Cork flooring is the embodiment of warmth and comfort, and those who understand this are happy to use this kind of material in the house. If you compare this flooring with linoleum or laminate, the advantages become obvious, since cork is akin to wood, and therefore is characterized by naturalness and environmental friendliness.
This material is flexible and lightweight due to its porous structure.
Although there are conflicting reviews on the adhesive cork field on the network, still such a surface deserves attention, so we will talk about the features and distinctive features of the coating.
What is a cork floor and how is it made
This is a natural coating. A cork tree product obtained by systematically shedding bark by a tree when it reaches 30 years of age and with a frequency of 9-12 years, which is absolutely harmless to it and is a natural process.
The resulting bark is ground and thermally processed by heating in a special oven. After that, they are pressed under high pressure, which allows you to turn the material into suberin - a kind of mixture of cork and oxygen molecules. This is the basis for the production of adhesive cork flooring. On top of such a substrate, the manufacturer lays a layer of resins and wood dust, and on top again suberin. This gives the material particular strength. At the same time, the front layer is decorated with natural veneer, cork, vinyl, which looks attractive and impressive, as buyers say on the network.
Reviews: why studying them is so important
The characteristics of the material directly determine the properties of the cork floor and its quality. Some of the buyers respond to such coverage extremely negatively, noting the poor quality of the products. But only some of them understand that the matter is not in the finishing material itself, but in the dishonesty of the manufacturer who violated the production technology. Therefore, before buying a cork for finishing the floor in the house, study the reviews, read the recommendations, and only then, having justified your choice, make a purchase. Perhaps reviews from the Internet will help to make a key decision in choosing, preferring the high-quality version of the adhesive cork floor and bypassing the low-grade product.
Advantages of cork flooring
The advantages of this kind of surface are:
- slow absorption of heat, which makes it really warm;
- good soundproof parameters;
- resistance to deformation;
- environmental friendliness;
- slip resistance;
- hygiene;
- simplicity in leaving;
- hypoallergenicity;
- orthopedic effects on the feet;
- durability and wear resistance.
Among the disadvantages of this kind of coating, possible shrinkage of the material is noted, but this phenomenon often occurs due to improperly selected component composition of the adhesive, which negatively affects the structure of the cork material.
Features of cork flooring
Before proceeding directly to the installation, it is worth choosing a special adhesive composition, although in some cases it is allowed to use the usual waterproof PVA glue.
Laying the adhesive cork floor begins with the center of the room. To determine the "reference point", they resort to such a trick: the diagonally located corners of the room are connected with a tightened cord, resulting in the desired position - the intersection of the laces.
After that, craftsmen recommend doing the following: through a certain “center” of the room, draw two perpendicular lines (strictly in relation to the walls) that specify the laying direction. Then they begin to lay the cork coating on the glue, having previously cut the material.
As buyers note, the advantages and some of the disadvantages of cork coverage are relative: some more pay attention to positive qualities, others focus on negative features.
Although experts recommend choosing a finishing material to be guided by a purely personal opinion, not relying on someone else's recommendations, but only taking into account some information read on the Internet.
Remember that the cork floor on an adhesive basis has its pros and cons, but for each of the buyers they have an individual character.