WE THINK of cork in t+0 ways:
popping out of champagne bottles
and for pushing thumbtacks into.
‘But on floors? Yes.

By Ron Gasbarro
Contributing Writer

One couple who recently reno-
vated their early 1800 colonial
home chose, after much debate,
cork tiles for their floors.

They had considered ceramic
tiles but felt they were too cold
and hard for their children to play
on. Hardwood floors we:e warmer
but could be gouged and marred.
And vinyl was not their style,
esthetically.

“We opted for natural brown
cork tiles. sealed with
polyurethane,” says Randy Lee
Hilburn, who with his wife, San-
dy, agreed the cork was comfort-
able underfoot and under the
children.

It is also water-resi.tant and
has an appealing neutral color
that goes well with their oak
butcher block counter tops.

If you need to be convinced
that cork is water-resistant,
remember that duck decoys are
often made of cork because it is
easy to carve and it floats. Cork is
also widely used as the underlayer
for hardwood floors. :

Cork is not a wood, exactly.
The material’ is actully a bark
from an evergreen oak tree that
grows in the Mediterranean
tegion.

Cork tiles come in a variety of
patterns including parquet and
striated styles. The decorative uses
for cork in the home have been
traditionally limited to wallcover-
ings.

But more and more cork is be-
ing seen on floors and, surprising-
ly, on ceilings.

Because cork lends an air of in-
formality to a room, it is perhaps
more appropriate in a family
room, a child’s room or a

. playroom.

In the home office or den,
cork-lined walls can provide a
high degree of soundproofing (and
you can use the walls as vast
bulletin boards!)
If you install cork tiles yourself,
you have to take certain precau-
tions because of the nature of the
material.. First, the tiles need to be

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acclimated to the room in which
they will be installed.

Cork expands with moisture
and contracts with dryness.

If the tiles you have purchased
came from a damp warehouse,
they need to dry out a bit before

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SUNBRITE HO-WAX “ZiP-STICK”
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adhesives that are especially

Friday, September 25, 1992 — North Shore News — 34

Cork is a natural, durable answer for flooring

designed for cork.
Cork, imported and often hard
to locate, is not cheap. :
Quality cork is not the burni-
smelling, flaking material you find
at the five-and-dime. Cork is a
durable, pliable, flexible, com-

fortable covering for most sur-
faces of your house.

After you -install it in your
home, you may want to pop a
cork or two to celebrate.

Distributed by the Los Angeles
Times Syndicate.

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