Cork floors: reviews. Which company to choose a cork floor

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Cork floors: reviews. Which company to choose a cork floor
Cork floors: reviews. Which company to choose a cork floor
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Cork flooring has gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. Such a coating is chosen by practical people who appreciate the durability, environmental friendliness and naturalness of building materials, such as cork. It is most often used where surfaces are tested for strength and abrasion, namely in the kitchen or hallways. Therefore, cork floors, reviews of which are endowed with mostly positive opinions and impressions of operation, are so common in our country.

castle cork floor reviews
castle cork floor reviews

What is a cork floor?

Externally, a cork floor looks like a very light and porous material. In comparison with linoleum or laminate, many consider this type of coating to be a more advantageous option, since it is not inferior in strength to either one or the other, and the environmental friendliness of the material is an order of magnitude higher, since cork is directly related to wood. Workers in the lumber industry have studied the properties of cork oaks, noticing that the trees shed their bark once every few years. That is, the upper layer can be removed without harming the plant. It is it that is used for the production of floor coverings, the bark is crushed, and then processed in high-temperature furnaces. The resulting mass is pressed, and we get a porous base for the cork floor - suberin.

Of course, before getting to the store shelves, the coating is processed, it is applied in layers of wood dust and resin. The front part of the floor can be made of natural veneer, vinyl or cork.

If it's hard for you to imagine what it is, then you need to look through construction magazines or read consumer reviews. Cork flooring in terms of naturalness and environmental friendliness firmly occupies a leading position in the list of others.

adhesive cork floor reviews
adhesive cork floor reviews

Description of cork flooring. Their characteristics

Due to its unique characteristics, cork floor tiles have become one of the most popular floor tiles. Feedback from designers, engineers and ordinary people suggests that this material is not only practical and durable, but also accessible to absolutely everyone. Cork floors have a number of unusual properties, namely:

  • fluidity and buoyancy;
  • high level of heat and sound insulation;
  • low specific gravity;
  • high resistance to aggressive environments.

In addition, cork is considered an indispensable material due to the ability to reduce vibration, return to its previous shape and the ability to save energy.

Studying the composition is an important step in choosing a cork floor

Suberin is responsible for the elasticity in the composition of the floor covering. The 30% linguine contained in the cork determines the density of the material. The relief of the structure is achieved due to the presence of polysaccharides in the amount of 10% of the total mass, tannins and ceroids are responsible for the color and water resistance.

cork floor in the bathroom reviews
cork floor in the bathroom reviews

Why choose cork flooring?

Many buyers choose finishing materials, having first studied their advantages, cork floors are no exception. Their reviews speak for themselves.

  1. The first thing that worries all buyers is the warmth of the floor, and so, cork is the most pleasant to the touch material that slowly absorbs heat.
  2. Soundproofing is something without which it is difficult to imagine life in apartment buildings. Cork floors (reviews about how well they "muffle" noise in the premises, buyers leave constantly) has high parameters for this criterion.
  3. The cork quickly restores its former shape, that is, no dents from furniture legs will remain on the floor.
  4. This flooring is easy to clean and requires little maintenance. Moreover, this should be done infrequently, since the cork does not collect dust.
  5. This floor has the property of slip resistance.
  6. Cork coating has a positive effect on the human body, namely, high values of depreciation indicators relieve the load on the legs while walking and the spine.

Negative sides of cork

But like all materials, cork has its drawbacks. How to find out about their availability? Read reviews. Cork flooring is very expensive, so not everyone can afford it. This material may swell, some customer reviews testify to this. According to them, the cork floor in the bathroom swells from excess moisture. There are reviews of such cases, unfortunately, their number is quite large. Therefore, it is not worth the risk, it is better to lay this material in dry rooms.

In addition to the main shortcomings, there are also not very critical ones. Some people don't like the feel of cork. Indeed, this material is a little rough, and to avoid this, you need to constantly use special tools.

Types of cork floors

Commodity forms of coating are quite diverse, in any hardware store you can choose the right floor for your home. Cork surfaces are available:

  • Adhesive. The laying technology is simple. Adhesive cork floor, reviews of which are the most positive, is fixed using special compounds and mixtures.
  • Technical. Such cork is produced in the form of rolls or granules, which serve as insulation under the main floor.
  • Floating. In life, the cork floor is called "floating" parquet. It is a panel of small sizes, interconnected by a special fastening system, its other name is a castle cork floor. Reviews about it are very diverse, it all depends on individual preferences and habits for laying building materials - someone likes to fix tiles on glue, others like the old proven method of locking.
cork floors reviews
cork floors reviews

Features of adhesive cork coatings

If you decide to opt for adhesive cork floors, then you should know some of the features of this material. It consists of pressed chips and a decorative layer of veneer. The thickness of such a tile is 4-7 mm. Such floors are fixed with glue and varnished. Adhesive cork coating is chosen by those who plan to make a single style in an apartment without thresholds. With such material, it is easy to make artistic styling.

