Apr 11 2010
Bamboo Cork Flooring
When homeowners are ready to redecorate and flooring is one of the choices they need to make, many are turning to eco-friendly choices that are good for the environment and beautiful for the home at the same time. This is when bamboo and cork flooring choices become the floors to look at it.
Note: often people will call cork flooring “bamboo cork flooring,” but in fact, cork is different from bamboo.
Most people know about the beauty of bamboo flooring and how sustainable and environmentally friendly it is, but they may not know about cork flooring. In fact, if asked, cork flooring would probably not sound like a good idea to most people. They envision cork like is found in wine bottles and can’t imagine using it as a flooring option.
Cork has been used as a flooring source for hundreds of years and the main reason for this is that it is an extremely long lasting flooring source and a completely renewable resource.
Unlike other flooring sources which require the harvesting of the entire tree, cork is made from the outer bark of the oak tree. This means that the same tree can produce cork indefinitely, or at least until the tree is cut down for some other reason. The cork that is harvested regenerates in about six years. This is approximately the same amount of time it takes for bamboo to reach maturity. This make bamboo and cork flooring similar in sustainability and both of them excellent choices in flooring.
The durability of cork flooring cannot be stressed enough. Cork resists scuffs and scratches better than any other flooring choice available and is the only wood flooring choice that is completely moisture resistant, making it a perfect flooring choice for bathrooms and kitchens.
Corks durability can be seen in some of the flooring installations that are over one hundred years old. Cork is an excellent insulator and can help reduce energy costs, another factor that plays into it being an environmentally friendly choice in flooring. This same insulating factor that makes cork an energy saver also helps it reduce the transference of noise.
When comparing the beauty of the different types of hardwood flooring available, both bamboo and cork flooring are beautiful in their own rights. Each brings an aesthetically pleasing touch to any room they are installed in. Cork has its own unique mottled appearance that most people are familiar with and can be found in many different colors, depending on the manufacturer and the colors they chose to stain the cork with.
Bamboo can be found in several natural colors, from blonde to ambers and in many other colors depending on what color stains the manufacturers decide to use and market.
Bamboo and cork flooring are both excellent flooring choices for homeowners looking to go ‘green’ with their present and future flooring choices while at the same time adding beauty and durability to their home.
-Sharon V. Chapman
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