Remodeling Your Kitchen or Bathroom? 10 Reasons to Consider Cork or Bamboo Floors

Remodeling a kitchen or bathroom is a huge undertaking, and among the many decisions you’ll have to make during the process, one of the most important considerations is what type of flooring you should use. While wood, laminate, and vinyl are perennial favorites, you might want to consider opting for cork or bamboo flooring for your kitchen or bathroom remodel. Read on to find out why.

Reasons to Consider Cork Flooring

• Cork is highly water-resistant, making it a perfect flooring choice for areas such as kitchens and bathrooms. Although cork is not waterproof, it has a much higher tolerance for spills than traditional hardwood flooring.
• Cork is wonderfully soft underfoot, making it a comfortable surface to walk upon. Because of the thousands of tiny air pockets within the cork, it offers a nice level of “give” when compressed, but not too much to where it feels spongy or loose. This makes it a great flooring choice for kitchens, where it’s not uncommon to be on your feet for long periods of time.
• Cork is a very safe flooring material to work with. It takes extremely high temperatures for cork to ignite or melt, and even after combustion, cork releases very little smoke or toxic materials in comparison to vinyl flooring.
• Keep in mind that cork is made from the bark of trees, which means that it is naturally resistant to mildew, mold, and termites. In addition, tree bark has powerful antimicrobial properties, which are largely retained even after it has been processed into cork flooring. This makes cork an ideal surface for areas such as kitchens and bathrooms, where germs tend to hang around.
• Cork is a natural, sustainable building material that is harvested by stripping the bark from cork trees. This means that the tree itself does not have to be cut down in order to harvest the material needed to make cork flooring. Once the bark has been stripped, it grows back after about eight to twelve years, and this cycle can be repeated throughout the tree’s lifespan (typically between 150-200 years). This environmentally friendly harvesting practice makes cork an excellent flooring choice for the eco-minded homeowner.

Reasons to Consider Bamboo Flooring

• Like cork, bamboo flooring is also highly water-resistant, making it far less susceptible to warping and water damage than traditional hardwood flooring.
• Bamboo flooring is exceptionally durable, and this makes it a fantastic choice for areas that typically experience above-average wear and tear, such as kitchens and bathrooms.
• The physical composition of bamboo is very interesting, because it is technically a grass, yet it “acts” like wood. And it’s remarkably hard as well – in fact, some species of bamboo are actually much harder than hardwoods such as maple and oak! This makes it a unique flooring choice because while it does offer the toughness and resilience of hardwood, it still has a level of “give” to it that enables it to absorb impact more efficiently than traditional wood flooring.
• Bamboo flooring is highly versatile, as it comes in many different colors and styles to suit practically any type of kitchen or bathroom decor.
• Bamboo is also an environmentally sustainable flooring material. It grows extremely fast, and like cork, it can be harvested without having to destroy the plant.

As you can see, there are several key reasons why cork or bamboo would make a great flooring choice for your kitchen or bathroom remodeling project. With so many different types and styles of cork and bamboo to choose from, it can be easy to feel a little overwhelmed.

The flooring experts McSwain Carpets & Floors can help you narrow down your options so that you can feel confident in your decision. From carpet in Dayton to hardwood flooring in Cincinnati, our team has decades of experience in all facets of flooring installation, and we would be more than happy to help you navigate the many details involved in making a quality flooring choice. Call or visit one of our locations today to see how we can help you get your kitchen or bathroom remodeling project started off on the right foot.