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Going Green with Renewable Flooring
Eco-Friendly Flooring Products that
Offer Beauty, Durability and Affordability
Mark J. Donovan
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One way to go green in your home is with renewable flooring. Green Renewable
flooring solutions include recycling old flooring products or using new flooring
products that can quickly be replenished. For example, recycling old hardwood
flooring material for a new flooring project is a form of renewable flooring.
Using Cork, on the other hand is another form of renewable flooring due to the
fact that it can be rapidly replenished.
Recycled Hardwood Renewable Flooring Choices
If you like the look of hardwood flooring but want to go with green renewable
flooring there are specialty recyclers who harvest old hardwood floors from
demolition projects, remill it, and then resell it.
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They typically deal with Oak, Cherry, Hickory, Maple and Chestnut hardwoods so
there are a variety of hardwood recycled renewable flooring choices to choose
from.
In many cases you can order re-milled, renewable hardwood flooring products with
your preferred finish, be it finely sanded, rough hewn cut or varnished. In
addition, you can choose to have the boards milled to your specific
requirements, e.g. tongue and grooved, or wide board planks.
Sustainable Softwood Renewable Flooring Choices
Common types of softwood renewable flooring products include Cork, Bamboo and
Eucalyptus. All are fast growing trees that can be quickly replenished. For
example, the average slow growing hardwood tree needs about 60 years before it
is ready for harvesting, whereas the Eucalyptus tree can be harvested in as few
as 14 years. With Cork flooring, it is actually produced from the bark of living
Cork oak trees that is periodically harvested. Cork flooring can also be
manufactured from recycled products, including wine corks, making Cork flooring
one of the best green renewable flooring products available.
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Cork flooring also offers a number of other advantages. It is naturally
hypo-allergenic, anti-microbial, and is resistant to mold and mildew. It is also
extremely durable and has a slight resilient softness to it that makes it very
comfortable to walk on. Cork flooring can also be used in some moist area
applications. It is also available in dozens of colors and patterns and is easy
to install. It is available in either tile form or floating click-together
planks and can be installed over plywood subfloors, concrete slabs or even an
existing floor. Cork flooring is also so easy to install that even the
moderately skilled DIY homeowner can install it.
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Bamboo flooring is another relatively new green renewable flooring product that is
very popular with Eco-Friendly homeowners. Bamboo is a highly sustainable wood
product that is extremely tough and versatile. Like Cork flooring, Bamboo
flooring is available in a wide variety of colors and patterns and can be found
available today in most home improvement centers. Due to its toughness, Bamboo
flooring also holds up well under heavy traffic conditions.
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Consequently it is very low maintenance. Bamboo flooring is also easy to install. Like Cork
flooring, besides available in solid bamboo planks, it is also available in
floating click-together planks that can easily be installed by the Do it
yourself homeowner. Bamboo flooring costs run the gambit from quite high to very
economical, depending upon the type of grade, the Bamboo material percentage,
and the type of finish.
Besides Cork and Bamboo flooring, there are other softwood renewable flooring choices
that offer similar advantages including Eucalyptus flooring and natural
linoleum. Both offer similar advantages and are excellent green renewable
flooring choices. |
Photo By Mark Donovan |
So, when looking to replace your existing floor, or installing a new floor, make
sure to investigate these green renewable flooring choices. Besides their unique
beauty, durability, and cost advantages, they are Eco-Friendly. In addition, if
you are building a home for Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
certification these flooring products can provide credits for achieving this
goal.
For help on new home construction,
see HomeAdditionPlus.com’s
Home Construction Contractor Bid Sheets.
Home
Construction Contractor Bid Sheets
will
help ensure that you find and hire the right home building contractor
for your next home improvement, remodeling, or building project. In
addition, they will help to ensure that your home improvement project is
completed on time and on budget.
Related Flooring Information
Additional Flooring Resources from Amazon.com
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