Cork Flooring Guide

Cork Flooring Basics

One of the most comfortable, beautiful flooring options, cork is a renewable, sustainable resource that, when managed correctly, can continue to produce materials for flooring (and other cork uses) for hundreds of years to come. Harvested primarily from the cork oak tree (Quercus suber), the material is renown for its sound and vibration dampening properties, which makes it an excellent option for flooring. It's usually available as tiles, offering options both as glue-down and floating flooring.

Pros of Cork Flooring

Cork's cellular construction allows it to be compressed by 40 percent, quickly returning to its original shape, so it's a great natural shock absorber. As such, it's a great for flooring anywhere you are walking or standing for long periods. Cork also absorbs sound, making it a very quiet flooring option. Cork also has anti-allergenic and insect resistant properties. Suberin, a naturally occurring waxy substance in cork, helps repels insects, mites and mold and helps protect cork from from rot when it gets wet. In addition, suberin is a natural fire retardant, reducing the need for chemical additives.

Cons of Cork Flooring

All of these characteristics come at a price that makes cork a less affordable option. Given its cost, it isn't viable for most than just a room or two in most homes.

How Green is Cork Flooring?

Cork is a generally green material. The raw material is actually the bark from the cork oak, harvested every nine years (after the cork oak gets to be about 25 years old); each cork oak tree lives for about 200 years, so each tree can be successfully harvested for cork almost 20 times, though the first two harvests tend to produce lower-quality cork. So it scores highly for renewability.

Cork oak trees grow almost exclusively in the Mediterranean—Portugal produces more cork than any other country—so for those of us in North America, there can be some significant transportation—and related carbon emissions—required to get the cork from there to here. When it comes time to put it in, as with other sheeted flooring options, beware formaldehyde and other off-gassing chemicals in adhesives.

Where do I get it?

Globus Cork
Duro Design
US Floors

Where do I use it?

Cork flooring is suitable for just about every room in the house, though it's probably best suited for rooms like the kitchen, or anywhere where you stand for long periods of time.

What does it cost?

Cork flooring starts at about $4 per square foot, and the price goes up with colors and patterns to $10 per square foot, or more.

Installation of cork flooring

The floating floor is fairly simple to install (assuming you have a solid, level subfloor); the click-together tiles can be installed without much trouble. The more-permanent glue-down floor is a bit more complicated, though not as difficult as hardwood flooring; if you're a tried 'n true DIYer, you can probably work it out.

More on cork flooring:
Globus Cork Flooring
Wicanders, Lush Cork Flooring from Portugal
TreeHugger Picks: Cork Does It All
TreeHugger Forums - Marmoleum Vs Cork flooring