Cork is a unique material created by nature, which has no artificial analogues. In fact, it is the bark of cork oak, whose homeland is the Western Mediterranean. The first to use cork in everyday life were the Greeks. They used it to make bottle corks and roofing. In the present time, it has found application in the role of cork coatings on walls and floors.
Most of the world's cork stock is in Portugal. It was there that the first unique bark processing enterprise was opened.The production of cork products has already been established by other countries, but Portugal still has not lost its leadership in this industry. There is no need to cut trees to harvest raw materials - they simply remove the bark from them. Trees no younger than 20-25 years old are suitable for collecting bark. You can remove the bark no more than once every 10 years. For the average period of oak life of 160 years, you can make up to 15 fees.
Cork Properties
Cork material is heterogeneous and has a porous structure. A large number of uneven-sized cells are filled with air. This feature defines many of the properties of cork. Consider the most useful:
Shock absorbing properties. They can occur under conditions of short exposure, for example, when walking on the floor, or with prolonged pressure on it (from furniture on legs). In both cases, when the source of influence moves to another place, the surface takes on its original shape, without leaving any bumps or dents. It is believed that walking on such a coating has a beneficial effect on the spine and joints of the legs. The rate of permanent deformation of a quality material does not exceed 2%.
Water resistant. The material will not lose its properties and presentation even when exposed to a significant amount of liquid;
Cork has exceptional soundproofing properties. The sounds of steps will be less audible in the room, and the neighbors below will probably cease to hear you at all;
Due to the presence of a large amount of air in the pores of the material, the cork exhibits good thermal insulation properties. Such floors will be very relevant on the lower floors of houses, in private cottages of areas with a cold climate. With cork floors, you do not need to install a warm floor or carpet flooring;
Resistance to household chemicals. The cork is inert to most cleaning care products. Bactericidal and antistatic properties, durability, environmental cleanliness, aesthetically attractive appearance can also be added to this list.
Varieties of cork coverings
Coatings can be divided into two main types: floor and designed for walls. The first, in turn, are divided into:
adhesive - are attached to the base with glue over the entire coverage area;
"Floating" - are issued in the form of panels with castle grooves for connection among themselves.
The advantage of "floating" floors is the ability to reuse elsewhere. The room can be used immediately after installation. “Floating” coatings are also distinguished from adhesive by an unequal layered structure. If the first two-layer: the upper protective and the main of the cork, then the second include as many as four layers:
decorative veneer covered with a protective film or a layer of varnish;
a layer of agglomerated cork, performing a "bearing" function;
the main "carrier" plate of HDF or MDF;
glued from below the main plate, pressed cork substrate.
The second type includes the following materials:
Tile
For its manufacture using a granular cork. During the production process, the desired shape and texture are created by pressing, coated with wax to increase strength and wear resistance.
Panels
The basis of the product is pressed cork chips, which are processed on top with the same veneer.
Wallpaper
They are made of a cut of cork (veneer) glued to the base of non-woven or paper.
Important: tile is the best and most durable of cork coatings. She has the highest rates of moisture resistance, sound and heat insulation.
Cork Wallpaper
The simplest material to process. Wallpaper is easily cut, glued to the wall like ordinary wallpaper. The only thing required is to pick up reinforced glue, since such wallpaper is heavier than non-woven.Cork wallpapers have antistatic and antibacterial properties, are elastic, do not collect dust, and are durable. Their service life is approximately 15-20 years. The market offers a diverse range of colors and shades. There are options with drawings and even murals. Therefore, cork wallpaper will look harmonious in any interior. The disadvantages of such wallpapers can be considered low heat and sound insulation, high price.
A kind of cork wallpaper is a roll cork coating. Its difference from wallpaper in the absence of a non-woven or paper base.
Cork wall coverings
As already mentioned above, cork coverings for wall decoration are produced in the form of tiles and panels.
Cork boards come in one and two layers. In a two-layer version, a natural adhesive is applied to the base layer, coating after a layer of agglomerated or natural cork veneer. The front side is often painted in different color shades. After painting, the plates are covered with decorative wax to protect the paint and glue from moisture. Plates are available in standard sizes 300x300, 300x600. The service life of cork tiles, depending on the quality of production and operating conditions, is from 10 to 30 years.
Cork on the floor
Due to the high demand for cork floors, manufacturers expand the selection of goods every year, adding to the assortment collections with new textures, types of protective finishes, types of joints between the plates. The color solutions of the front surface of the coating are very diverse, also including various patterns. Tiles of the same design, but of different colors and designs, can be combined to get a huge number of color options.
