Choosing the cork oak floors that are right for your green building project

As you know, with Wicanders, the possibilities are nearly endless… We put Nature’s palette in your hands, combining textures and surprising colors. The originality and exotic contrasts of each pattern gives any surface a personal and distinctive touch.

But which floors are a better fit for your commercial design needs? Glue down or floating? Xtreme WRT or HPS? Read on, as today we help you determine which Wicanders floors are most suitable for your green building project…

Finding the right finish

Xtreme WRT—Wear Resistance Technology:
Ceramic is, after natural diamonds, the hardest known substance in the world. Our floating cork oak floors coated with Xtreme WRT finish with ceramic micro-bead technology, is a perfect choice if you are looking for a matte, unique, and durable finish with low maintenance.
We want you to feel assured that you are making a good, long-term investment when you choose Xtreme WRT flooring from Wicanders. Even with its hard and resistant features, Xtreme WRT gives the floor soft and natural qualities and none of the usual slippery and cold feel provided by ordinary finishes.

HPS—High Performance Surface:
The high traffic on commercial floors puts much demand on the floor and the finish. Wicanders commercial quality floors are produced with hard-wearing surface lying between the veneer and the HPS topcoat, which makes it extremely wear resistant.
Our HPS finish is based on nano beads technology. Extremely tiny beads are embedded in the top layer giving the whole surface improved properties such as scratch, slip, scuff, and stain resistance—without compromising the natural appearance, elasticity, and beauty of of our cork floors. If you are in search of flooring for high traffic areas with an extremely durable, low-sheen finish, Wicanders Cork Flooring with HPS is the choice for you. With a 15-year commercial warranty, we are confident you will love the look and feel of our HPS floors.

Glue-down versus Floating

Floating:
Wicanders Cork Oak floating floor planks are engineered with the patented CorkLoc® system on all four sides. Each edge is comprised of durable compressed cork fiberboard and Cork Protect®, a natural parafin-based all-around edge sealing system. This tightly pressed seal seamlessly vaccum locks against any and all moisture and debris, setting Wicanders CorkLoc® system apart from other floating floors.

Glue-down:
If your project calls for glue down tiles because of the area of application or the size of the job, Wicanders Series 200 and Series 2000 are the ideal products for you.

Wicanders Series 200 WRT "Natural"

And for a complete guide with detailed info on dimensions, LEED qualifying points, approximate installed cost, and our best-in-the-industry warranty, please be sure to download our 2008 Commercial Flooring Guide.

We’d also like to remind you that we have just launched a new Technical Info page right here on our blog. You can visit it by clicking here. Or if you have any questions you’d like answered, our master installers are always handy, so be sure to drop us a line.

Until next time…
Team Wicanders

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Make Sustainability your Guiding Principle in 2009

Happy New Year!

We came across this brief write-up by Mark Tercek in the January issue of Reader’s Digest. Mark is the president and CEO of the Nature Conservancy, and we thought sharing his article might inspire you as much as it inspired us. It carries an important message about how, in this New Year to come, each one of us can make sustainability our guiding principle.

To quote Mark:

“As a nation, we must recognize that the health of the environment is inextricably linked to our well-being and prosperity. Functioning natural systems and a stable climate support livelihoods, feed our families, sate our thirst, provide clean air, enrich us spiritually, and represent a legacy for future generations.

I urge you to make sustainability—using resources no faster than they can be replenished—a guiding principle. This commitment will spark progress toward developing clean energy sources, fighting climate change, conserving our land and waters, and rebuilding a battered economy. Your example will inspire leaders around the world to do the same.”

From all of us at Team Wicanders, we wish you a prosperous and sustainable New Year.

Cheers to 2009!

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Frank Lloyd Wright Chose Cork Floors too!

“Organic architecture seeks superior sense of use and a finer sense of comfort, expressed in organic simplicity.”

–Frank Lloyd Wright

We are all familiar with Frank Lloyd Wrights‘ most famous architectural designs like Fallingwater and the Guggenheim. He designed hundreds of famous structures and enabled the evolution of modern architecture.

