Why Cork Floors are the Ideal Flooring

Perfect in the kid's bedrooms, the family room, music and rec rooms, cork floors are quiet, cozy and hypo-allergenic.

Popular in Europe and used may years ago in public schools, cork flooring is durable, easy to care for and very comfortable underfoot. Cork has become one of the most beautiful and sensuous flooring materials on the market.

Cork floors have been used in commercial and public areas for decades because they reduce noise, insulate against both heat and cold, and are non allergenic. With qualifications that good, it makes sense to bring cork flooring into the home.

Cork floors are perfect for the kitchen, where unlike ceramic tile, it is comfortable to stand on for hours. Cork is more forgiving than ceramic, will not dent easily and, with proper surfacing, it resists scratches.

The patterns and richly textured surfaces of cork floors also help to disguise dust and dirt. Today's cork flooring works with any décor. Dark natural tones enhance more formal settings, such as dining and living rooms. Lighter shades are great for the more casual look of a family room or play area.

The grain less patterning of cork makes it ideal where space is a challenge. Cork tiles installed in two contrasting colors or tones, checker-board style, create a dramatic effect in an entrance way or kitchen.

Cork flooring is an earth friendly choice for those concerned with the environment. Cork is harvested from the bark of the Cork Oak tree, which is grown primarily in Portugal. The bark is harvested every nine years from mature trees, and they can live for up to 200 years.

There's a wide selection of unfinished or prefinished Cork floors available that can be nailed or glued down. One of Canada's most innovative flooring companies, TORLYS of Mississauga (www.torlys.com), won rave flooring industry reviews when it took Cork floors to a new level and introduced Uniclic® Cork. These prefinished cork planks and tiles simply click together over existing floors using a patented joint system called Uniclic. These joints are ultra-tight, and the floor looks great when it's down.

Check out cork flooring— it's like walking on air!