When we built our house ten years ago, the choice of the right flooring was a huge decision. Not only did we look at the environmental aspect of each flooring choice but we also took into account durability and cost. It wasn’t easy. Listed below were our flooring choices. (Be sure to check out that nicely summarizes your flooring options.)
Some Background on our Flooring Choices.
To give you some background, I live in New Jersey where dampness and humidity are not issues like in Florida. I also had four very active children under the age of 12 who had allergies as well as learning disabilities. (Yes, they aged but I didn’t.)
The house we built is a traditional Bostonian looking home, complete with my love of lanterns.
My goal was to reduce the toxic chemicals used in building this house. At the time, building materials notoriously contained harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC.) Since then, many new healthier building products have cone into the marketplace. (Still do your homework when buying building materials!)
I could have easily written a book on how we decided which flooring options to install. However, the below infographic by Direct Buy nicely sums up the pros and cons of different flooring options from a durability, cost, and environmental aspect. (If you want to see a larger infographic .) I couldn’t have done a better job.
Just in case, you would like some perspective as to which flooring choices we made and why, keep reading.
Wood as a Flooring Option.
Majority of the house has oak wood floors. Ceramic or stone tile wasn’t an option in the house due to the cold weather. Radiant flooring is very expensive although very energy efficient.
We didn’t at the time opt for Forest Steward Council certified wood flooring since we didn’t have the budget for it. At the time, FSC flooring was twice the price of regular oak flooring We sourced the wood floors from the United States.
Note, we don’t have dogs so take that into account when choosing flooring.
Carpet as a Flooring Option.
In my last two houses, we had wall to wall carpet throughout the houses. This time, due to my children’s allergies, we purchased a roll of wool carpet which had a jute backing. Most carpet has a plastic type backing with adhesives at the time that contained harmful VOCs.
A carpet company cut the roll into large rugs for each of the bedrooms. The sizes were bound just like a normal rug. Then we used an eco-friendly underlayment under the rugs.
In the event, any of one of my children reacted to the carpet rugs, I could simply pick it up and move it to another part of the house.
Cork as a Flooring Option.
The basement has a floating cork floor for sound, softness, and warmth. I regret not adding another coat of water based polyurethane since the finish of the brand I bought, scratched.
Do not lay Cork Tiles in your basement. You must use a floating floor for basements. Note, floating floors are backed with medium density fiber board. Be sure to check the VOC emissions of any MDF product.
Just an aside, water is a floating floor’s worse enemy. Make sure any water heaters, boilers, or any other heating device has a tub around it or drain near it so that water can not find its way to your floating cork floor.
Ceramic Tile as a Flooring Option.
We use porcelain tile in all the bathrooms and mud area. Porcelain is a subset of ceramic.
Why porcelain vs. ceramic? Porcelain tile is denser and more water impervious than ceramic tiles. Unlike ceramic tile, if you chip porcelain, the chip still contains the orginal color. (To learn more about the difference, read here.)
Purchasing flooring is a big costly decision. Take your time and do your homework. Weigh out the cost, durability and environmental impact of each product compared to your family’s needs.
Join the Conversation.
Let me know in the comments below, how you choose your flooring options.
Presented by
Similar Posts:
- Cork Floors. Eco, Stylish, Hypoallergenic. What’s Not to Love?
- Recycled Leather Tiles. Just What the Green Designer Ordered
- Volatile Organic Compounds: Harmful in Our Home. Learn to Choose Better.
- Is Forbo’s Marmoleum Flooring Safe Enough to Eat?
- Green Nontoxic Remodeling Ideas for Common Home Upgrades
Micaela @MindfulMomma says
Very helpful infographic! For our new kitchen we debated going with tile or hardwood. It was such a tough choice! In the end we couldn’t match the original wood in our very old house, so we decided to go with tile. I was excited to find a ceramic tile made with recycled content! We also put in electric heat under the tile so it wouldn’t be so cold. Yes, that’s a bit of an energy hog – but we live in Minnesota!
Anna@Green Talk says
Micaela, we ended up putting in wood since I find it hard to stand on tile. Love warm tiles! Anna
Penelope jagessar chaffer says
Just wanted to also mention that flame retardants and perfluoros are two groups of highly toxic chemicals often associated with carpets. Clean, non toxic carpets should be considered especially if you have kids or dogs and cats. A study by EWG showed how companion animals had elevated levels of these toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases in part because of the amount of time spent on carpets and sofas. http://www.ewg.org/research/polluted-pets
Anna@Green Talk says
Penelope, this is one of the reasons why I bought wool carpets which didn’t contain flame retardants. Is perfluoros in wool carpets?
Anne says
How do we know that synthetic wood-like flooring is free of VOCs? I realize it’s not vinyl but I’m still skeptical about it.
Anna@Green Talk says
Anne, the infographic is very basic and spells out durability, cost, etc. Sometimes it mentions VOC levels. Sorry if I wasn’t that clear.
I didn’t use engineered wood in my house for a couple of reason. VOCs as well as longevity. What I heard is you can’t resurface it that much. However, some people use it in their basement because you can’t wood on slab. Anna
Gillian says
A lot of people here in the UK opt for the synthetic hardwood flooring- It’s always come across as the easier and of course cheaper option and in a struggling society that can be too good to resist! I knew that real hardwood would obviously be more costly but didn’t think that it would have more cons then the synthetic version especially shocked that it doesn’t retain heat!
Tim Andrew says
Very helpful information. There are lots of choices for choosing the flooring. But, I think the best one should be made from wood. Not only cheap but also good for health.
Salina Bell says
I don’t think we are getting a new house or upgrading ours anytime soon, but I LOVE looking at floors! This post is very helpful for anyone building or remodeling their house.
Kenneth Gladman says
Thanks for this info graph, my wife and I have been looking to replace our kitchen floor. We want to do a hardwood, but I hadn’t considered these options. It is extremely durable and looks phenomenal.
Westly Smith says
I think that wood floors look great! I like how you mention that it’s good for cold weather. I live in a place where it gets really cold in the winter. I would love to get some wood floors that aren’t as cold as ceramic or stone. Thanks for the great flooring information!
Graham says
Great timing. We have just changed the floor in our kitchen.
Our kitchen has a concrete base layer which is unusual in our style of house. Originally we laid modern oak floorboards over the top, but after 15 years they were beginning to look worn and tired. We sanded and re-varnished once, but I couldn’t face doing it again.
I have long wanted to replace the floorboards with porcelain tiles and I finally persuaded my wife to take a look. In the shop she saw that we could also lay radiant flooring at the same time so the deal was done.
The process was simple, an insulation layer was used to level the floor (the old one was all over the place). The underfloor heating cables were then laid and a self leveling latex layer poured over the top. Finally the porcelain tiles were laid and grouted.
We are really pleased with the end result. It feels like we’ve got a brand new kitchen, when all we actually did was change the floor.
Ridley Fitzgerald says
I love this infographic that compares all the different flooring types. It looks like vinyl flooring is the best option for almost all reasons, although it isn’t as durable as other options. Overall, I really like the idea of engineered wood, since it’s so easy to clean and install.
Kaitlyn says
The infographic was very helpful! Thanks for laying out the pros and cons. It’s great you chose a little bit of everything for your home.
Brian says
There are so many flooring options out there it can be hard to decide which to go with. I tend to prefer floors that are easier clean as I don’t want to have to scrub floors. Thanks for all the info! I really liked the infographic.
Laura says
I’m looking for new flooring with my dogs in mind. Want to replace my VERY SLIPPERY and dangerous (for my elderly pups) laminate with something safer. I love the new wood-look vinyl but hate the toxicity. And carpet won’t do. Does anyone have any recommendations for a safe, attractive flooring that my dogs won’t slip on? Hardwood? Bamboo?
Anna@Green Talk says
Laura, would you consider a slip free tile? They have tile that looks like wood now. I am worried that your dogs’ nails might ruin any laminate wood product. Also what about marnoleum? Anna
Frank Kraemer says
Great article. We switched from carpets to wood floors and saw a huge differents in the reduction of dust. My only concern was when we chose the floors, that they were sustainably harvested. Sounds cheese, but it’s of importance when we all want to achieve a sustainable future.
Frank
Anna says
Frank, I agree. Glad you choose sustainable flooring. Anna