Impact of different floor coverings on our environment

Unfinished hardwood flooring is classified as environmentally green.  And everyone is environmentally aware these days, and rightly so. As we learn more about our surroundings and our effect on them, we come to learn the importance of many of the little decisions we make and the long term ramifications of them. One such ‘small’ decision is in our choice of floor coverings for our home or office.

Carpeting
One choice that has been popular since the 60′s is wall-to-wall carpeting. A huge industry that is doing a good job of trying to police itself and move towards making a smaller impact on our environment. The chemicals that make up the vast majority of yarns used in the manufacturing process as well as some of the primary and secondary backings are fossil fuel derived. The industry has made large strides into using recycled plastics in the development of modern yarns, but more yet can be done. The foot print of waste carpet in the landfills has also come to light. Discarded carpet has a very long life after it is discarded and even causes trouble by getting caught up in the equipment working the landfills…bottom line…not green, but better then it was!

Ceramic Tile
Ceramic tile, an earthen product, sounds good so far. The ‘green’ properties of ceramic are that it is made of clay and sand…and even the glazes used are getting better in chemical content…firing the kilns on the other hand, requires large amounts of fuel, depleting some of our natural resources and adding to the poor air quality in the areas of the factories. Overall green factor is better then average.

Vinyl Tile
Vinyl tile and sheet goods. These products by nature can only do so much to improve their green standing. The vinyl used has a negative impact on our environment and until a substitute for vinyl is found, I am going to give them a failing grade…sorry vinyl.

Laminates
Laminates, these products came into popularity about a decade ago as an affordable substitute for wood flooring, which although the most desirable flooring product, was found to be hard to find, expensive and in the pre-finished form, hard to maintain. So along came these “pictures of wood” on a hard board backer. They were cheap to produce, easy to imprint and fast to install. The actual wood and cellulose fibers in the backer are fairly green, although the binders used to hold them together aren’t. The printing and bonding of the top picture…get HUGE failing grades for the environment. The fact that the product looks cheap was surprising as the initial products actually cost quite a bit. Now that the prices are down bellow a dollar in many cases, the product at least has a place. Substitute for wood flooring? Not by a long shot, but the fibers in the backer are at least using some natural products wisely. These products will always look like they do, and they are what they are…so for the green score…better then some.

Unfinished Hardwood Flooring
Solid unfinished hardwood flooring has ALWAYS been the choice when people had the choice. Availability and high cost along with people being afraid of doing it themselves have hindered this otherwise most green of all floorings. With improvement in manufacturing, anyone can install, lightly sand and finish a unfinished wood floor and be proud of the results. The fact that unfinished floors can be put down without being overly concerned about denting or scratching is a real load off peoples minds, the fact that the final product is smooth, flat and sealed by the finish makes it the absolute easiest floor to maintain…sorry pre-finished, but the gaps between the boards are NEVER going to go away. The sanitary and health concerns being brought to the public’s attention are going to continue to plague this product. Pre finished is fast and easy, but those health concerns stemming from food, hair and dust mites between the boards will never go away. Unfinished floors require less knowledge of installing because the floor gets lightly sanded before the finish goes on, thereby any ‘oops’ can be corrected. On a pre-finished floor, turn around and drop your hammer and your floor is scared for life or you go through a difficult fixing process. The finish applied at the factory and the ones applied at home each offer some plus and minus for us as consumers. Durability about even, no smell (in the home) of factory finish vs. the flat, sealed final finish of a floor finished in the home. As far as our green score…”A+” for site finished and an “A” for pre-finished.

World wide recognition of communities such as “ECO VILLAGE” in Ithaca, NY have seen many innovations used in an environmentally sound manor when it comes to home construction. With much pride, Seneca Hardwoods of Odessa, NY was chosen to furnish the flooring for a large part of this project. The first and foremost requirement was the impact building materials have on our world. Solid unfinished hardwood flooring, from sapling, growth, harvest, manufactured product, life of use and ultimate return to the earth has been and will always be carbon neutral. It gives but never takes.

We are PROUD to manufacture a product such as this.