Cork, cork panels and their advantages
Cork is the outer bark of the cork oak, which in our culture is associated with something light, useless and even stupid. Moreover, the phrase "head of a cork oak" is used to refer to someone not very intelligent, and many see cork as something too rustic to be technically useful. Well, we're going to break a lance (or several) in favor of cork as a really smart material, especially when it comes to cork boards
Of course, cork is an ecologically renewable resource, which also makes it possible to produce cork panels that are bonded to the cork resin itself through a firing process, which will take place at a higher or lower temperature depending on the type of panel.
Cork panels are rigid, so their arrangement is simple and practical, thus minimizing the possibility of errors in their arrangement and possible thermal bridges for this reason.
cork boards, sheets, blocks, granules, sanded ... Among these forms, the most interesting in terms of thermal insulation are "black" cork boards and "white" cork boards, the difference of which is that in in the first case, the cork is glued with its own resin, and in the second, the recycled cork is glued with food-grade polyurethane glue. The white cork panel is better from an ecological point of view because it is recycled and because much lower temperatures are used to produce it.
Cork is the outer bark of the cork oak. As with all trees, the bark grows as the tree grows, with each year marked by a growth line or ring.
CORK EXTRACTION
The first step is to remove or extract the cork. It is not necessary to fell the tree for this, but it is important that the process is carried out by specialized people to avoid damage to the cork oak. Uncorking is not done every year, but every 9 or even every 15 years, depending on the region where the cork oak is located. After this time, the cork oak completely regenerates its bark and is of better quality each time. The mining season is always from May to September.
The next step is to collect and stack the skins for six months so that they lose their moisture. Then they are boiled in water for an hour. In this way, the cork is cleaned by removing impurities, its density decreases, its thickness and volume increase, and the cork becomes more flexible and soft. After cooking, the bark takes the shape of a smooth plate.
LAMINATE
It is then left to rest for several weeks to reach the shape necessary for its transformation. Finally, it is cut into cubes and sorted by quality. Blocks of the same quality are glued together to form a solid coil. This coil will be cut into thin and flexible cork sheets, which will then be selected, sanded and glued on a textile base (cotton, polyester, etc.).
FABRIC OR CORK LEATHER
Therefore, after this process, no two identical pieces of cork fabric will be found. Thanks to this, you will always have a unique and exclusive product. You can see it in our wallets and handbags, even if it's the same model, none of them are the same. In addition, cork fabric is also called cork leather because it is an eco-friendly alternative to leather.
Unlike wood, you don't have to cut down the tree to make cork. What is used is bark and regenerates! So it is an ecological and renewable material. Did you know that Spain, Portugal, North Africa and Italy are the largest producers of cork in the world?
In addition, cork wall coverings insulate noise and heat/cold very well and are waterproof. To give you an idea of how well cork works, let me tell you that it can reduce noise by up to 50%. And they are super light!
Finally, as I mentioned a little above, cork is very cheap. You can get from 5 euros to 40 more or less.
In the Cork Shop, it is clear that there are two types of cork wall coverings:
On the one hand, we have natural agglomerated cork. Plates, decorative boards, rolls... all made of natural cork granulate and binder. It can have a natural or varnished finish!
Expanded cork agglomerate. It consists of cork granules that expand under the influence of water vapor. It is the one that is used to insulate walls and floors!
In addition to the types, it is important to know the formats of decorative cork. Possible:
Roll.
On the plates.
On the boards.
Coasters and coasters.
created with
Web Design Software .