Apr 14
Ethics Underfoot
Most home owners don’t question the ethics of the flooring they tread upon, but recent heightened awareness of environmental concerns have us taking a second look at what we’re walking on.
This article in Realty Times outlines some examples of different flooring materials, their origin, and ways in which a home owner can choose the environmentally responsible materials to build new or rebuild the flooring in their home.
Reclaimed wood from demolished barns, hotels, and railroad cars is becoming more popular, but can be pricey - ranging from $6 to $20 per square foot.
Linoleum is made from recycled or sustainable materials, but cannot be recycled itself because of the glue used in installation, so the home owner should be aware it’s not entirely ecological. Still, linoleum can be inexpensive and is popular for not only homes, but public buildings such as school and offices.
The bark of the cork tree is not just for stopping wine bottles anymore. Cork, it turns out, makes an excellent flooring material. It’s naturally waterproof, sound proof, and cushioning to both feet and fragile items as well.
The most environmentally sound flooring materials is proving to be the fast-growing bamboo plant. Bamboo is actually a grass, not a wood, but this plant produces a substantially higher usable yield than hardwood trees; about 2500 percent. It matures in a far shorter time - about 4 to 5 years - and the plant itself can continue to produce after the usable material is harvested. Bamboo doesn’t expand or contract as badly as the traditional hardwood, either.
Recycled flooring can be an economical and beautiful material. Old hardwoods will have mellowed with age and use. Cork can have many different and subtle shades which enhance its utility and bamboo floors are among the most exquisitely beautiful.
