Cork floor: pros and cons, features of choice and styling

Wear resistance, versatility and affordable price - all this is about traffic jam. We find out whether the coating has consists and in which rooms it can be stacked.

Choosing the finish, I would like to rely only the beauty. But besides aesthetics, still wear resistance, service life and rules of care are important. And also whether there will be a coating of heat and soundly insulated the room. Today we consider cork floors, pros and cons, as well as features of installation and care.

All about natural coating

What it is

Advantages and disadvantages

Tips for choosing

A few words about proper care

conclusions

What is the cork floor?

The manufacturing process looks like this. At the heart - natural raw materials, namely a tree. First, the bark is removed from it, and then crushed to the consistency of crumbs. After the resulting composition is mixed with thermosetting resins and is pressed into sheets. And the last link their sheets cut rectangular plates like parquet boards or laminate. There is also a variant of a roll product that looks like a linoleum. And more laminate from traffic jams and technical raw materials, which is used as a lining under the finishing finish. It is possible to divide the finishing material into several types.

Types of cork coating for the floor

1. The adhesive plug on the floor is a two-layer panel, inside which a compressed crumb, and from above - high-quality veneer of a tree. Usually, the lamellas are dense, about 4-6 cm thick. So that they are more resistant to humidity and temperature drops, the roll is treated with special compositions. These panels are attached with glue, in principle, you can even cope with your own hands. But they need to be laid tight with minimal gaps, and this may have problems and difficulties if the newcomer never dealt with a similar event.
2. Laminate - such panels are already made in 3 layers, among which compressed crumb, then carrying a layer, and the final - veneer. Thickness - 2 times more than the previous species, namely 12 mm. The laying is carried out by the lock method, so the process is much easier.
3. Technical material - when the remnants of the production of the first two materials are used as a substrate under independent coatings: laminate, parquet or massive board.

Benefits

Antistatics

The surface will be antistatic, as it does not accumulate electricity. This means that dust particles will not be attracted as a magnet, and such often happens with other types of outdoor finish.

Also, the surface is not smooth, and therefore the slip can not be afraid - convenient for children, but for laying on inter-stairs of private houses.

Safety

Not subject to damage to bacteria and fungi, does not collect ticks. For this reason, it is recommended for laying in the rooms of allergies.

No deformation

This is an elastic material that is almost impossible to deform, as each time is filled with oxygen - it is elastic. If a small dent appeared, over time it can disappear.

Wear resistance

Feline surface claws are not terrible, since it is covered with reliable hot apparent varnish (hot coating). We can clearly say that it is not worth scoring on a studded rubber or score to the base of nails. This applies to any outdoor coatings.

Well, based on all the characteristics above and good wear resistance - it can be expected that the next repair will be needed no earlier than in 10-20 years.

Good thermal conductivity

Due to the fact that the material is saturated with gases and porous - that is, the finishing finish is obtained by itself warm and pleasant to the touch, therefore the additional insulation of the type "Warm floor" system is already considered superfluous.

Soundproofing

Even the thinnest view of the cork tile sounds well a room and "extinguishes" noises within 16-20 decibels. Again, such an effect is achieved due to gases in composition and porosity. It happens that the castle view is compared with laminate due to the same base from the fibrous plate. Only comparison this is not in favor of the second. Walking on laminate is pretty sparkling, he himself is cold to the touch. And the castle has a decorative layer for which we go. And there is still a layer of substrate. They quench the noise when walking, and at the same time they also protect your neighbors from below from unnecessary sounds. But it is worth noting that if you want to sound your room and do not hear the neighbors, this option is unlikely to come in handy. But it will help to hide the trap of your children. But this is also a good option - it will not be necessary to justify the noise before the neighbors below.

Smoothing irregularities

Due to the fact that in the composition there is a suberin, it helps to smooth out irregularities, and in principle the coating is permissible even on the concrete base.

Simple care

An important plus for most is that no special care is required. It is enough to wash a regular damp cloth and use the vacuum cleaner. And this, by the way, distinguishes the hero of our article from other natural coatings, which requires compliance with the level of humidity or dryness, and also cannot be used wet cleaning.

Spinal load reduction

Cork floors according to the reviews of the owners possess orthopedic properties, while few materials can boast such a characteristic. Due to the good depreciation rates, the load on the spine when walking is reduced.

