Cork Boards
Cork boards have a long history, and the use of this material, in a sheet form, dates to the end of the 19th century. This product comes from the bark of the Cork Oak, and the harvest is done in an environmentally friendly manner. Cork has a variety of characteristics that make it ideal for a number of applications.
The Cork Oak is a tree that is native to southwest Europe and Northwest Africa. Portugal currently supplies over half of the world's commercial cork. These trees are usually grown in groves, and the cork is harvested every 10 years.
Cork Stoppers
Wine and bottle stoppers are often made from cork. The wood is naturally impermeable to water, and this feature makes it perfect to seal bottles. Wine bottles have been sealed with cork since the middle ages. Before this, most vintners relied on cloth that was soaked in oil to seal their wines.
Cork stoppers provide a number of advantages. They are more environmentally friendly than other materials. Studies have shown that cork produces a lower carbon footprint than aluminum or plastic. Plastic releases 10 times more CO2, and aluminum releases 26 times more of this greenhouse gas than cork.
Cork In Buildings
There are many industrial applications for cork. It absorbs most sound waves, and this feature makes it valuable for audio insulation. Another benefit that cork board provides to contractors, is that this product is fire resistant. Builders use cork boards for acoustic and thermal insulation in the walls, ceilings and floors of structures.
Homes often use a finished variety of this material for flooring. Cork tiles are a favorite covering for kitchen and bathroom floors. It is naturally resistant to water, and this quality makes it an ideal product to be used in areas of the home that have vanities and sinks. Cork tiles are often used in place of ceramic tiles or linoleum.
Harvest
Cork is harvested in the beginning of the summer. This usually occurs from early May until late August, and trees need to be 25 to 30 years old before they can be harvested. The first few harvests generally produce an inferior grade of cork that is known as male cork.
Harvests then occur in 10 year intervals. Experts usually cut this material from the Cork Oak's bark. Most of these workers use an axe to cut slabs of cork. The raw slabs are then shipped to warehouses where they can be dried and stored.
Cork Boards - Bulletin Boards
Cork is also a favorite material for bulletin boards. A German firm began to use waste cork in 1890 to create a cork board sheet. This company developed a method that relied on clay to adhere the scrap cork into a sheet, and this paved the way for a number of new applications.
An American, John T. Smith, improved the German process in 1891. His technique relied on the use of heat and pressure to combine the particles. This method allowed for the creation of a pure cork board that was agglomerated, and this product was the beginning of modern bulletin boards.
George Brooks, of Topeka, Kansas, invented a corkboard product in 1924. His invention allowed users to apply messages to a corkboard with tacks. This was further refined, and in 1940, George E. Fox, was given a patent for a bulletin board that could be hung from a wall. His bulletin board used rubber foam with a cardboard backing.
Cork and pin boards quickly grew in popularity. In the 1950's, push pin bulletin boards could be found in businesses throughout the United States. Homes quickly followed the example set by businesses, and many people soon had their own bulletin boards.
Cork boards date to the end of the 19th century. There are a number of applications for cork, and it was originally used to seal wine bottles. In the end of the 19th century, several inventors used the waste material to make cork sheets. This material morphed into the ubiquitous bulletin boards that can be found in homes and businesses today.