Flooring

Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo is a plant in the true grass family. It is grown in a variety of climates, though it is most common in areas that are tropical, sub-tropical or temperate - such as East Asia, sub-saharan Africa and the southeastern United States.

Bamboo is a green building material because it is rapidly renewable, which means it has a harvest cycle of under 10 years. In fact, bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. In the LEED New Construction 2009 rating system, 1 point is awarded to projects that use 2.5% (by cost) rapidly renewable materials, including agrifiber. The intent of this credit is to reduce the depletion of finite raw materials and long-cycle renewable materials. Other rapidly renewable materials include cotton, agrifiber wool, linoleum, strawboard, and cork.

In comparison to a traditional forest, a bamboo forest produces six times the amount of material per acre per year and sequesters 35% more carbon.
In comparison to traditional wood, bamboo is ten times stronger in tension and over three times stronger in general mechanical properties. However, it has the same thermal properties of wood, meaning that in glass applications, it is more energy efficient than aluminum, vinyl, plastics, steel, and other alternatives.
Additionally, the materials has low VOCs and formaldehyde, making it ideal for indoor air quality.
Bamboo can be used in building materials such as flooring, panels, veneer, and countertops.

Bamboo flooring is similar to hardwood flooring, but is made from bamboo. Most commonly, it is manufactured from the Moso bamboo species in China or other parts of Asia.

Bamboo flooring is typically available in planks with either horizontal or vertical grain orientation. Its Janka rating (or hardness) ranges from 1180 to over 5000, depending on whether it is carbonized, natural or manufactured with newer techniques.

If you have the skill set and experience, you may install a bamboo floor yourself. Armstrong's Flooring Installation Guide is helpful for homeowners who want to replace the floor themselves. Many people will prefer to hire a professional floor installer or a contractor or handyman with floor installation experience.

Sustainable Wood

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a nonprofit group that works to ensure sustainable forest management. FSC certifies wood that is harvested sustainably.

According to FSC’s website, its requirements for harvesting wood are the following:

• prohibits conversion of natural forests or other habitat around the world
• prohibits the use of highly hazardous pesticides around the world
• prohibits the cultivation of genetically modified trees (GMOs)
• respects the right of indigenous peoples around the world
• controls each certified operation at least once a year – and if they are found not to comply, the certificate is withdrawn

The following three wood products are FSC-certified:

1. TimberSIL

Alex Wilson, founder of Environmental Building News, said in an interview with ecohome that TimberSIL is one of his favorite green building products for 2012.

TimberSIL is a unique wood product that combines wood with an amorphous glass barrier made of sodium silicate. This protects the wood from common problems, such as insects and microbes.

TimberSIL is available for siding, roofing, structural framing, flooring, decking, windows, shingles, and more.

Wood products are commonly treated for protection against insects and microbes, but the conventional treatments, such as ACQ, copper azole and chromated copper arsenate (CCA), are harmful to the environment. In fact, CCA was phased out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2003 because it leaches arsenic.

TimberSIL uses sodium silicate, which is a relatively harmless alternative that is commonly found in laundry detergent. This barrier releases minimal pollutants and is considered a nontoxic barrier by the EPA. The product also releases no voltatile organic compounds (VOCs). The product has also shown great durability (with a warranty of 40 years) and are low-maintenance, which reduces its impact on landfills and the use of virgin materials.

TimberSIL has won multiple awards, including BuildingGreen’s 2004 Top 10 GreenSpec Product, Popular Science’s Grand Award and the Metropolitan Home Design Award.

2. EcoTimber

EcoTimber (pictured), founded in 1992 and based in Denver, Colorado, produces sustainable flooring. EcoTimber offers a wide selection of "green" wood flooring products, including flooring made with wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, reclaimed wood, and bamboo. Additionally, many of EcoTimber's products do not contain formaldehyde, which improves indoor air quality in buildings.

EcoTimber's strand poplar flooring was listed as one of the top 10 green building products of 2010 by Sustainable Industries. This flooring is made from 100% recycled FSC-certified furniture and made without formaldehyde.

EcoTimber offers many types of sustainable flooring. Their lines of flooring include EcoVintage, EcoPlanet, EcoReserve and EcoBamboo.

• Ecovintage: This includes strand poplar flooring (mentioned above), which is made from 100% recycled FSC-certified furniture. It also includes hand-scraped flooring, which is made with 100% FSC-certified content and a formaldehyde-free adhesive.

• EcoPlanet and EcoReserve: These two lines include wood that is FSC-certified and 100% grown and manufactured in the U.S.A.

• EcoBamboo: This line of flooring is made from rapidly renewable bamboo (5-6 year harvest cycle).

