By Gene and Katie Hamilton

Green thinkers consider cork flooring to be very eco-friendly because it's a renewable resource: it's made from the bark of the cork oak, and the tree is never felled. During its periodic harvesting, the outer bark is stripped from the trunk without injuring the trees, which live for more than a century. Cork has been a popular flooring material in Europe for many years, but here across the Pond it's relatively new. Known for its sound-deadening qualities and durable surface, it's available in sheeting and tiles, the latter being the easiest to install.

A flooring contractor will charge $785 to install and finish 12-inch square, 3/16-inch thick cork tiles in a 10-by12-foot room. This includes labor and material. A handy homeowner can do the job for $625, the cost of the tiles and finish and save 20 percent. The key to good results for any flooring installation is the subfloor, which should be clean, dry, sound and level.

You'll find cork floor tiles sold at most home centers and flooring retailers; to find the material online, type "cork floor tiles" in a search engine.

Be inspired by the cork flooring gallery at Green Goods USA.

Wrapping up, given the average cost to install cork floor tiles you can compare the price of a contractor’s bid with doing it yourself. For a local cost input your ZIP Code.

Improvement and Repair Cost Updated 2019

The cost and time data is generated by averaging labor and material data from annually updated cost books used by contractors and refined by the authors' experience remodeling 13 houses. They are authors of 20 home improvement books and Do It Yourself or Not, a weekly column syndicated by Tribune Content Agency. The national cost can be adjusted by ZIP Code.