Sustainable Flooring

With qualities like natural beauty, durability, lasting value and comfort, there are so many great reasons hardwood flooring makes a smart choice for your home. You might be surprised to learn that hardwood flooring is also a smart choice for the environment. With today’s growing awareness of how energy consumption and waste build-up impacts the planet, many of us look for ways to “green” our homes with materials that are not only beautiful, but environmentally friendly. Hardwood flooring meets those expectations perfectly!

• Natural wood products are among the most energy efficient to produce with their manufacturing limited to running a saw blade and kiln drying. Advances in manufacturing technology and processes also make efficient use of wood waste and by-products. For example, tree bark is shredded into mulch, and sawdust becomes animal bedding or fuel used to operate kilns.

• Wood products come from our nation’s forests, which naturally provide filtration and storage systems for our water supply, and they don’t require mechanical irrigation to regenerate. Responsible forest management selectively thins mature trees to create openings in the canopy that allow more precipitation and sunlight to reach the forest floor. Not only does this provide a thriving eco-system where seedlings and saplings grow, but sustainably managed forests can release slightly more water for a decade or so following timber harvest.

• Wood is carbon neutral. Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and separate the carbon and oxygen atoms. The oxygen is released back into the atmosphere, while the carbon is used to grow roots, trunk, branches and leaves. Sustainable management creates healthier forests that serve as a “carbon sink” to clean air of greenhouse gases and purify drinking water for wildlife and municipal water systems.

• Hardwood flooring doesn’t collect dust or allergens that can become trapped in other materials and contribute to health problems. Plus, hardwood flooring is easy to clean and maintain, which means you can keep your home allergen-free with little effort.

• The lifetime of a solid hardwood floor can be more than 100 years. Additionally, a hardwood floor can be refinished several times to bring back its original luster. At the end of its useful life, a hardwood floor can be re-purposed into other wood products, from furniture to combustible fuel, or returned to the earth where it will naturally decay. Although a hardwood floor is strong and durable, you can trust that it won’t be found sitting in a landfill indefinitely!

From its sustainable source to its healthy qualities indoors, you can live green with hardwood flooring without sacrificing style, comfort or peace of mind. Request a quote today!