3. Ambient

Ambient is a supplier of high-quality bamboo flooring. Founded in 2005, Ambient's flooring has been featured on HGTV and can be found in stores like Lululemon Athletica and Underarmour. Ambient has also been featured as one of Inc. 5000's fastest growing companies.

Ambient offers four types of flooring that meet LEED standards: classic, strand-woven, click-lock HDF, and hand scraped strand.

All four types of Ambient bamboo floor are rapidly renewable, because they are made of A-grade Moso bamboo, which can be harvested in 5-7 years. All four types of flooring can also be specified as FSC-certified.

Their flooring also has very low levels of formaldehyde, ranging from 0.01 to 0.03 ppm. This means that they have minimal effects on indoor air quality. Also, zero-formaldehyde flooring is available by special order.

Rapidly Renewable Materials

According to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system, "rapidly renewable building materials and products are made from plants that are typically harvested within a 10-year or shorter cycle". Rapidly renewable materials include:

• Bamboo
• Wool
• Cotton
• Agrifiber
• Linoleum
• Wheatboard
• Strawboard
• Cork

Rapidly renewable materials, such as flooring, is an element of green building and eligible for LEED points because it has less of an environmental impact than traditional harvested materials, since these resources are "rapidly" replenished.

The following are 3 types of rapidly renewable flooring that could contribute to a LEED or green building project.

1. Kirei Wheatboard

Founded in 2003, Kirei produces sustainable, nontoxic materials for interior design. Their products made from either Kirei Board (wood substitute), bamboo, wheatboard, Coco (tiles made from coconut shells), woodfall (reclaimed wood) or hemp.

Kirei wheatboard is a rapidly renewable material that works as a substitute for wood medium-density fiberboard (MDF) products. Unlike wood MDF, Kirei’s wheatboard is made without added urea formaldehyde, which improves indoor air quality. Also, it is made using a minimum of 90% pre-industrial (or pre-consumer, in LEED terms) content.

The wheatboard can be used for many applications, including architectural millwork, wall coverings, retail displays, furniture, cabinetry, and flooring.

2. Ambient Bamboo Flooring

Ambient is a supplier of high-quality bamboo flooring. Founded in 2005, Ambient's flooring has been featured on HGTV and can be found in stores like Lululemon Athletica and Underarmour. Ambient has also been featured as one of Inc. 5000's fastest growing companies.

Ambient offers four types of flooring that meet LEED standards: classic, strand-woven, click-lock HDF, and hand scraped strand.

All four types of Ambient bamboo floor are rapidly renewable, because they are made of A-grade Moso bamboo, which can be harvested in 5-7 years. All four types of flooring can also be specified as certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), meaning it is sustainably harvested.

Their flooring also has very low levels of formaldehyde, ranging from 0.01 to 0.03 ppm. This means that they have minimal effects on indoor air quality. Also, zero-formaldehyde flooring is available by special order.

3. Marmoleum

Forbo Flooring Systems, the manufacturer of Marmoleum, is the market leader in linoleum flooring, with over 60% of the market share.

Forbo offers Marmoleum linoleum flooring products for both commercial and residential building projects. According to greenbuildingsupply.com, Marmoleum is "bio-based, highly durable, non-toxic, anti-microbial and easy to maintain".

Marmoleum is SMaRT certified, meaning that it meets the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability's standards for sustainable products, which includes a life cycle analysis. Products that are SMaRT certified are able to earn an additional LEED point for innovation in design according to a USGBC Credit Interpretation Ruling from July 2007.

Low Emitting Floors

"VOC" stands for "Volatile Organic Compound". While not all VOCs are dangerous to humans, many of them are harmful when emitted in large volumes. They are found in many common construction materials, including paints, adhesives, and sealants. Since they readily evaporate and enter the air stream, they are very difficult to contain once emitted.

To promote good indoor air quality, you should choose flooring that emits few or no VOCs. LEED, the green building rating system, gives the following guidelines for low-emitting floors.

• Flooring

Carpet and hard surface flooring must comply with California Department of Public Health Standard Method for the Testing and Evaluation of Volatile Organic Chemical Emissions From Indoor Sources Using Environmental Chambers version 1.1 (CDPH/EHLB/M-500 Standard Method v1.1), modeled using the standard office building protocol parameters and certified as compliant by an independent third party.

Carpet cushion must meet the requirements of the Carpet and Rug Institute Green Label program.

Concrete, wood, bamboo, cork and other floor finishes, such as sealer, stain and finish, shall not exceed the VOC limits established in SCAQMD Rule 1113, Architectural Coatings.

• Composite Wood and Agrifiber Products

Composite wood and agrifiber products on the building's interior should contain no urea-formaldehyde resins.