Looking for eco-friendly flooring options for your home?  We’ve talked carpet, Marmoleum, bamboo, concrete and more here on GetWithGreen.com.  The team at Designing Spaces produced this nice nine minute video on options that you can consider for your remodel.  Watch and learn about lifespan, recycling, and installation.

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This week Pioneer Millworks announced what they are calling the first fully eco-engineered wood flooring in the industry.  At GetWithGreen.com we have not seen one yet either (so if you know of one, leave a comment and let us know!).

Engineered floors are growing in popularity in remodels, and new construction.  For their product, Pioneer Millworks is using FSC certified plywood, and formaldehyde-free low VOC glue.   Here is what their announcment had to say:

Las Vegas, NV February 2008 — Pioneer Millworks is poised to re-engineer the wood flooring industry with the introduction of what is said to be the first, fully-eco engineered floor to hit the market. The new line was launched at Surfaces this week.

Until now, engineered flooring (wood veneer over plywood platform) has inherently been a non-eco friendly product thanks to uncertified veneers, glue and finish toxicity, and off shore manufacturing.

“For years, we’ve resisted producing this type of floor, it just goes against our eco principles,” say Pioneer Millworks President, Jonathan Orpin. “Since our customers have increasing requested engineered options, we decided to do something (green) about it.”

Now, after more than a year of development and testing, Pioneer Millworks is launching what they believe to be the most eco-friendly engineered floor on the market.  Details of this eco-friendlier product are:

• Wear Layer:  FSCcertified fresh sawn or 100 percent antique reclaimed
• Platform: largest mix of FSC certified material (70 percent plus); no added formaldehyde
• Pre-Finish: oil and wax UV cured, made from all natural ingredients
• Packaging: made from 100 percent post consumer materials, using water-based inks. Sourced and manufactured in the USA, in a way that’s healthy for customers, our employees and the environment

Why the growing need for engineered floors? For starters Pioneer Millworks say they’re easier to install, especially when pre-finished. What’s more, engineered flooring is often the best option over concrete slabs or in subterranean applications (like basements) they claim.  The floors can be glued-down or floated, giving condo or apartment residents a less permanent hard wood option.

According to the National Wood Flooring Association’s2007 Wood Flooring Market Profile, engineered products are estimated to account for 46.6 percent of total U.S. wood flooring square foot shipments during 2007. From a manufacturer’s view, an engineered floor increases yield. “Profit aside, it allows us to cover more square feet with rare antique species like Chestnut,” says Orpin.

Pioneer’s engineered flooring retails for approximately $8-12 sq. ft.  It is available in 4-8 inch widths (most homeowners select random widths, 4-6 or 6-8 they tell us), and lengths 2 to 7 ft.  Pre-finished options are also available.   

Since 1989, Pioneer Millworks has manufactured quality products in their upstate, NY 13 acre facility — a reclaimed bowling alley — using alternative energy sources such as 100 percent wind power, bio-diesel and reuse of scraps. Their products offer ecologically conscious homeowners, designers and builders an alternative to non-sustainable flooring without compromising quality, character or selection. Pioneer Millworks is a FSC certified chain of custody manufacturer in three categories: reclaimed, mix, and pure. Their products are good for you and the earth. All products LEED point eligible for all you architects in our audience.

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How much wood are we using?   Where does it come from?  Where do we send it?  When we ship it out, does it come back to the US?  Building Product Digest shares some aggregated factoids/statistics…  

By David Koenig (Editorial & Production – Cutler Publishing, Inc.)
BPD-Building Products Digest
 
Use of American hardwoods has remained stable over the past five years, according to the Hardwood Manufacturers Association.

Total hardwood usage in 2006 was 10.7 billion bd. ft., the same as in 2002. Although usage in furniture has declined over the past decade, other uses have increased: kitchen and bath cabinets have grown 61%; flooring grew 56%, and mouldings, dimension, and millwork increased 38%.

Usage in furniture has declined because 53% of all wood furniture sold in the U.S. is produced overseas. However, American hardwoods are increasingly exported to countries such as China, Vietnam and Malaysia, and then returned to the U.S. as imported furniture. The trend is one reason for the 3.4% increase in exports in 2006.

Despite a 6.4% decline in shipments of strip flooring over the last decade, flooring will remain important as remodeling keeps the market strong.

Use of American hardwoods for moulding and millwork is 38% higher over the same period, even though significant amounts are imported from Canada, China and Brazil.

According to HMA’s new report, domestic hardwoods are a natural choice for green building projects. They are abundant, remove carbon from the air as they grow, and can be locally sourced to eliminate overseas shipping costs. 

via Building Product Digest

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Shaw’s Epic Hardwood Flooring is composed of wood fiber that is a bi-product of saw-mills.   Shaw’s claim that their flooring uses approximately 50% less newly forested wood in production for their 3/8″ product, and 67% less newley forested wood for their 3/4″ products.  See the Shaw product at: Epic Hardwood – Initiative 009

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This quick read provides some background on the above four flooring options.  I guarantee you that you’ll like learn something about a linoleum option that you might not have been aware of:

Flooring for Green Design

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