Green remodeling and building practices don’t stop with energy efficiency - there are many different ways to go green from the basement to the roof of your home.
A wide variety of green flooring choices now exist - no more high pile, dirt collecting, VoC emitting carpeting! One great green choice that is becoming trendy is cork flooring. Cork can be harvested every nine years from the same tree, which makes it a renewable resource. It is a good choice for a kitchen area, or anywhere you plan on spending a lot of time on your feet because it is cushy and comfortable. You can now get cork in a wide variety of colors - and also in tile form so you can create custom patterns and designs.
Cork Floor Tile
Another idea for green flooring also simplifies the construction process - just refinish the concrete slab into a nicely colored and textured surface. This also helps with energy efficiency as concrete absorbs heat during the day, and releases it during the night.
Bamboo is becoming another highly popular flooring material, as it matures in three years, adds an exotic touch to a home, regenerates without replanting, and doesn’t require a lot of nasty pesticides or fertilizers to grow well. It is usually transported from Asia, which does mean homeowners need to take into account the environmental impact of shipping.
The Green Label and Green Label Plus carpeting designations are used to clearly show carpet products that don’t have a lot of VoCs (volatile organic compounds), are created with green methods, and even use some recycled materials such as PET. If you just can’t live without the feeling of warm carpeting under your feet, look for these labels when shopping.
[Photo Credit: www.corkdirect.com]