Yes, you can go green with your flooring.  Lately, I’ve had more and more customers who now ask me about green flooring products. This is a good trend, and it really makes me happy to see this trend here in Westchester NY and Stamford CT. Sometimes it’s easy to find a solution; other times it’s challenging to find something that is green but doesn’t cost too much green.Well, if you’re looking at hard surfaces, many of the following can classify as green products:For carpeting, it’s often more challenging to find green options.Bamboo flooring and cork flooring are green because they grow rapidly and are easily replenished…in fact, within 5-7 yrs. These are true green products but still make sure it’s a reputable manufacturer you are working with (e.g. Natural Cork/Bamboo or Teragren) to ensure that a) it’s high quality and b) free of any sort of bacteria/disease c) well constructed and doesn’t use formaldehyde during the process.Cork is a great option for kitchens as it’s soft on your feet.

And, as it’s starting to grow in popularity, there are now many pattern options to choose from. But, cork tends to be a bit on the expensive side – typically more expensive than your typical hardwood. (and, if you’re finding one that costs a lot less, watch out!!). Cork can be installed as a floating floor so sometimes there is a bit of savings here from a labor perspective. But, if your floor is uneven, this may not be the best choice unless you’re willing to pay for floor prep.  For more on how cork flooring is made and why it’s green, check out this blog post.Also, cork can be used as an underlayment to help muffle sound.  This comes in handy for many co-op and condo complexes where they have restrictions on flooring and sound transmission.I love bamboo because it looks so cool – it’s modern and zen-like and looks so much more interesting than the oak you see everywhere. And, best of all, it’s usually less expensive than oak, so it’s a nice win-win – you can go green and save money.

Laminate (fake wood) is a greenish product because it uses recycled wood. Rather than wasting the shavings from the hardwood, during the manufacturing process, this material is recycled to form a high density core board. Also, laminate lasts longer than carpet, so rather than replacing carpet 2-3 times, your laminate will last just as long, if not longer.Some hardwoods are green. Sometimes this is because the wood is reclaimed and sometimes it’s due to the manufacturing process (in some engineered hardwoods) that recycle the materials rather than letting them go to waste. But, like I mentioned above, hardwood will last a heck of lot longer than carpet, esp if it’s solid and can be sanded and refinished many times – may easily last over 100 yrs.Many customers get linoleum and vinyl mixed up due to laymen’s term usage. Vinyl is the “cheap” stuff that is petroleum based (although it does come in a variety of forms including tile and plank) but the two most common forms are the sheet vinyl and Vinyl Composite tile (which you might see in schools or some supermarkets).

But linoleum is a green product made from linseed oil. It usually comes in 6.5 ft rolls and tends to be thicker than vinyl. It’s also expensive compared to vinyl. It’s very retro in look and is starting to rebound due to it’s green nature.It’s much trickier to go green with carpeting. Usually, when customers are using carpet, it’s because they want to save money (vs. using a hardwood) although there are clearly other reasons for using carpet (e.g. softer/warmer on feet, sound muffler). White Wall Tires EuropeWell when it comes to going green with carpet, the preferred choice is wool. Outdoor Furniture Outlet Charlotte NcWool is a natural fiber and good wools will last a long time…and I mean a long time. Waterproof Covers For Playhouses

They tend to hold up well and are naturally resistant to most stains. I know some people with wool carpets they’ve had for 20-30 yrs and they still look good! But, wool tends to be expensive. In fact some of the fancier wools are extremely expensive…they will cost you more than hardwood!An alternative to wool is sisal if you want a natural fiber. It’s generally more expensive than nylons and polyesters, but less than wool. However, sisal which is a type of grass, is not very soft on your feet – in fact, it’s kind of rough. These types of carpets are highly durable and personally I think can work more in living areas where you would keep your shoes on (not the best option for a bedroom – at least in my opinion.)If you’re on a budget and want carpeting and want to be respectful of the environment, consider some of the softer nylons that can be recycled. Shaw has many products that fit this bill and they even have some that use recycled content for 25% of the fibers. So, if you want to go green, consider the above options, and be sure to consult an expert.

Sometimes you may be making an unintentional trade-off in costs or quality, and it’s best to explore before diving in head first. Check out what our customers are saying about us. I'm finally getting around to installing an engineered floating floor in our living room. I am looking at using 1/4" cork underlayment underneath such as this from Home Depot. It mentions 'cork underlayment adhesive'. I figure since it's a floating floor to begin with, there's no real reason the underlayment can't be floating as well, is there? The cost of the adhesive isn't a big deal, but I figure if I can save the mess/time, I will (not only for me, but any future person wanting to replace the floor). Are their strong reasons to adhere the underlayment? Thanks for the answers thus far! So, a follow-up question: If it's best to adhere the underlayment, what would be a pragmatic solution other than the mess of floor adhesive? The suggestions thus far: tape the seams of the underlayment together (duct tape? would other tape be better?)

Staple the cork to the subfloor (will that cause issues with the underlayment expanding/contracting? You don't have to glue it but it needs to be secured somehow - duct tape. Don't want the pieces rolling up on each other over time. You would just be duct taping the underlayment to the outside flooring or in the inside seams. And duct tape isn't hillbillying your floor. It is used because how well it handles moisture. Maybe someone has a specific underlayment tape they like to use but several manufacturers (I read directions) said to use duct tape. Also try to get some duct tape attached to the subfloor for each piece - clean subfloor. So around the perimeter you are taping your cork to the subfloor directly along the outside edge. In the "middle" you want to tape cork piece #1 to the subfloor. Then you tape some of cork piece #2 to the subfloor. Then you add additional tape to tape #1 and #2 together, where ever they join. This is not more work either. If you only attach the pieces together at the seams they will slide on you.