Cork Flooring Pros and Cons
You might have heard about the unique flooring material known as cork and some of the fantastic benefits of outfitting a room or two in your house: now it’s time to run down a few of the cork flooring pros and cons. Even though it’s just beginning to reach its heights of popularity today, cork floors have been used as early as the nineteenth century! After learning a little bit more about it, you’ll quickly determine if it’s the way for you to go.
Benefits of Cork Flooring
- This material provides excellent standing support. You can work on your feet comfortably for hours on end, and this flooring option is ideal for a kitchen. There’s no material out there more pleasant to settle on, especially if you’ve got back or joint problems. If you find yourself in the kitchen most of the day cooking or cleaning, you’ll be glad you’ve got the cork. It also works well for a children’s play area and will keep accidents or “ouchies” to a minimum.
- Cork floors absorb shock and sound like no other. If clumsiness is a thing in your life and you find yourself dropping glasses or expensive dining ware all too often, the cork is very forgiving and will ensure that you have less broken dishes more frequently.
Cork flooring is durable. If you have kids its warmer and softer for them to play on.
- Cork flooring durability is unmatched. It withstands heavy usage and foot traffic by both people and pets. It’s deficient maintenance and easy to clean.
- It’s produced with sustainability in mind. Cork flooring comes from the Cork Oak tree, and since the raw material comes from the trees’ bark, the trees can still thrive and survive. You can even find the exact color or style you want to bring your design together cohesively.
- Cork floors are naturally hypoallergenic and antimicrobial. You never have to worry about disease-ridden organisms holding on to your levels, and mold and mildew are no more!
- It stores warmth within its cells. You never have to worry about a cold floor freezing your feet once you step on it with no shoes.
- You’ll increase the value of your home with the addition of cork flooring. As long as they’re well cared for, they’ll be an excellent investment.
- It’s a waterproof material as long as it’s sealed properly. Even still, you’ll want to make sure you clean up spills as soon as possible.

One of the benefits of cork flooring is that it is warm and comfortable to walk on – even with bare feet!
Although it’s very close to a perfect floor, there are a few drawbacks to consider before committing to cork.
Disadvantages of Cork Flooring
- Cork flooring is far from a do-it-yourself job in most cases. To ensure that you’ve got the best floor possible, you’ll have to hire professional installers. You’ll want to make sure they’ve worked with cork before: it can be a very tricky job to handle.
- It’s far from cheap. Not only is the material itself a couple of pretty pennies, but it has to be correctly and permanently sealed to prevent issues with swelling. However, if you do this, it should last for many years.
- Dropping sharp objects may carve out bits of your floor. Animals with sharp nails might also leave scratches behind.
- You can’t leave heavy furniture or appliances around for long. They may cause indents that you won’t ever be able to get out.
- Cork is very sensitive to light. Over time, you may notice fading if you’ve got lots of natural sun rays coming into your space.
- You’ll have to coat your cork floors every few years. You want them to stay at their best for as long as possible, so as the protective coats fade out, you’ll have to keep up with it.

Cork floors are durable – even in high traffic areas.
All in all, cork is an excellent material to go for during your renovation. Cork flooring durability and comfort is enough of a reason to take a plunge with it. Prices range from two dollars to twenty-two dollars afoot, and even though it’s a costly material to use, it can undoubtedly be managed even on a tight budget. If you’re looking for practicality and value from flooring for your next home remodel job, cork may turn out to be the winner. Hopefully, this compilation of cork flooring pros and cons has made it much easier to make!