Cork: the other great wood...

Let's face it... bamboo is every where! I think companies are making everything out of bamboo these days just to say they're being "green". Bamboo is a great wood and I highly recommend it, but sometimes it's nice to venture out of the old comfort zone. Why not cork? No, we're not talking about recycling wine corks, we're talking about a highly renewable wood that is fabricated utilizing the bark of the Cork Oak tree. A Cork tree doesn't even have to be cut down to get the wood, the wood is derived from a bark peeling process that allows for the tree to eventually regenerate just like shearing a sheep for it's wool. Check out this video clip:



I'm a big fan of cork! It's a very versatile wood that can be used for flooring, paneling, furniture, underlayment, acoustics, and too many other products I don't have space to list. Cork is a very resilient wood that makes great flooring for it's ability to bounce back to form and it's noise dampening properties. I am personally a huge fan of cork's natural hypoallergenic make up and decided to install a floating cork floor in my guest bathroom:



With today's market cork is available in a wide range of patterns and tones, tiles and planks, and forms and thicknesses. Although cork and bamboo are not completely interchangeable; they should both be considered when looking for "green" flooring or wall paneling choices.
When purchasing cork it is imperative that you do your due diligence and make sure that the cork has not been treated with any VOC compounds... some lower grade, inexpensive cork has been treated therefore cancelling out cork's environmental and sustainable qualities. Below is a list of local Sacramento Valley businesses who sell cork products, make sure you check them out:
Green Sacramento, Sacramento- 916.448.8109,
http://www.greensacramento.com/floors_cork.html
Lumber Liquidators, Sacramento- 916.369.7300,
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/thumbnail.jsp?categoryId=448&sectionId=2&sort=TA&subCategoryId=0&ref=By%20Category;274500007
Simple Floors, Sacramento- 916.363.6211,
http://www.simplefloors.com/products/Cork-Flooring/category6.aspx
Carpeteria, multiple locations,
http://www.carpeteria.com/Sacramento/contentpage.aspx?Id=3084
There are many more to choose from, but I'm not going to list them all. It's very easy to find cork flooring, but harder to locate cork sheets.