The practicality of cork floors is evidenced by their widespread use. Such coverage can be found not only in apartments or offices, but also in crowded public places (hypermarkets, cinemas, etc.).In the home environment, such coverage is simply universal: they are covered with floors in the hallway, corridor, bathroom, living room, bedroom, nursery, and kitchen.
Important: it is categorically undesirable to lay "floating" floors in rooms with high humidity (bath, sauna). Adhesive floors are more suitable here.
How to glue cork wallpaper
The technology for gluing wallpaper from cork is very similar to gluing walls with ordinary wallpaper, with the exception of some nuances. The surface of the walls should be smooth, otherwise all the bumps will be clearly visible on the surface of the wallpaper. Therefore, before gluing, you need to level the walls with putty and finish plaster. Before starting work, it is better to expand the roll of wallpaper and let it straighten up, since such wallpapers are subject to deformation, but after a while they return to their original form. It is better to choose a special glue, but you can glue it on acrylic, strongly pressing the wallpaper against the wall.
It is very important not to bend the wallpaper too much, not to glue overlapping each other. Cut them better with scissors for vinyl tiles. Before proceeding to the sticker of the first strip, you need to make markings on the wall. Draw a vertical line in the middle of the wall and paste the wallpaper on both sides of it. Apply glue to the wall with a spatula, distribute the stickers of the next strip over the area with a comb. Press the wallpaper against the wall and the junction of the adjacent strip. Make sure that glue does not come out of the joints on the cork. If this happened, do not rush to wipe it from the surface of the wallpaper. Wait for it to dry, then gently pry it and tear it off.
We use in the interior
Cork in the interior of a modern apartment is no longer considered something exotic. This material decorates walls, floors, ceilings of private houses and apartments, as well as furniture elements.
The existing range of coatings available for sale is perfect for decorating rooms in styles: ethnic (African), classic, country, loft.
The fashion for plain wall decoration has long gone, now the trend is the technique of "diluting" cork arrays with sections of other materials. The main condition for such a design decision is that the material elements must be the same in thickness. If this is not possible, then the use of decorative moldings at the joints of materials is allowed.
Materials should harmonize in color. For example, inserts of decorative elements from cork should be in tone with the color scheme of the room. Conversely, the color of the interior should match the brown tint of the cork. Light gray, pale green, pink tones are perfectly combined with a bright brown cork.
The design of the room in a classic style implies a symmetrical decor. The shape and color of the panels should be repeated throughout the room. The same applies to other decorative elements from cork (patterns, frames, etc.). The avant-garde style, on the contrary, involves the inclusion of asymmetric elements in the interior. For the ethno style, it will be appropriate to alternate cork and white, plastered areas, or covered with a mat or veneer.
Conclusion
Products for decorating the interior of cork have established themselves among the owners of houses and apartments as high-quality, safe for health and durable. Despite the high cost, which is justified, their popularity is growing from year to year. An increasing number of people who decide to change the interior style in the house, prefer cork.
Cork is a unique material created by nature, which has no artificial analogues. In fact, it is the bark of cork oak, whose homeland is the Western Mediterranean. The first to use cork in everyday life were the Greeks. They used it to make bottle corks and roofing. In the present time, it has found application in the role of cork coatings on walls and floors.
Content
How to get cork
Most of the world's cork stock is in Portugal. It was there that the first unique bark processing enterprise was opened.The production of cork products has already been established by other countries, but Portugal still has not lost its leadership in this industry. There is no need to cut trees to harvest raw materials - they simply remove the bark from them. Trees no younger than 20-25 years old are suitable for collecting bark. You can remove the bark no more than once every 10 years. For the average period of oak life of 160 years, you can make up to 15 fees.
Cork Properties
Cork material is heterogeneous and has a porous structure. A large number of uneven-sized cells are filled with air. This feature defines many of the properties of cork. Consider the most useful:
Bactericidal and antistatic properties, durability, environmental cleanliness, aesthetically attractive appearance can also be added to this list.
Varieties of cork coverings
Coatings can be divided into two main types: floor and designed for walls.
