Cork Flooring Kitchen? You Instantly Add Warmth and SoftnessCork flooring kitchens...Cork is very likely the most environmentally friendly material you know. It is a renewable resource. Bark is stripped from the trees every 10 years, approximately. With the life span of a tree being 150-200 years, a great deal of bark can be harvested! The bark is first harvested after 9 years and is carefully removed by hand from the tree in strips. Normally, pesticides or chemicals are not used in these plantations. The health of the tree is paramount, and some countries legislate against the removal or destruction of these trees.  The FlooringMost of these oaks grow in the Mediterranean, but small plantations are found in Australia and South America. Documented in 3000BC as floats used by Chinese fishermen, manufacturing and products have changed, but the raw material and harvesting practices have remainded virtually unchanged. During the 19 century, this material became very popular and was widely used as a resilient floor covering in government buildings. It has arisen again as one of the best flooring materials as a result of our environmental awareness and changes in the product. Widely used for its floating and insulation properties, this material has always been held in high regard. To produce flooring, virgin bark and waste is recycled and ground into small granules. These are baked at different temperatures which gives the material its varying colors, cut into slabs, and sanded and finished with natural wax or polyurethane.  The Advantages: The Disadvantages of Cork:
As our interest for finding sustainable materials to use in house construction, and in environmentally responsible harvesting and manufacturing processes increases, this material will become more and more a logical and integral part of the high-end range of kitchen flooring. Cork is beautiful and durable... what more could you ask for in flooring?
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