The Durability Of Cork Flooring

By Author: Vikram Kumar
Total Articles: 9595
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The durability of cork flooring is something that you will never need to worry about. One of the unique characteristics of cork flooring is that it has a “memory” and recovers well from compression, very much like a wine cork.

The durability of cork flooring is attributed to the peculiar cellular structure of the cork. Cork is made up of several octagonal shaped cells. These cells are thickly packed in a honeycomb fashion. This tightly packed honeycomb structure gives the flooring a spongy property and allows the floor to absorb impacts and regain its original shape after compression. Unlike most hard flooring surfaces that will either form a dent or will crack when force is applied, cork simply forms a temporary depression at the point of impact but then regains its former structure after a while. High heeled shoes and slender furniture legs can lead to denting in cork flooring but in both of these cases, the denting is not permanent. It is just temporary and the cork flooring will soon go back to its original form. This feature of cork is referred to as 'memory'.

There are other secrets to encourage cork ...
... to recover from dents. Simply take a towel and dampen it with hot water (microwaving the towel in a plastic bag is a good alternative to boiling a kettle of water). Place the super-heated (yet mild/moderately damp) towel over the indentation. Allow the towel to sit in place for 1-5 minutes (the deeper the indent the longer the treatment). The indent will have recovered a significant amount of its memory by the end of the treatment.

To add to the natural durability of cork, Forna Cork Flooring products are factory finished with three layers of water-based polyurethane (PU) varnish imported from Germany. Our water-based polyurethane provides a clear satin finish. It is fast drying, odour free, and does not contain any Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

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Cork flooring has been popular for use in public buildings such as court houses, churches, banks, libraries and kindergartens. This is because of several reasons. First of all it is durable, which is necessary in public places such as the above where there is bound to be a lot of foot traffic. Another reason they are used especially in libraries and churches is that cork is very silent flooring. It absorbs the sound of a person’s heel against the floor and does not produce any echoes. Also, when you walk on a hard surface, with every step you take, there is a certain amount of shock that is absorbed by the foot. However, when you walk over cork flooring, the softness and compressibility or give, of cork reduces the jarring action in the body that occurs while walking on regular hard flooring surfaces. This is because the cork surface itself absorbs some of the shock. Last but not least, because cork is thermally insular, it helps cut back on electricity bills as it stays warm even on cold winter days and you will not need to raise the thermostat just to walk across the flooring.

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Cork Flooring is durable, comfortable and thermally insular. These properties make it the flooring of choice for churches, libraries and other public buildings as well as private homes. iCork Floor has a wide assortment of cork floors for you to choose from.