Okay, so what’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “cork“? It’s not a trick question….the most obvious answer is of course ‘wine’. Almost all of us have had some experience trying to remove the cork stopper from a wine bottle. We’ve all known someone who collected them. I’ve read debates between wine aficionados about the best kind of tool to use to remove a cork stopper. And bragging rights go to guys who can master the technique and impress a first date by popping off a cork with relative ease and aplomb.

Cork stoppers have been in use since ancient times. They are extremely successful wine bottle closures for a number of reasons:

•they have mechanical properties that allow insertion into the bottle and compression against its neck;

•they are physically and chemically stable a very long time;

•they maintain their properties under diverse conditions of temperatures and environment; and

•they are innocuous and do not alter the wine.

Some of these same attributes make it a great building material as well—particularly as insulation and flooring. Because of its high cost and because it is only native to the southern Mediterranean (think Portugal) and Northern Africa, you rarely see it as a building material here in the States. But cork so perfectly meets my Quality Standards that I do specify it for select applications within my healthy homes depending on the desires and preferences of my buyers.

Many do not know that cork is a completely natural material that regenerates itself every seven years. Cork is actually the bark of the Quercus suber, commonly called the cork oak, which is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree. Harvesting the bark is a fascinating process and one you can follow along in this illustrated guide.

Harvesting cork bark also assists in the absorption of CO₂ – a greenhouse gas that some attribute to climate change. In fact, harvested cork trees absorb 3-5 times more CO₂ than non-harvested trees. It is claimed that Cork oak trees in Portugal alone help offset 10 million tons of carbon every year.

So next time you open that bottle of wine, consider how useful and practical and sustainable that small piece of cork actually is. If you own a home, consider it as part of a sustainable home remodel. In the healthy homes I am developing, I specify it almost always as flooring. I love it because it can have so many looks—from traditional to very contemporary to even mimicking hard wood floors.

Moreover, Its uses within the home are manifold. Consider it in a nursery where its soft on a crawling baby’s knees; in the master bedroom, it is not cold to the touch or to bare feet the way hard wood floors are, and far healthier than most carpets; and for any upstairs room or a home office, it is a great noise insulator.

My final reason for using cork in my homes….I JUST LIKE THE WORD CORK !!!