Before making a solution, which flooring is better to put in the room, it is necessary to study all their features and disadvantages. Especially when preference is given to natural materials. One of these coatings is cork floor.

It is made of tree bark - "cork oak". Motherland Oak - Mediterranean. For the production of building materials, only the upper part of the crust is removed, and these works are carried out carefully and manually, and only when the tree reaches a certain age - 30 years. When the bark from the tree is removed, it does not die. Next time, it will be possible to remove the cork bark six to eight years. During this time, a new layer is formed on the tree.

The tube floor is considered an environmentally friendly material. By grinding and heating in the furnace, the bark acquires elasticity and if you look under the microscope, it looks like bee honeycomb with air bubbles. Such a building material is called "Suberin". This is the base of the cork gender. Some other more stronger cork layers are superimposed on the suberin, and then again the subverin layer. Facial - the upper part of the cork can be made from different materials: from wood veneer, vinyl or cork tree.

Types of coatings

Cork coating is divided into such types:

1. Veneer from cork tree. This is the top layer, which is removed directly from the tree. The most expensive building material. To create a harmonious interior, it is necessary to carefully select sheets in color and homogeneity of the structure, as each veneer has its own drawing and its shade of color.

2. Cork agglomerate. It is essentially waste or crumb from traffic jam. The crumb is heated and subjected to the press, resulting in extruded cork sheets. Such cork material has a relatively affordable price.
3. Combined cork material - is a combination of two materials: veneer and agglomerate. Moreover, the veneer takes a large sheet, and the agglomerate is small.

Of the three types of plugs in the construction industry, such types of flooring are manufactured:

• technical. Such a cork coating is used as a base under linoleum or laminate, as well as to enhance sound insulation and thermal insulation in the rooms. There are several options for technical cork coverage in construction stores - rolls, plates, granules;
• adhesive. It is produced in the form of small tiles, square or rectangular shape. Apply to create patterns on the floor. Each tile is processed by a special impregnation, which is protected from moisture. It can be placed in rooms, with high humidity, in particular, in bathrooms.
• parquet from traffic jam. It also calls the "floating" floor. On sale are presented in the form of cork sheets, on which on the one hand, the base of MDF is applied. The size of the sheet is 90 to 18.5 centimeters. Collect such sheets is quite simple - according to the "lock" method, which is successfully used when laying laminates.

On the advantages

The cork floor has both pros and cons. Consider the advantages of natural flooring.

The cork floor, according to the reviews of most buyers, there is a very significant plus - the floors have increased elasticity, they are light and elastic. This quality is due to the fact that the bark of the tree consists of thousands of hermetic pores, which are enriched with oxygen and nitrogen.

In addition, the cork floor is an excellent thermal conductory, while it is not self-turn, and if it starts to burn, it does not allocate harmful toxins.

It retains warmth well. To make sure that you can tested two floor coverings directly in the construction supermarket: Linoleum and cork. One foot step on the linoleum, and the second on the plug. The difference can be felt immediately, cork floor - warm. It is because of these qualities, the cork floor laid in children's rooms and bedrooms.

By thermal insulation properties, the cork is not inferior to the linoleum and parquet, its thermal conductivity coefficient is 0.04, and the air coefficient is 0.02. Naturally, the plug will keep warm. In addition, despite the fact that the cork material gives warm, it does not absorb it, than the linoleum, tile and even marble can not boast.

But, despite the wonderful heat-conducting qualities, the plug cannot be used as a coating, where the "warm floor" system is used, due to the fact that the plug does not pass heat into the room.

You can also speak about sound insulation properties. The plug is an excellent noise absorbing natural material, it is well suppressed with noises in the rooms. For example, in homes that are built from panels - bad sound insulation, so the floor from the traffic jam will become an excellent option. But it should be borne in mind that the noise that occurs is not indoors, but outside, the plug is not able to absorb.

Cork floor is a very durable material. It is resistant to deformation, it will be able to withstand even very heavy loads and at the same time remain in the same form. This is a very important indicator, especially with frequent permutations of furniture, no dents from the legs of the chairs and sofas on this floor does not remain. In addition, the flooring of a cork tree is an excellent depreciation material, which, according to orthopedic doctors, has a positive effect on the human condition. By the way, when walking on this floor, the load from the spine, the back and joints is significantly reduced. And if you add to these positive test properties, there are also high resistance to erasure, resistance to chemical detergents, it is not accurate insects and vans, it can be said that the cork floor is almost perfect.

Disadvantages of cork floor

In addition to the pros, each floor covering there are disadvantages. Among the minuses of cork sex marked:

1. High price cork floor. High-quality coating from a solid veneer will cost that it is not suiced and not everyone can afford such a floor.
2. Despite the fact that the cork floor is resistant to deformation, it will not be able to withstand acute subjects: acute furniture metal legs, pet claws and female heels.
3. The disadvantages of cork gear include such problems as erasing the soles of home shoes and socks, as well as at a high coefficient of friction, the sole with time becomes very slippery.
4. Flowers under the influence of direct sunlight.
5. New coating has a specific smell.
6. Requires certain knowledge when laying, and if technology does not follow, dryness and appearance of slots on the joints.

When choosing a cork covering, pay attention to its protective properties. Floor cork coating has such disadvantages: often the swelling of the floor can be discovered from the contact with water and its bloody. This is due to the fact that often the base of the cork floor has a MDF-base coating.

How the cork floor looks in the interior, you can look at the photo: