Exploring Green Flooring Options

Looking for a floor that is good for your home, and good for the environment too? Concord Carpet and Hardwood can help. Green flooring has come a long way and today there are some up and coming options that either use recyclable materials or are made from natural or renewable materials—both options that limit the environmental impact of their manufacture.

Here are several green flooring options you should consider.

Cork

Cork floors are prized because of the wood’s unique structure. Cork has tiny pockets of air embedded in the wood, which gives it a much softer and elastic feel underfoot, compared to hardwood, and helps the floor resist heavy foot traffic. Much like carpet, cork helps insulate heat and also softens noise transfer between floors. Plus, the wood is water resistant, comes in a wide variety of stains and colors, and can be installed in a wide variety of areas around the home.

Why is it green?

Cork is made from the bark of cork oak trees and is harvested on a specific 10 year schedule that protects the trees it is taken from. Zero environmental waste results from the manufacturing process and many cork trees have now been consistently providing bark for use in wine bottles and construction for over 100 years.

Bamboo

Bamboo floors are growing more popular each year, and for good reason! The material looks fantastic (like an exotic hardwood), offers even more durability than many traditional options, and can be stained and varnished (but not refinished) like wood.

Why is it green?

Bamboo looks like wood, feels like wood, and installs like wood—but it isn’t wood. It’s actually a grass, one that grows many times faster than hardwoods and can therefore be harvested much more often with much less waste. While oak forests can take more than a century to recover from a cutting, bamboo can be ready for a second harvest in 5 years. Plus, because bamboo is incredibly resilient during growth, no pesticides are required during bamboo farming.

Tile

Ceramic and porcelain tile are some of the most durable flooring products available. They come in all sizes, infinite colors, and they can be laid out in colorful patterns to suite any design sensibility.

Why is it green?

Tile floors are probably the single longest lasting flooring option available. Unlike carpet, vinyl, or laminate flooring properly installed tile will last as long as the home it’s installed in. After all, tile frescos and floors are still in great shape in countless historical buildings around the world, many of them centuries old and holding up against daily foot traffic. Plus, tile floors generate minimal waste during manufacture, do not require the harvesting of any plants, and do not generate harmful airborne particles like certain other flooring options are prone to.

There’s a wide variety of green and ecologically friendly flooring options available for California homeowners today. If you’d like to explore your options, as well as affordable installation and maintenance services for your new floor, contact Concord Carpet today at 925-691- 7101!

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