The first, in turn, are divided into:
The advantage of "floating" floors is the ability to reuse elsewhere. The room can be used immediately after installation. “Floating” coatings are also distinguished from adhesive by an unequal layered structure. If the first two-layer: the upper protective and the main of the cork, then the second include as many as four layers:
The second type includes the following materials:
Cork Wallpaper
The simplest material to process. Wallpaper is easily cut, glued to the wall like ordinary wallpaper. The only thing required is to pick up reinforced glue, since such wallpaper is heavier than non-woven.Cork wallpapers have antistatic and antibacterial properties, are elastic, do not collect dust, and are durable. Their service life is approximately 15-20 years. The market offers a diverse range of colors and shades. There are options with drawings and even murals. Therefore, cork wallpaper will look harmonious in any interior. The disadvantages of such wallpapers can be considered low heat and sound insulation, high price.
A kind of cork wallpaper is a roll cork coating. Its difference from wallpaper in the absence of a non-woven or paper base.
Cork wall coverings
As already mentioned above, cork coverings for wall decoration are produced in the form of tiles and panels.
Cork boards come in one and two layers. In a two-layer version, a natural adhesive is applied to the base layer, coating after a layer of agglomerated or natural cork veneer. The front side is often painted in different color shades. After painting, the plates are covered with decorative wax to protect the paint and glue from moisture. Plates are available in standard sizes 300x300, 300x600. The service life of cork tiles, depending on the quality of production and operating conditions, is from 10 to 30 years.
Cork on the floor
Due to the high demand for cork floors, manufacturers expand the selection of goods every year, adding to the assortment collections with new textures, types of protective finishes, types of joints between the plates. The color solutions of the front surface of the coating are very diverse, also including various patterns. Tiles of the same design, but of different colors and designs, can be combined to get a huge number of color options.
The practicality of cork floors is evidenced by their widespread use. Such coverage can be found not only in apartments or offices, but also in crowded public places (hypermarkets, cinemas, etc.).In the home environment, such coverage is simply universal: they are covered with floors in the hallway, corridor, bathroom, living room, bedroom, nursery, and kitchen.
How to glue cork wallpaper
The technology for gluing wallpaper from cork is very similar to gluing walls with ordinary wallpaper, with the exception of some nuances. The surface of the walls should be smooth, otherwise all the bumps will be clearly visible on the surface of the wallpaper. Therefore, before gluing, you need to level the walls with putty and finish plaster. Before starting work, it is better to expand the roll of wallpaper and let it straighten up, since such wallpapers are subject to deformation, but after a while they return to their original form. It is better to choose a special glue, but you can glue it on acrylic, strongly pressing the wallpaper against the wall.
It is very important not to bend the wallpaper too much, not to glue overlapping each other. Cut them better with scissors for vinyl tiles. Before proceeding to the sticker of the first strip, you need to make markings on the wall. Draw a vertical line in the middle of the wall and paste the wallpaper on both sides of it. Apply glue to the wall with a spatula, distribute the stickers of the next strip over the area with a comb. Press the wallpaper against the wall and the junction of the adjacent strip. Make sure that glue does not come out of the joints on the cork. If this happened, do not rush to wipe it from the surface of the wallpaper. Wait for it to dry, then gently pry it and tear it off.
We use in the interior
Cork in the interior of a modern apartment is no longer considered something exotic. This material decorates walls, floors, ceilings of private houses and apartments, as well as furniture elements.
The existing range of coatings available for sale is perfect for decorating rooms in styles: ethnic (African), classic, country, loft.
The fashion for plain wall decoration has long gone, now the trend is the technique of "diluting" cork arrays with sections of other materials. The main condition for such a design decision is that the material elements must be the same in thickness. If this is not possible, then the use of decorative moldings at the joints of materials is allowed.
Materials should harmonize in color. For example, inserts of decorative elements from cork should be in tone with the color scheme of the room. Conversely, the color of the interior should match the brown tint of the cork. Light gray, pale green, pink tones are perfectly combined with a bright brown cork.
The design of the room in a classic style implies a symmetrical decor. The shape and color of the panels should be repeated throughout the room. The same applies to other decorative elements from cork (patterns, frames, etc.). The avant-garde style, on the contrary, involves the inclusion of asymmetric elements in the interior. For the ethno style, it will be appropriate to alternate cork and white, plastered areas, or covered with a mat or veneer.
Conclusion
Products for decorating the interior of cork have established themselves among the owners of houses and apartments as high-quality, safe for health and durable. Despite the high cost, which is justified, their popularity is growing from year to year. An increasing number of people who decide to change the interior style in the house, prefer cork.