April 22, 2022
Going Green Down Under
Under your feet, that is… As 2022 is underway, many homeowners are choosing more eco-friendly flooring options. And the great thing is, manufacturers have been meeting customer demands by developing ‘green’ flooring options, in a wide variety of colors, textures and plank sizes.
Why Go Green?
In order to pave a path to a healthier and more sustainable future for our Earth, people are making positive personal and societal environmental changes. One positive change is choosing an eco-friendlier floor for their home.
Volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), are commonly found in certain types of flooring and overtime can cause major health issues in the home. Thankfully, the flooring industry has developed some great eco-friendly solutions.
Not only does ‘green’ products help the Earth and the health of your family, but it can also be very cost-effective.
What Makes a Floor Eco-friendlier?
When considering how ‘green’ a material is, there are a few categories to look at:
- Ability to be renewed
- Ability to be recycled
- Responsible
- Manufacturing
- Transport distance
- Maintenance
- Life cycle
Top 4 Eco-Friendly Floors
Cork Flooring
Spending on average about $3-$12 per square foot, cork floors are the number one choice for those wanting to lessen their carbon footprint. The materials from cork floors, come from a cork tree. Since the cork tree’s bark is the only thing being used, it can be periodically harvested over and over for up to 250 years. However, despite being an eco-friendly option, the biggest drawback is how soft it is.
Linoleum
Linoleum has been around for some time now and starting to make a comeback. This may run you about $2-$5 a square foot. It lost its appeal throughout the years as vinyl emerged. Unlike synthetic vinyl, natural linoleum has been a tried and true organic material.
Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo floors are all the rage these days, running at about $1.50-$12 a square foot. Since bamboo is not a wood and technically a grass, it can quickly grow and mature in only a span of 3 to 5 years. Bamboo is extremely durable because it doesn’t expand or contract like hardwoods do. Bamboo can resemble traditional plank wood but is harder than oak or maple.
Engineered Hardwood
If you’re wanting beautiful, cost-effective, and eco-friendly, engineered hardwood is the way to go. This type of floor is manufactured by attaching a solid hardwood veneer to a super-durable plywood core. Since fast growing trees are used for the plywood core, this makes for a more sustainable option when it comes to floor manufacturing.
Other Eco-Friendly Options
If you have the budget for it, two other eco-friendly options are using reclaimed hardwood and sustainably harvested hardwood.
Going ‘green’ is a great option for your flooring needs. At Veteran Flooring LLC, we work with our suppliers to have available a wide variety of eco-friendly options for our clients. Give a us a call and we can help you find the right flooring for your needs!
