Eco-Friendly Home Remodeling…It’s All in the Details
It’s not just how a remodel is built that makes it environmentally friendly. It’s the finishing touches that are incorporated that can make all of the difference. Today’s eco-friendly home products are not only good for the environment, but are great to look at and easy to maintain. Here are some of the popular products today’s homeowners are flocking to.
Paper-Based Countertops
Made of tree pulp taken from strictly managed sustainable forests, paper-based countertops are a great alternative to stone and plastic surfaces. They come in a variety of colors and are mostly stain, scratch and heat resistant.
Bamboo Plywood
Bamboo is a sustainable wood because it grows rapidly and reaches maturity in just four years. The plywood is laminated together using a low-VOC (volatile organic compound) adhesive. Bamboo is great for bathrooms because it stands up well in a moist climate.
Natural Linoleum Flooring
Natural linoleum has been popular for over 100 years. It is made from all raw materials, including linseed oil, resins and wood flour and is easy to clean.
Recycled Glass Countertops
Windshields, stemware and beverage bottles are bound together with concrete and fly ash (a waste by-product of coal-burning power plants) as opposed to a petroleum-based resin binder. The countertops are comparable to granite in terms of strength, scratch resistance, heat resistance and maintenance.
Cork Flooring
To make this flooring, about one third of the cork-oak tree’s trunk is stripped — the tree is left undamaged and quickly regenerates new bark. Cork flooring is durable, yet it is much softer than standard hardwood flooring and it’s easy to install with a tongue-and-grove locking system.