Wicanders Cork Flooring Review

IL Wicanders Cork Floors | Chicago Flooring Brands

Wicanders is a flooring company located in Portugal, right in the heart of the world’s cork-producing forests. Naturally, Wicanders has a great focus on using cork to produce a beautiful flooring option that is both versatile and environmentally friendly. Explore your cork options NOW for a flooring choice that has it all! With the rise in awareness of the true environmental cost of products used in and around the home, cork has emerged as very desirable option. Wicanders is on a quest to make cork flooring options as perfect as possible.

Company Overview

The company’s industrial center is in the Santa Maria da Feira district of northwestern Portugal, quite close to the Atlantic coast. It is a region that is well known for its cork production, as Spain and Portugal are the world’s main growers of the tree that produces cork, according to the Sierra Club’s GreenHome website.

The exact climate zone needed by the cork tree is found few other places on earth.

Wicanders has a self-subscribed commitment to the technical performance, design, and comfort of its products; it is what they have built their company and reputation upon. They assert to strive for excellence in their field through utilizing a superior product, meeting client needs, and focusing on distribution channels. The company has enjoyed much recognition for both the quality of its products and the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship. They have certifications from a number of councils and environmental institutes, such as the Forest Stewardship Council. Wicanders has proven itself as a leader in the flooring industry for the company’s focus on sustainability and environmental matters. Wicanders also produces other flooring options, such as laminate flooring and wood parquet flooring. The company also produces other products, such as insulation and wall covering products.

Cork Flooring

Cork flooring is a bit different from traditional hardwood flooring. To make solid hardwood flooring, the tree is cut down, and the trunk is sawn into planks that are eventually formed into boards. Even engineered hardwood flooring requires that the tree is cut down. While a felled tree can certainly be replaced with a newly planted tree, cork goes one step better. Cork is actually the bark of an oak tree—the cork oak—and it does not require the harvesting of the tree to utilize the cork. The bark grows back, according to The World Floor Covering Association, and its sustainability makes cork flooring one of the biggest trends in wood flooring. The cork is then pressed into form, creating tiles or boards that have a non-linear look. Cork flooring can be highly stylized or understated with little detail; offering many variations, according to the National Wood Flooring Association. Very versatile, it can be painted and stained any number of colors. Wicanders asserts that the Portuguese cork forests are responsible for using 4.8 million tons of CO2 emissions a year through the natural process of photosynthesis. Essentially, the cork forests of Portugal use CO2 that would otherwise contribute to greenhouse gases, giving back pure oxygen in the photosynthesis exchange. Wicanders understands that the stewardship over these cork forests is about more than just saving a tree; it is about the overall global effects of such an important natural resource.

The Benefits of Cork

Cork has many other benefits beyond its sustainability. After all, cork does not have monopoly on renewability in the wood flooring market, so there must be other factors that have contributed to its popularity. Wicanders touts them all.

Cork flooring can be very easy to install. Once installed with glue, new locking technology now makes cork flooring installation a literal and figurative snap.

There are many other benefits to cork:

• Soft and cushioned insulation: Cork helps to keep the cold out and the warm in, or vice versa. It has a pleasant feel underfoot from its softness and moderate temperature fluctuations. However, the insulating property of cork does not work well with in-floor radiant heating.
• Noise reduction: One drawback of many solid and engineered hardwood flooring is the increase in noise production as footsteps and other sounds are amplified. Cork absorbs sound waves, making for a calmer and quieter interior environment.
• Durability: Cork is resistant to denting due to its pliable nature, and it also very forgiving during falls or with a dropped item, such as a dish.
• Easy to clean and maintain: If you do have an area of damage, more than likely the damaged area can be replaced easier than hardwood flooring could.

Wicander Cork Flooring Products

Wicander offers a wide array of cork flooring options. Utilizing cork, and cork and wood combinations, the company has created some truly beautiful and utilitarian cork flooring choices. The first line is the Corkcomfort line. Offered in 77 design and color options, the Corkcomfort line has something for everyone. There are natural shades of brown, gray, and black, and eye-catching tints that incorporate blue, orange, and red. Simulated to mimic ceramic, stone, leather, and metal, the Corkcomfort line offers an array of flooring choices to fit any décor. Next, the Artcomfort collection features 40 design options that use the embossing of cork with optic image technology to create natural patterns, according to Wicander’s website. Called Realistic Surface Technology, the 40 options of the Artcomfort line incorporate the look of stone, wood, or even textiles, for a realistic feel and appearance. Furthermore, the Woodcomfort series offers 13 options for a combination of wood and cork that marries the best of both worlds. With varying shades of natural brown, the Woodcomfort line offers the look of hardwood flooring with the comfort of cork underneath. Lastly, the Vinylcomfort series utilizes the same idea of a double cork bottom plank joined with a vinyl layer above. Wicander offers 52 deign options that range from the natural honey brown of the Nature Oak design to the black, scrolling vines on a white backdrop of the Ebony Petal design. Offering the versatility, design and simple maintenance of vinyl with the easy installation, insulation properties and comfort of cork, the Vinylcomfort line offers a big bang for your buck, whether used in a residential or commercial application.

Pricing and Availability

Cork flooring prices vary widely depending upon the manufacturer and the design elements used. Just like solid and engineered hardwood flooring, cork runs the gamut of pricing. A simple cork floor with little treatment or embellishment can be a few dollars a square foot. On the other hand, a highly stylized cork flooring option with added texture, color, or finishes can cost much more.

Wicanders cork flooring is at the higher end of the price spectrum for several reasons.

A lot of effort, technology, and innovation have gone into the creation of the company’s cork lines for flooring. There are a variety of warranties offered, from 10 to 25 years for residential use. A guarantee of workmanship and a true commitment to quality is worth the higher price when it comes to flooring every time. Using a discount website such as this one is one option for getting high-end champagne flooring for a low-end beer price. Such websites bring the price of quality cork flooring such as that made by Wicanders well within the budget of most remodelers and do-it yourself homeowners.

Highlights, Awards, and Recognition

Reviews are a mixed bag on cork flooring. It is highly susceptible to water damage, and its malleability does make it easy to scratch. However, Wicanders cork flooring has been winning a lot of accolades and recognition lately. For instance, the Corkcomfort line was chosen to make up the flooring on the main stage of the 2012 Tokyo Motor Show to help highlight the newest offerings in electric cars. Wicanders presented its Artcomfort and Vinylcomfort lines, as well as its FASTCONNECT snap installation, to much fanfare at the 2012 Domotex flooring show in Hanover, Germany. Recently, a division of Wicanders was awarded the highest level of recognition for sustainability—the Seal of Sustainability—by the Portuguese Platform for Sustainable Construction for 2012. The use of cork was attributed by Wicanders as one of the driving factors behind the designation. In review after review, Wicanders was named as the top brand in the cork flooring business. There are also numerous low or poor reviews based on poor durability and the seeming lack of concern by the company. It is hard to judge such user-based reviews, as you can’t know every particular, but the company seems to have too much pride in its name and workmanship to ignore claims of poor quality.

As with all flooring products, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for installation, care, and maintenance, and always research warranties and their requirements before buying. Cork flooring is one of those innovations that turns into an industry staple over the years, and Wicanders will certainly be at the forefront of that ever-changing industry.

Give cork flooring a whirl by searching your options here right NOW!