Cork History

Historically, cork flooring were finished in the same manner as any other wood flooring, i.e., with paste wax buffed into the surface. However, the labor-intensive nature of this maintenance routine was seen as a real drawback when rolled sheet vinyl and similar Â'modern' resilient surface options came on the market in the middle of the last century. Cork floors fell out of favor and, for perhaps 30 years, was not readily available to the general public.

However, new finishing techniques and improved technologies have revived interest in cork flooring. Though still a small fraction of the overall floor coverings market, cork flooring is enjoying a surge in popularity driven in large part by consumer demand.

Cork has a long and distinguished history as an agricultural product. In ancient times, cork bark was used to form sandal soles, food storage vessels, and floats for fishing nets. Seventeenth century French monk, Dom Perignon, is credited with being the first to recognize the ability of cork to contain sparkling wines, so important to the development of the industry.

For today's average consumer interested in healthy living and looking for products that support this ideal, cork fills the bill. A renewable resource, cork is environmentally correct and can improve health and comfort for human indoor living. In our homes, cork flooring create a warm, comfortable surface that is gentle underfoot, is anti-microbial, non-toxic, will not spread flame, and is inherently resistant to molds, mildews, and common pests.

A member of the beech family, the cork oak tree grows in coastal regions of the Mediterranean. Only seven countries account for the bulk of the world's cork: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia with the majority of the production occurring in the first two. Relatively slow growing, cork trees survive harsh conditions in depleted soil that will often support little else of value.

Unlike most trees where primary value is derived from the lumber of the trunk, cork is actually obtained from the renewable bark of the tree. This unusually thick bark is made up of millions of tiny prism-shaped air pockets which create a resilient, cushiony surface which offers several distinct advantages to the tree - and to us as consumers.

The ability to use cork in flooring applications was not discovered until the 19th century when American, John Smith, discovered agglomerated cork. Today's cork floor is created from the post-industrial by-product of the bottle-stopper industry. This Â'waste' material is ground up and formed into sheets using minimal adhesive to bind particles together under high pressure. The size, quantity and type of cork granule, in conjunction with varying degrees of pressure, determine the difference between Â'bulletin board' material and material suitable for flooring applications.

The basis for all cork floor is agglomerated sheet material produced mainly in Portugal and Spain. This material has the appearance of compressed granules, which is exactly what it is. To create different fashions, a thin veneer layer of decorative cork is laminated to the top of the core material. Lamination takes place at the time of original production, making the thin layer inseparable from the core. It's the veneer layer that carries the pattern. A wide variety of styles are available, everything from those that favor bamboo to those that mimic marble and so much in-between.