If you’re looking to build a sustainable and durable home, there are plenty of eco-friendly flooring options to choose from. The best are low-maintenance and will last for decades.
When choosing green flooring, make sure to consider the source of the materials. Ideally, select flooring that’s made from natural, renewable sources or recycled and reclaimed.
Cork
Cork is an eco-friendly material that comes from the bark of the cork oak tree, which grows throughout southern Europe. It’s harvested every nine years, and the bark is protected and reused to keep the trees healthy and to sequester carbon dioxide at maximum rates.
This makes cork a highly sustainable and durable flooring material that helps protect the planet. It’s also extremely comfortable underfoot and a natural thermal and acoustic insulator.
It’s also antimicrobial, repelling small insects and fungi. It’s a good choice for hygiene-obsessed households and is a great alternative to carpet.
While cork is incredibly resilient, it can still be damaged by pets and heavy furniture. Cat and dog nails can scratch the surface, and dragging furniture around (especially with narrow legs) will leave permanent dents in the floor.
The material is also sensitive to direct sunlight and will discolor if it gets too much sun exposure. Keeping the room shaded and using a protective covering can help prevent this.
Polished Concrete
When building a home, using sustainable and durable flooring materials is important. Whether you’re looking to build an environmentally conscious, LEED-certified home or a more conventional, affordable home, there are many options available for your floor.
For example, you can use polished concrete, which is a type of decorative concrete that is used in many commercial spaces and residential homes. This type of flooring is extremely low maintenance and requires no waxes, sealants or other treatments to maintain its shine.
This flooring is also eco-friendly, because it doesn’t involve the use of hazardous chemical coatings, cleaners or adhesives. Ultimately, this makes polished concrete one of the best choices for environmentally friendly flooring options.
Polished concrete is a cost-effective alternative to other flooring options like hardwood or carpet. It’s a popular choice among industrial facilities and warehouses, but it’s quickly making its way into home construction as well. This is because it’s an affordable option that will not only look amazing, but also provide a long life and high durability.
Reclaimed Wood
Whether you’re building a new home or renovating an existing one, there are many sustainable and durable flooring materials to choose from. One of the best is reclaimed wood.
Reclaimed wood is a green building practice that reuses old timber recovered from a variety of sources, including abandoned structures and buildings in the process of demolition. It can also come from gym bleachers, wine casks, shipyards, shipping materials and more.
Aside from its environmental benefits, reclaimed wood can add character and warmth to your home. Reclaimed flooring, for instance, can be sourced from antique barn oak or heart pine.
Another advantage of reclaimed wood is that it requires less maintenance than newly-harvested wood. It can be cleaned using mild soap and water, protected from scratches with felt pads or rugs and mopped up when water spills occur.
Natural Stone
There are many benefits to building a home with sustainable and durable flooring materials. These include ease of care and maintenance, low environmental impact, and added aesthetic appeal.
Natural stone offers these benefits and more. In addition to enhancing the beauty and durability of your home, it can also help you reduce energy costs.
Unlike wood, metals, and plastics, natural stone does not rot or degrade. This means that it will last for generations, rather than needing to be replaced.
Another advantage to using stone is that it is easy to recycle. It can be broken down into gravel, fill, or other materials.
This recycling process is good for the ecosystems since it eliminates the need to produce new products from scratch. It also helps to ensure that any material you are using does not end up in a landfill.