Cork Flooring Construction: Floating Floor (glueless application)
Although the actual construction of cork floors will vary slightly between manufacturers,it will generally consist of the following components.
- Cork Underlayment
This is flexible low-density cork material used to provide acoustic insulation. It may be applied separately but is usually mad an integral part of a floating floor panel. - Stabilizing Core
This is the structure of the floor panel and is made from either HDF (High Density Fiberboard) or MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). The edges of the core will be milled in such a way as to allow the interlocking of the panel to adjoining pieces. - Cork Core
The inclusion of this component varies by manufacturer but its intent is to provide additional insulation and impact absorption comfort for walking and standing. - Cork Bark Veneer or Top Layer
This layer is what you see. It can be the veneer from the cork tree bark some processed cork to get a particular pattern or texture. - Wear Surface
This can either be factory applied or field applied and will usually be a UV hardened varnish, oil or other sealer.