What does Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy have to do with Wicanders Cork Oak Flooring you ask? Well, one of the most famous concepts he developed was Organic Architecture.  This idea of promoting harmony between people and nature sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it?

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Architecture reminds us (surprisingly enough!) of Wicanders Cork Oak Flooring. Combining nature with sustainable design is what Wicanders does so effortlessly. Not only does the design of Wicanders flooring feel pure and natural, but it is beneficial to two environments; the natural environment in which the Cork is harvested, and the environment in which Wicanders’ flooring is installed. In Portugal, the generations of families who have nurtured the cork oak trees in the Montado forests rely on them for their livelihood, and never harm the trees during the harvest process. And by choosing Cork Oak floors, we are providing a safe, healthy, comfortable, and sustainable environment for those we love. Frank Lloyd Wright would be proud.

Oh, and the best part…Frank Lloyd Wright was a fan of cork- not only did he use cork in his home and studio, but he also used Cork Floors in his most famous design, Fallingwater.

We believe Nature’s architect would be proud…both of Frank Lloyd Wrights’ vision, and other architects who have been pioneers in Organic Architecture. It’s just what nature intended!

Born of nature, and fashioned for living. What a unique idea…

Team Wicanders

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Let’s Raise our Glass to Cork!

Our parent company, Amorim, the worlds leading cork producer, recently hosted wine writer, Liza Zimmerman, at their company headquarters in Portugal! Liza is incredibly well traveled and well versed in wine. She is one of only 100 people in the U.S to hold the Diploma in Wine and Spirits, and has been writing, educating and consulting about wine for over 15 years! While in Portugal, she learned about cork, and took some great photos along the way. You can read about her trip here, and make sure to check out her blog!

When you read Liza’s work, it is clear that she is passionate about wine. She says “I know that gathering at table is what has kept families and society together for years, and wine is an essential part of it.” Her passion is inspiring. It reminds us of the very people that harvest the Cork Oak Trees in the Montado Cork Forests. They have been dedicated to these trees for generations and generations.

Cork Oak Tree by Liza Zimmerman

Stacked Cork photo by Liza Zimmerman

We’d like to raise our glass to Liza for spreading the word about Cork. When we choose cork, we are helping the environment and using a sustainable and green material. Wicanders Cork Oak Flooring is proud to be part of this movement. Are you passionate about Cork? Let us know!

Cheers, Team Wicanders

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A Portuguese Treasure Hunt

A Portuguese Gold Coin

A 16th century Portuguese trading ship was found off the coast of Namibia recently. It is “the most exciting archaeological discovery on the African continent in the past 100 years” according to Webber Ndoro, the project manager of the excavation. The excavation has lead to the discovery of priceless artifacts like gold and silver coins, elephant tusks, and cannon balls from Portugal. You can read more here.

Portugal has had an exciting month. Not only have 16th century Portuguese treasures been discovered, but the countries’ capital, Lisbon, is home to a modern day treasure! Cork, from the Cork Oak Tree, is one of Portugal’s very own natural treasures, and is being displayed at the Berardo Museum in Lisbon.

“Design Cork for Future, Innovation, and Sustainability” is the exhibition that displays 37 original Cork designs. But our “treasure” has been re-vamped! This exhibition is home to new and creative ways to use cork. Products like lamps, furniture and even handbags are on display!

Cork is an incredibly sustainable material. It can be used for so many things, and as we can see in the exhibition, we are just starting to use Cork to its full potential. The designers who have created the products on display are like the archaeologists who discovered the Portuguese shipwreck. They are pulling one great design after another out of their own ocean of creativity. And although the sunken treasure cannot be reused, cork can!

Innovative Cork Products

That is why we are so proud of Amorim for partnering with government and other organizations like APCOR, and INETI to develop and support this project. And as always, we love our Wicanders Cork Oak Floors. Cork flooring is just one of the great uses for Cork. Wicanders offers a healthy, sustainable, environmentally friendly option for green home design. Let us know what your next cork discovery is… we are ready to dive in!

Until the next treasure hunt…Team Wicanders.

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