Greening the floor beneath
April 07, 2009
By Jessica Tobacman, NARI marketing & communications coordinator
This article was first published in Home Improvement Magazine.
Installing flooring from natural resources helps make the home as healthy as possible, reducing moisture and indoor air pollutants.
Utilizing faster-growing trees for headers and beams, or using engineered lumber, are two green alternatives. The latter includes manufactured, structured and layered wood products, such as oriented strand board (OSB) and Glulams, or glued, laminated timber.
Although formaldehyde exists naturally in wood, particularly in plywoods and particleboards, residents should avoid using products with urea-formaldehyde, as this is a suspected human carcinogen. Some medium density fiberboard (MDF) still contains and emits urea formaldehyde. If using this type of MDF, take precautions to minimize inhalation risk, including ensuring proper ventilation and wearing goggles and masks. However, some MDF has low to 0-levels of formaldehyde, and should be safe for consumers.
Wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is both green and sustainable. Using FSC-certified wood offers the assurance that the creation of a product has not contributed to the decimation of a forest but rather has been produced in a sustainable fashion.
“[This includes] selective cutting for maximum yield [and] harvest[ing] trees in a sustainable fashion,” says J. Byron Kellar, design builder for Neil Kelly Design/Build Remodeling. FSC-certified wood is becoming more available. “A lot of major lumberyards carry it,” Kitchin says.
Tips from the experts
- Tom Kelly, CEO of Neil Kelly Design/Build Remodeling in Portland, says if possible, flooring should contain recycled content.
- Debbie Kitchin, co-owner of Interworks in Portland, suggests using renewable floor materials like bamboo or cork.
- Tim Cook, owner of ENVI Construction in Portland, suggests using paints with low amounts of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to maintain or improve the air quality. VOCs release toxic fumes into the air that have proven harmful.
- Cook says water-based stains or paints for concrete are available in many colors and do not off-gas, meaning homeowners can continue to stay in their homes without a break to avoid dangerous fumes.
- Cook says if you’re putting in carpet, choose natural materials with glues, binders and backing that don’t off-gas to maintain and improve high air quality.