When choosing a floor covering for your home, it is very important to proceed not only from its appearance, but also take into account the wear resistance of the material, service life, and cleaning methods. It's great if the floor in the house is warm and pleasant. Sound and heat insulation indicators are also very important.
Cork flooring meets many of today's stringent consumer requirements. Cork has many advantages, but it also has its drawbacks. If you properly care for such a coating, then it will last more than a dozen years. But it is also necessary to take into account the purpose of the premises and the features of care.
Cork floor properties
- This flooring is very light (least weight among other floor coverings)
- The cork does not let sounds through. It has the highest sound insulation performance among similar coatings. Therefore, so often cork is used in studios.
- Cork is distinguished by low thermal conductivity.This completely natural material holds heat perfectly.
- Cork is soft and elastic. Doctors recommend cork as the best floor covering that you can walk on barefoot.
- Cork is resistant to many caustic solutions, with the exception of alkali. This indicates her little wear.
- It has antistatic qualities, that is, it does not attract dust and is very easy to clean.
- The material is environmentally friendly and completely safe, that is, nothing emits or absorbs anything.
- The cork does not slip.
- The material promotes natural circulation and air exchange in the room, and is also hypoallergenic.
- Cork does not rot and is not afraid of water. This means that in case of flooding, the floors will not deteriorate.
- Cork is resistant to temperature extremes. Also, this material does not fade under the sun. This property distinguishes a cork floor from a laminate very favorably. Cork is suitable for laying on balconies and terraces.
- Strength and durability are the next advantages of cork flooring.
What are the downsides?
But this excellent material for finishing floors in many rooms has its significant disadvantages. Therefore, you should definitely find out about them before choosing a cork for your home. Firstly, it must be said that even if the cork is not afraid of water, this does not mean that it has absolute resistance to moisture. In other words, if the flooding is very strong and prolonged, the cork floor may not be able to withstand. Although if there is a little water, nothing will happen to the cork.
You will definitely have to lay interior thresholds if the cork floor is installed in a floating way. You will have to make gaps around the perimeter.Otherwise, the coating may simply rise, or gaps will appear. This feature of the installation of the cork must be taken into account. The most common mistake when laying cork is the installation of built-in wardrobes on such a floor. This is guaranteed to crack the floor.
Laying an adhesive floor is somewhat more expensive and requires professional installation. In addition, the surface under the adhesive floor should be prepared in a special way. You can not immediately start using the coating as soon as it is laid - at least a day the varnish must dry out. In strong sunlight, the cork decor can fade, which is also a minus. If the cork is glued to the screed, it will be difficult to tear it off.
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