Green, eco-friendly floors are about longevity
Our company offers homeowners the power to choose an investment versus a product. The difference? An investment increases in value when a product is designed to wear out and then replaced. One outlives the house, the others on average, about 7 years. So I ask, which is the green floor? But wait don’t you cut down trees to get real wood? Yes, once and it does not involved any plastic or formyldehyde.
Marketing is not accurate information not anymore
Today, most of us will choose the product best for the environment provided the price is reasonably close to the other choices. In fact, some of us will choose the green product even with a much higher price. So why is the opposite true when green floor shopping? Simple, most of us are not given the information necessary to make that decision accurately. Want a good example, look no further than recycling.
LVT can be recycled just like carpet- FALSE!
Carpet cannot be recycled despite the propoganda, try it some time. Laminte is just chemical “goo” with zero value after ruining your home. And now LVT is the fastest growing component of our landfills. It absolutely cannot on any scale be made into anything useful! So, instead of the nice recycling thoughts you knew it was going to spend the next 100 years contaminating your groundwater, would that play a role in your decision?
Because most carpets are made from plastics sourced from the petrochemical industry, they can take centuries to breakdown. As these carpet fibers break downbreakdown in landfill, they release methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gasses, into our atmosphere. Meanwhile, toxic chemicals from the carpet can leach into the surrounding environment, especially in landfills that aren’t properly managed.
Plus: Have you ever taken up an old carpet? How about when pets were living on it? It is disgusting, no matter how clean you think you keep it.
Salvaged heart pine
Carpet is NOT King
For decades, carpet was king. Home remodeling took off with the advent of those little synthetic fibers. A small percentage of carpet wore out, but most was replaced when it became outdated, or the house changed hands. Today decomposing carpet holds an impressive and increasing percentage of total landfill tonnage. The E.P.A. estimates that every year, about 5 billion pounds of carpeting go into landfills. That’s 1 to 2 percent of the total U.S. landfill contribution, or 17 pounds of carpeting per person. (Don’t Sweep Carpet’s Eco-Impact Under the Rug – The New York Times (nytimes.com).
5 Things to help you buy an eco-friendly (Green) Floor
Engineered floors are not eco-friendly
Real wood is the only green choice
Engineered “hardwood” floors are created using a veneer measured in Millimeters. In case you are curious, 1 MM = .039 inches. So, a 2 MM wear layer is .117 inches thick. The veneer is glued to backing that may be ⅜ to ⅝ thick and created from a huge variety of materials, which is why you see dramatic differences in prices. It is like advertising just the word Car, with various prices and no other information. Makes a comparison almost impossible, which is precisely by design, trust us we know people in the business. (Humor attempt). – Green floors are real floors.
Quality engineered flooring has a minimum 4MM Wear Layer
Engineered Flooring cannot be refinished without a minimum of 4 MM ‘wear layer’ (veneer).The average lifespanlife span for a quality engineered floor is 7-10 years, then it heads to a landfill including the chemicals used in manufacture. So, where it is made and with what materials are information key to this decision, but so elusive. Terms such as hard scraped and brushed are used interchangeably and the only time you hear the species that comprises the backing is when it is good, not the other way around.
Want a green finish? Moncoat by Rubio
War-anties what are they good for?
We bought it because of the warranty. Please NEVER Buy for the warranty. For the record, all of our prefinished floors come with a warranty on the finish but that addresses manufacturing defects, not every day wear and tear and certainly not all the claims made concerning durability.
Tough standards
Read the warranty, the actual document and these “hard to meet” criteria jump out quickly. When claiming water damage for example, if exposed to standing water for more than 20 minutes your claim is in-valid. Question: How is the amount of time verified or proven? Of all your relatives that havehas multiple jobs a year, are anyany of them a certified independent flooring claims specialist?
The truth about real wood
Resistance to moisture real versus faux
LIE: Compared to solid hardwood, engineered wood floors have superior resistance to slightly lower and higher moisture levels, which makes them more ideal for use in damp basements or regions with higher or lower than standard humidity levels.
Truth: Buyers are told how a compressedhow compressed particle board with an unknown adhesive handles water better than real wood? The fact is that Southern Pine handles moisture better than any engineered floor. We build decks out of the stuff because it handles moisture on a microscopic level based on the relative porous nature of the wood.
In fact: Moisture is absorbed and released (expansion and contraction) without the breakdown of the board’s integrity. Ask your pro this question. What if you put poly on the bottomon bottom of real wood during the installation? Simple logic and a solution very few professionals even know and much less share.
