Hardwood Floors August/September 2017

FROM FOREST TO FLOOR: A Truly Sustainable Choice

By Stacy Brown

As an industry, we are lucky. Wood floors are truly the most environmentally friendly flooring option available. Responsible forestry practices ensure that we will never run out of raw material. Trees can be regrown time and time again to replace those that have been harvested. And while it is true that it takes hardwood trees 40 to 60 years to mature depending on the species, the rawmaterials needed to replace wood floors won’t be needed for 100-plus years. This is because wood floors can last more than 100 years material. Pound for pound, it is stronger than steel, it costs less to manufacture than other building materials, and it uses less energy in the manufacturing process than other building materials. Wood also has 10 times more insulating capacity than steel or aluminum, and five times more insulating capacity than concrete or cinder blocks. It is also an extremely efficient insulating material. To completely understand the environmental friendliness of wood as a flooring material, it is important to also understand the various stages in the life cycle of wood floors. when they are properly maintained. Wood is also valuable as a building

Leaves of a walnut tree.

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