Flooring Buying Guide
A quick guide to strategic product selection
Before installing new floors, consider re-finishing or re-using your old material in a creative way. Reusing product instead of buying new product is the best way to reduce environmental and economic impacts.
Top 3 things to consider before selecting flooring material:
- Durability: know the material's Janka rating and natural ability to resist mold, mildew and deterioration. The Janka Test measures the hardness of a material by evaluating the force required to embed a 0.44 inch steel ball into wood half its diameter. The higher the Janka rating, the more likely the product is to withstand denting and wear.
- Renewability: materials like cork and bamboo are more sustainable than wood because they take less time to regenerate for harvest.
- Sustainability: there are so many flooring materials on the market today, many of which come from sustainably-managed harvesting operations, and others, from highly vulnerable environments. When selecting a material, it is easy to ask the store vendor where the product comes from and if the product is certified by organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council.
Flooring Options: the PROS & CONS
Bamboo
PROS
- Renewability: bamboo can be harvested within 3-7 years of growth, can regenerate without replanting, and requires minimal pesticides and fertilizer, making it a resource that is much more renewable than trees, which take 50-150 to reach maturity.
- Availability: readily available in solid, woven and engineered versions; offering a variety of colors and grains.
- Affordability: typically less expensive than hardwoods.
CONS
- Durability: the bonding material between bamboo fibers is much weaker than the lignens in wood. If a sharp object such as a rock in someone’s shoe cuts the bamboo fibers, the bamboo scratches or gouges easily because the material between the fibers is relatively soft. Therefore, if a bamboo floor and a hardwood floor have identical hardness according to the Janka test, in reality the hardwood floor will dent and scratch less than the bamboo. It is also important to note that some bamboo flooring companies report very misleading Janka test ratings. They get high ratings by performing the test on the ‘knuckle’ or node of the bamboo stalk, which occupies only a tiny portion of the floor’s surface area and is substantially harder than most of the floor.
- Toxicity: the adhesive that binds bamboo floors together can contain urea formaldehyde. Ensure that you specify urea-formaldehyde-free.
- Sustainability: due to the increase in demand for bamboo flooring, forests around the world, most often in Asia, are being cleared to make room for bamboo growth. This is a detriment to the diverse species that rely on forest ecosystems and often leads to soil erosion.
- Distance from manufacturer: bamboo used for North American flooring applications typically grows in the Hunan Province of China. The carbon emissions associated with transporting the bamboo from China to North America are significant and should be weighed when considered as an eco-friendly alternative to locally grown, FSC certified wood.
Carpet
PROS
- Renewability: when made from wool, cotton or grasses, carpet can be considered renewable. It can be found containing recycled content, derived primarily from post-consumer plastic soft-drink containers (recycled carpet padding can be made from old carpet padding and reclaimed carpet fibers).
- Re-usability: can be reused.
CONS
- Petroleum-based: synthetic carpet derives from petroleum-based fibers, a finite, non-renewable resource.
- Toxicity: binders used to make synthetic carpets and padding may off-gas VOCs for years after installation, with varying levels of emissions and toxicity. To avoid this, look for the new Carpet and Rug Institute's (CRI) seal of approval: Green Label Plus. For this certification, the CRI has adopted California’s 01350 standard, which is the most rigorous and tests for emissions of individual VOCs rather than just the overall level of VOCs.
- Indoor Air Quality: carpet does not contribute to a healthy indoor air quality in the home: carpets collect dirt and dust and never can be truly clean.
- Non-durable: carpet requires frequent replacement when compared to other more sustainable types of flooring.
Ceramic & glass tile
PROS
- Durable and long-lasting.
- Glass tile can contain a high percentage of post-consumer recycled content (e.g. old bottles, light bulbs, windshields) and ceramic tile is derived from abundant natural clay sources.
- May be locally sourced.
- Base product does not have VOC emissions.
- Can be recycled.
CONS
- Requires energy-intensive manufacturing processes.
Concrete
PROS
- Durable and long-lasting.
- Can contain a fly ash.
- May be locally sourced.
- Non-toxic (before being finished with sealant, etc. - VOC emissions from the epoxy and sealant products can be significant - specify low- or no-VOCs).
