How Durable is Cork Flooring Material in the Bathroom?
When it comes to replacing your bathroom floor, you may want to think about putting in a cork floor. Cork flooring is about as green as you can go. It is made of tree-like tropical grasses which replenish themselves within just a few years’ time. It is also a great flooring material as it is soft and warm to walk on with bare feet and because it is intensely immune to the dampness that is an inherent part of any bathroom environment. This kind of flooring repels moisture and keeps mold, mildew, and bacteria at bay, and cleaning cork floors is fast and easy. All-in-all, cork is a good choice for your bathroom floor.
Remember that with cork, just like with any other sort of wood flooring material, your floor will be subject to contraction and expansion based on climate factors. It wi expand in the hotter summer months and contract during heating season. It does tend to be a steadier product than other hardwoods, though. While most wood only contracts and expands across the grain, cork expands in all directions. If your floor is laid correctly, it will be able to go with the flow of climate changes without an obvious difference in the way it is.
Floating cork floors aren’t recommended for bathroom use. Floating means that instead of being nailed to the sub-floor, the boards are fixed to one another, and while this method of cork flooring installation can give your floors a great look in other areas of the house, the moisture and possible spillage in the bathroom makes it a poor choice. Cork floors are easy for you to lay without professional help. After you have installed the flooring, ensure you caulk around all of the outside edges. You do not want to leave any openings where water can creep under your floor and cause damage to sub-floors or walls. Though the cork itself is immune to moisture, these other materials are not.
Some experts will suggest that you not use any kind of wooden flooring product in a bathroom because of possible water damage. Other people report they have had cork floors in their necessary rooms for a number of years with a great deal ofsuccess. Exotic flooring materials, for example cork and bamboo, have become very hip with owners because of the fact that they are environmentally-friendly, look good, and can be less costly than other types of flooring. The choice is up to you.
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