of parquet can be covered with a thin layer of varnish. If you cover cork floors with durable vinyl, they will become much stronger, but will lose their natural softness, become colder and slippery.

Cork parquet, consumer feedback about which is always enthusiastic, with proper packing and proper care will last more than 20 years. By the way, about leaving. In this issue, there are some features. Never use metal brushes to clean the floor to avoid scratching. Cover with pieces of soft material - felt or felt - the legs of tables and chairs. But do not use rubber for this purpose, it will leave stains on the floor, which are very difficult to remove.