- Recyclable.
CONS
- Requires energy-intensive manufacturing processes.
- When not recycled or reused, amounts to large quantities of waste in landfills.
Cork
PROS
- Renewable: the bark of cork trees can be removed once every 7 to 10 years without harming the tree or its habitat, a process that has been used throughout recorded history.
CONS
- Distance from manufacturer: cork must travel a long distance from its origin - usually in the Mediterranean region - to reach the U.S. market, creating more carbon emissions.
- Potential toxicity: in the past, urea formaldehyde was used to bind cork granules into flooring, but it was phased out in the 1980s. Today, urea melamine, phenol formaldehyde and natural proteins are used as binders instead, greatly reducing VOC levels/risks. Take care to choose low-VOC adhesives for cork floor installation (a natural wax or low-VOC polyurethane sealer is recommended).
Laminate
PROS
- Inexpensive.
- Installation does not require glue.
- Wood waste from sawmills can be used to manufacture the wood fibreboard constituent of laminate material.
CONS
- Not very durable compared to other flooring materials.
- Some laminate floors are made with formaldehyde and adhesives which can lead to hazardous VOC emissions within the home.
Linoleum
PROS
- Made of an all natural mixture of linseed oil (from flax plants), pine rosin, wood flour, cork flour, limestone and pigments, which form into granules and are pressed together onto a jute backing.
Make sure you look for “natural linoleum,” as “linoleum” is sometimes used to refer generically to vinyl (toxic) flooring
CONS
- Typically manufactured in Europe, so requires a long transport to reach the U.S. market, creating more carbon emissions.
New wood
PROS
- Easy to find; available in a wide variety of species, widths, etc.
- Depending on species, is durable and long-lasting.
- Can be reused or recycled.
CONS
- Places greater demand on a finite – and in some cases verging on extinct – resource.
- If not FSC certified, may encourage illegal logging and/or the destruction of ancient forests.
- Typically requires finishing/staining/coating of some sort, which may contain toxic material.
Reclaimed wood
PROS
- Looks nice; has a vintage appearance.
- Depending on species, is durable and long-lasting.
- Limits the demand on virgin resources.
- Reduces landfill waste and/or energy used to recycle.
- Can be reused again or recycled.
CONS
- Hard to find a “complete set” that fit the dimensions of your space.
Stone
PROS
- Durable and long-lasting.
- Can be crushed and re-used as aggregate for concrete upon its end-of-life.
- Is available in a variety of colors and types (granite, marble, sandstone, slate, limestone).
- No toxic emissions profile beyond potential radon emission (before being finished with sealant, etc.).
CONS
- Derives from non-renewable, finite resources.
- Typically needs to be transported from long distance in order to reach its end-user and due to its weight, requires heavy duty transport means, which emit many pounds of carbon emissions per mile driven.
- Quarrying, cutting, polishing and handling this heavy, hard material requires a great deal of energy. Stone quarrying can also affect the surrounding landscape and water tables, especially affecting riparian habitats.
- Some stone types—particularly marble, sandstone, limestone and slate—are relatively soft and can scratch and absorb stains easily (granite is more durable and resistant to scratches and stains however)
Vinyl (PVC)
PROS
- Cheap.
- Easy to clean.
- Easy to install.
CONS
- Presents a health hazard across its entire lifecycle, from production to installation to use and disposal. In its manufacturing phase, vinyl creates poisons including dioxin, vinyl chloride and ethylene, which presents health risks to humans at the manufacturing plant and surrounding areas, and to the environment. Once installed, vinyl may off-gas potentially harmful compounds for years (including lead, cadmium and phthalate plasticizers). When vinyl is disposed of, it will not be recycled and cannot decay in landfills. It is often must be burned, which, unless done at very high temperatures, releases poisonous dioxins into the air.
- Made from a non-renewable, finite resource: petroleum.
Toxicity
Flooring sealant and finishes typically contain VOCs, which are toxic and harmful to humans and the environment. Use products that do not contain - or contain very little - VOCs. Looking for the Green Seal label on products will assist you in this effort.
Local manufacturing
Look for flooring products that were manufactured within 500 miles of your home. This reduces the amount of resources used to transport the flooring material to your home.
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