The History of Cork Flooring
Often, the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “cork” is a fine bottle of wine – followed quickly by an image of that bottle being “uncorked”. But before it was a stopper, and well before it entered the realm of flooring, it thrived in the forests of Europe and Africa.
Cork is the outer bark of an evergreen oak found in southwest Europe (primarily in Spain and Portugal) and in northwest Africa where soil, temperature, rainfall and wind conditions are ideal for its growth. For millions of years, the cork oak has survived on its inherent strength and spontaneous natural regeneration.
The bark from this tree has been used since ancient times in a variety of ways such as cork stoppers, buoys, and sandals. It has been found in archaeological sites dating as far back as ancient Egypt. Ancient Greeks and Romans utilized cork in many ways, including construction, insulation and nautical uses. As well, early Portuguese and Spanish explorers used cork as an integral material in construction of their ships and other seagoing equipment because of its insulation and floatation properties.
It was the ancient Greeks who first discovered that stripping the bark from the tree produced a new, higher quality cork. Harvesting cork bark has not changed from these early times. Most countries, by law, can only strip bark when the tree is dormant, in the winter months. The tree regenerates this outer layer 12 or 13 times during their 150 – 250 year lifetime. The harvested cork bark is then removed from the forests and left out in the open air for six months. The weather process improves the cork’s quality.
The first use of harvested cork bark was for cork stoppers to meet the huge demands of the world’s wine and champagne industries. The remaining cork was ground up in a process developed in the late 19th century called agglomeration. This process greatly expanded
the applications of cork.
The increased demands for this renewable resource led to vast forests of cork oak trees dedicated to providing cork bark. To this day, forests are still carefully cultivated and managed, with European forests accounting for two-thirds of cork production and North Africa the remaining third.
Today, cork is still found in applications as diverse as building materials to toys, bulletin boards to wallpaper, decorations to insulation….and of course…wine corks. Because of its resilience, cork is also used as a floor covering material in tile and plank form, as a flooring underlayment, and as joint filler. No other material recovers from compression or puncture the way cork does.
Cork flooring has been in existence for over a century. In Canada, for example, the old Toronto Stock Exchange building had cork floors. They helped ease the joints of traders who were on their feet all day and provided a quieter atmosphere than a tile surface. In the 1950’s, cork was frequently installed in restaurants, gymnasiums, etc…anywhere people had to spend a lot of time standing.
It hasn’t been a completely smooth ride for cork flooring. But, over the past decade, floating floor technology has successfully adapted to cork flooring to produce a newer variety. This, along with the ever-growing interest in “green” and “natural” products, comfort, affordability and the desire for a distinct look, has once again made cork a very attractive flooring option.
Cork is the outer bark of an evergreen oak found in southwest Europe (primarily in Spain and Portugal) and in northwest Africa where soil, temperature, rainfall and wind conditions are ideal for its growth. For millions of years, the cork oak has survived on its inherent strength and spontaneous natural regeneration.
The bark from this tree has been used since ancient times in a variety of ways such as cork stoppers, buoys, and sandals. It has been found in archaeological sites dating as far back as ancient Egypt. Ancient Greeks and Romans utilized cork in many ways, including construction, insulation and nautical uses. As well, early Portuguese and Spanish explorers used cork as an integral material in construction of their ships and other seagoing equipment because of its insulation and floatation properties.
It was the ancient Greeks who first discovered that stripping the bark from the tree produced a new, higher quality cork. Harvesting cork bark has not changed from these early times. Most countries, by law, can only strip bark when the tree is dormant, in the winter months. The tree regenerates this outer layer 12 or 13 times during their 150 – 250 year lifetime. The harvested cork bark is then removed from the forests and left out in the open air for six months. The weather process improves the cork’s quality.
The first use of harvested cork bark was for cork stoppers to meet the huge demands of the world’s wine and champagne industries. The remaining cork was ground up in a process developed in the late 19th century called agglomeration. This process greatly expanded
the applications of cork.
The increased demands for this renewable resource led to vast forests of cork oak trees dedicated to providing cork bark. To this day, forests are still carefully cultivated and managed, with European forests accounting for two-thirds of cork production and North Africa the remaining third.
Today, cork is still found in applications as diverse as building materials to toys, bulletin boards to wallpaper, decorations to insulation….and of course…wine corks. Because of its resilience, cork is also used as a floor covering material in tile and plank form, as a flooring underlayment, and as joint filler. No other material recovers from compression or puncture the way cork does.
Cork flooring has been in existence for over a century. In Canada, for example, the old Toronto Stock Exchange building had cork floors. They helped ease the joints of traders who were on their feet all day and provided a quieter atmosphere than a tile surface. In the 1950’s, cork was frequently installed in restaurants, gymnasiums, etc…anywhere people had to spend a lot of time standing.
It hasn’t been a completely smooth ride for cork flooring. But, over the past decade, floating floor technology has successfully adapted to cork flooring to produce a newer variety. This, along with the ever-growing interest in “green” and “natural” products, comfort, affordability and the desire for a distinct look, has once again made cork a very attractive flooring option.