The downsides of adhesive cork flooring are as follows:

  • Very often, instead of high-quality adhesives, in order to save money, cheaper and toxic mixtures are purchased, which adversely affects human he alth.
  • Some buyers do not varnish the floor well enough for the same reason, so the coating will peel off after a year.
  • After laying such a floor, differences in the base can be seen.

Features of lock cork flooring

Castle cork coverings differ from the previous type in ease of installation. This floor consists of three parts. The top layer is protected with varnish, the middle one is made of natural cork veneer, and the bottom layer is made of lighter density agglomerate.

Where is this coating most often used? The most common option is to install a cork floor in the kitchen. Reviews in which buyers share their impressions about this natural material most often contain information about laying the floor in the kitchen or in children's rooms. The only drawback of such a coating is the inability to make a pattern or pattern, since the tiles need to be laid out in one direction.

cork flooring reviews
cork flooring reviews

How is cork flooring made? Choosing a Quality Manufacturing Coating

Before choosing a cork floor, it is advisable to find out how it is made. The main attention will be focused on the process of manufacturing the top decorative layer. The appearance of the veneer is decisive in choosing one or another model of flooring. It is made from oak bark, it can be pressed, natural or stabilized. Depending on the pressure and temperature of the veneer processing, the surface has the most ornate and unique patterns that appear during the production process.

Cover Care

Of course, any surface requires maintenance, especially the cork floor in the nursery. Feedback on the use of this material in a child's room suggests that buyers are confident in the safety and environmental friendliness of the cork. However, in order for the flooring to retain its natural properties, it must be carefully looked after. Do not neglect the use of cleansing and polishing mixtures. After all, it is these compounds that form a protective layer on the floor and give it a special shine. The cork is afraid of aggressive influences, so in no case should you rub it with a metal brush or a hard sponge.

cork floor in the kitchen reviews
cork floor in the kitchen reviews

Styling technology

If you plan to install flooring for the first time, you need to carefully prepare for this process. The best way to learn how to install cork flooring is to read reviews. People willingly share their technologies, give advice and recommendations.

The technology for laying cork flooring depends on the type of floor. If you purchased adhesive boards, then you need to buy the right glue for them. For locking systems, you do not need to purchase anything additionally, you need to mount such a coating in the same way as parquet or laminate - from one panel to another.

First you need to prepare the base, level it and clean it. Any unevenness can lead to cracks in the cork. Next, be sure to make the markup, lay out the tiles preferably from the middle of the room. In the case of an adhesive floor, it is necessary to process the seams on the inside with a special sealant. Spread glue on the work surface and lay the tiles. Thanks to modern compositions, the floor will seize instantly. After a day, the coating must be treated with a protective varnish.

This section will be most interesting for housewives, as most often they install a cork floor in the kitchen. Feedback from female representatives is most often positive, the owners of the apartments are satisfied with the performance characteristics of the cork.

Cost of cork floors

When choosing any product, we first of all look at its price. What is the cost of a cork floor? As mentioned above, cork is distinguished by its high cost. The cost of such a coating depends directly on the thickness of the decorative veneer, namely:

  • cut thickness;
  • production method;
  • temperature and pressure during processing;
  • degrees of human labor utilization.

It is very difficult to estimate the price characteristics of a cork floor, since for one manufacturer the cost of a tile with a higher density may be the same as another type of coating, but with a more pronounced pattern. Comparing CorkArt and MJO, the latter clearly wins in price. But if we talk about the density of the tiles, then "CorkArt" is almost twice ahead of its competitor. Therefore, many choose CorkArt cork floors, customer reviews often evaluate the quality of the material.

cork floor in the nursery reviews
cork floor in the nursery reviews

Which cork floor to choose? Review of the best manufacturers

In the domestic building materials market, there are manufacturing companies from different countries, the most popular are manufacturers from China and Portugal.

The cork floors from these two countries are radically different in their chemical composition, and hence in their characteristics. Portuguese oaks grow in completely different climatic conditions. The bark of trees contains a large amount of suberin, so they are considered more dense and durable. Due to this, there is almost no glue in the Portuguese cork coatings. What can not be said about the Chinese, in order to make a competitive price, Asian manufacturers have to use cheap and not very high-quality adhesive in the manufacturing process.

The most famous cork flooring brand is Wikanders. The collections of this manufacturer are distinguished by proven quality, durability and a high level of sound insulation. CorkArt is not far behind. The company is known for a wide range of decorated cork flooring, the highest quality materials are used to create this coating. Compared to its competitors, Corkstyle cork flooring (which has not received very positive reviews) is distinguished by its relatively cheap cost. This coating is very wear-resistant, but it is comfortable to walk on it only in shoes, as the cork is covered with ceramic varnish, which is very rough to the touch.

Russian Maestro cork flooring is produced at Wikanders factories. If you do not want to overpay for a brand, then you should choose a high-quality cork floor from a Russian company, especially since it is produced taking into account all the requirements for Wikanders quality standards.

After reading this article, you learned how to choose the right cork flooring, what to look for when buying.

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