Cork Board Wall

Cork board wall covering are seeing a surge in popularity at the moment.  Perhaps the recent economic conditions have persuaded us all that we need to find products that are economical and environmentally friendly while also doing the job they were intended for.  Corkboard is harvested from the bark of the cork trees that grow mainly in Portugal and surrounding countries. No forests or trees are destroyed at harvest time which may account for their popularity.

Cork board wall coverings can be bought at any local home improvement or DIY shop. Some people ask how to glue corkboard sheets as they may have problems attaching corkboard to the wall.  You can glue the material direct to the wall but I wouldn’t recommend this for the following reasons. You will find that it is virtually impossible to remove the cork board sheet without damaging the wall if you decide at some future date that you do not want the covering anymore.

If you use pins or thumbtacks, they will make small holes in the wall behind the cork board sheet and the whole point of the exercise is not to damage your walls. It is much better solution to use fiberboard as a backing board for the cork wall sheets. It will also help with noise and heat insulation.

You can use contact cement to glue the cork board wall sheets to the fiberboard. You should coat the corkboard and the fiberboard with the cement to ensure a secure hold.

Corkboard is a very porous material so you should give it a second coating to be on the safe side. 

Use a roller to help you to press the two board together. You will need to roll from the center to the edges or else you may find you have a problem with bubbles. You will probably find this is easier to do in sections before you actually attach it to the wall. It is difficult to get a correct fit if you try to attach the fiberboard to the original wall and then work on putting the cork board wall covering on top. Using an electronic stud finder will help you to locate the wall studs. You should attach your new wall covering to these studs to minimize the damage you do to the original wall. You can add a border to the wall if you wish. Or you may have decided that you do not want to cover the entire surface in corkboard but just a particular area.

There are various trims and finishes available depending on the style of look you want in your room. It really doesn’t take long to put in cork board walls and your kids will love them. Before you know it, they will have covered the area with their own pictures and art work. It is a nice feeling knowing that no matter what they hang up, your original walls are fully protected. And given cork board is cheap, environmentally friendly and mold resistant, you couldn’t ask for more.

If you do not want to cover whole walls with cork board, you can always use magnetic bulletin board or dry erase white board instead.