Variety of colors and textures

There is a stereotype that the variety of colors and the textures of this segment of the market is not. So it was 20 years ago, when the coating only appeared in our market. At this time there are several dozen shades. And the appearance of photo printing technology helped to make a real designer breakthrough.

And now the plug may look like a typeset flooring, an expensive parquet board from exotic tree species, as a latal from time to time, multicolored boards, concrete and even like a haystack. You can print any image on the traffic jam. You may ask: why do you need?

First, finishing the printing still saves valuable properties.

Secondly, the image of exotic wood or the usual oak will cost equally. While similar wooden analogs differ greatly in price.

Universality

Now there are such a lot of cork-based coatings, which can be selected for any premises and interiors. HDF-based castle product is suitable for living rooms, bedrooms, children's, dressing rooms, cabinets. You can choose such a finish with a natural veneer or photo printing. Depending on the style of the room.

Adhesive view is suitable for all rooms. Especially well he shows itself in the kitchen. After applying a polyurethane varnish floor, the floor becomes absolutely waterproof. And due to the elasticity of the material, the dishes in the kitchen will be more concerned. When falling it will fight much less often than in the case of a floor of ceramic tiles.

In the bathroom you can put a finish based on the Hydro-Plate. It is absolutely waterproof. And it is also good because even the unprofessional will cope with the stacking. Material can be treated even in the hallway if you use the welded mats. And he is perfectly suitable for laying on an unheated balcony. In such cases, the adhesive appearance is recommended.

Here are examples of cork photo in the interior.

Availability

Many knowingly consider the material expensive because it is natural. And fully natural materials are very expensive. Everything is quite subjective here.

When choosing an outdoor coating, it is worth navigating not only on its appearance, but also on quality. After all, the floor refers to those finishing materials that we change very rarely. The annoying wallpapers can be easily cross, the walls are repainted, the curtains - tolerate, even the old furniture is quite simple to replace with a new one if, of course, it is not built-in. It is much more difficult to overrably a horizontal surface. Therefore, it is worth very carefully to choose and not to strive to save greatly. Remember that the floor is operated daily. If we talk about prices, then they are close to parquet floors and high-quality laminate.

disadvantages

Possible swelling of the seams

Can swear with big humidity. The reason is that the basis of laminate is MDF, and it is not resistant to direct water flows. There is an option on top of apply lacquer, but then you have to do it all the time, and from the surface that is regularly subject to loads, the varnish will faster.

Strain from strong dents

The absence of deformation - does not concern strong dents that may remain from the hammer fallen on the floor. Similar dents remain on the wooden floor.

Roughness

Disadvantages may be connected with the rough texture. In production, the material can be covered with different compositions for better smoothness and aesthetics. But sometimes the roughness interferes - for example, erases the soles of home shoes or socks.

In general, as with any material, everything relative. There are definite advantages that can immediately encourage and put it in your apartment. But against the merits are the shortcomings, and they cannot be not considered with them.

How to choose a finish right?

1. Please note that the highest quality raw material is produced in Portugal. Also good in demand use Polish, Spanish and, oddly enough, Chinese goods. Therefore, pay attention to the manufacturer.
2. Before you buy, check the party - so you get rid of ourselves from problems with different tint plates and do not have to go on tricks.
3. Also check the tile geometry - get the products from two different packs and attach to each other seams. So you can immediately see whether there will be too big gaps and make for themselves the conclusion about the quality.
4. The wrong side also speaks a lot about product level. Pay attention to it. It should not be too large inclusions - this will tell that unnecessary waste added in production.
5. Consider the design destination, style and planned load on the floor.

Correct care

This is the key to the fact that the coating will serve you the maximum period. As we wrote above, care is quite simple and this is an advantage. You can vacuum and wash with a conventional wet cloth. But sometimes sustainable contaminants appear, which are not displayed with simple actions.

• It is necessary to take into account that rigid metal brushes and abrasive substances with large fractions cannot be used.
• If the top layer with vinyl finishes, periodically need to cover it with mastic. The recommended gap - every two years.
• To protect against scratches, it will be better if you close the feet of furniture with special linings - you can find them in any furniture store.
• And do not finish the rubber mats on the plug - traces will remain.

In the video - more information about the cork laminate, as well as its laying technology.

conclusions

It's time to summarize. And now you can already safely say that you know everything about the cork floor. Well, or almost everything. When choosing an outdoor coating, it is important to remember that the floor is the most operated surface in the house. The only one that is used daily is therefore it must be high quality.

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