The floors beneath you: The benefits of eco-flooring

Smallworks founder Jake Fry can’t say enough about why he loves using sustainable flooring in his home builds. Going green with your floors, he says, creates benefits beyond making you feel good about your selection. Health and durability are the positive by-products of environmentally friendly floors.

“It’s simple … from the early days of going green, the idea of choosing products that don’t deplete the world’s resources and are healthier for homeowners just made sense,” says Fry. “There is always so much talk about recycle, reuse and reduce. Products like marmoleum, which is inherently green, is an extremely durable style of flooring that is manufactured with a 100 per cent mix of pre-consumer recycled content.”

Some of its content comes from recycled components like wood flour and tall oil, while some marmoleum floors can also include rapidly renewable materials like pine rosin, jute and linseed oil.

“As an eco-conscious consumer, people can feel good about installing this product in their homes. It mimics linoleum and comes in great colours, patterns and is so easy to install and care for,” adds Fry. “I can’t emphasize enough the benefit of better air quality. Today, many homeowners are asking that their homes perform healthy. We, as builders, need to choose materials that aren’t working against the wellbeing of homeowners.”

When it comes to wood - a natural and renewable source of flooring – which ones are best?

First off, Fry says, look for certified sustainable timber. Having said that, Fry prefers using engineered hardwood over hardwood because “it uses less wood” or utilizes recycled timber.

“We also use cork flooring, which is again another product that is extremely renewable,” Fry says. “It is soft, so we recommend it in children’s rooms.”

Clayton Mickey, owner/general manager of the family-owned The Eco Floor Store (BC), agrees with Fry’s assessment of cork flooring.

“Cork is antimicrobial, anti-allergenic and is a natural noise insulator with quality acoustic value,” Mickey says. “The warmth and comfort of cork under foot also makes it a great selection.”

Today, there is a dizzying number of good environmentally friendly flooring materials, but what should consumers look for?

“Look for floors that are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), FloorScore and Carb2 certified, offer good indoor air quality, and ones that have low VOC and formaldehyde levels,” Mickey says. “When we talk about environmentally friendly floors, we are speaking about floors that are made of sustainably harvested, eco-friendly and recycled products. It is using products that have the least impact on the planet.”

When speaking about low VOC’s, Mickey is referring to off-gassing, the gaseous release of chemicals, which can be emitted throughout the life of the material, whether that be furniture, paint, new cars or carpeting, to name a few.

“Off-gassing materials emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and small particulate substances throughout the life of the material,” Mickey says. “The wool carpets we sell are not only a rapidly renewable resource, they are constructed from materials with no added chemicals and stable low-VOC dies.”

As for wool carpets, consumers should look for those that are certified low-VOC emissions and LEED certified.

For a client suffering from multiple chemical sensitivities, BuiltGreen builder, Clay Construction, went with a solid white oak flooring in the living areas, study and bedrooms.

“White oak is durable, strong, and naturally water resistant,” says Clay Construction founder Larry Clay. “It is one of the most popular choices for eco-friendly hardwood floors.”

In the end, if you are concerned about the environmental footprint of the surfaces you walk on, the obvious choice is eco-friendly floors.

“The challenge for people is choosing which qualities are most important to them and how they reflect aesthetically,” adds Clay.

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