flooring

I am getting ready to re-finish the wood floor in our house. The floor currently has a poly-urethane finish that is getting weak. We have a 6 month old baby and I am looking for a product with low VOCs. The last time I finished the floor we were not living in the house and their was plenty of time to allow the poly-urethane to cure and gas out. Can anyone recommend a durable finish with LOW VOCs that can be applied over the current poly-urethane topcoat.

Care & Maintenance of Eco Friendly Wood Floors

Proper care and maintenance is essential for the performance of any wood floor. Wood flooring should be one of the last items in the construction process to be installed. Once the flooring is installed it should be protected to avoid any damage that could be caused by tradespeople. If using glue down or floating installation methods, do not allow foot traffic or heavy furniture on floor for 24 hours after installation is complete.

In order to prevent scratches it is wise to adhere to the following steps. There is no such thing as a “scratch proof” wood floor, but following these basic procedures will reduce the likelihood and frequency of scratches.

* Felt padding should be permanently affixed to the legs of all furniture before it is moved into the space.
* Do not allow people to wear spiked heels on the floor, these will severely damage even the hardest wood floors and finishes.
* Pet claws should be properly trimmed at all times.
* Work boots and shoes that may have pebbles lodged in the soles should be removed prior to entering.
* It is important to remove grit. Care should be taken to prevent dirt, sand and grit from accumulating on the surface of your floor. They will act like sandpaper and abrade the finish. Walk off mats should be placed inside and out at all exterior exits, and the floor should be swept or vacuumed frequently. All mats or rugs should be cleaned and/or replaced on a regular basis. They should also be moved occasionally to allow natural color changes caused by light to occur evenly in all areas.
* Be sure to always use proper cleaning products. To clean a factory urethane finish, vinegar mixed with water (applied with a slightly damp mop, never a wet mop) is effective at removing scuffs, dried spills, and dust film. Floor waxes, oil soaps and petroleum-based cleaners should not be used under any circumstances.
* Take precautions to avoid standing moisture. Water and wood floors do not mix. Never wet mop a wood floor, and always clean up spills and standing water as soon as possible. With water or any other cleaning agent, be sure to thoroughly ring out the applicator or mop prior to applying it to the floor. A damp mop is fine as long as the moisture is limited to an amount that will evaporate almost immediately. Moisture that is allowed to seep into the seams between the planks may cause damage to your flooring. Do not allow soiled mats or rugs to stay on the floor as they can trap moisture on the surface.

Common Pitfalls of Wooden Flooring

Many wood flooring complaints and claims are a result of conditions that are beyond the control of the manufacturer or seller of the product. It is important to be aware of and to educate customers as to some of the most common pitfalls to avoid. It is critical to make sure that you do not have wet concrete slabs at time of installation. Inadequately cured concrete slabs will continue to release moisture after flooring is installed, which can cause movement and other problems for wood flooring. On- and below-grade concrete slabs can become wet if groundwater rises. Adequate curing times and proper moisture barriers are essential.

Improper heating and ventilation can cause damage. Most wood flooring is manufactured to perform best within relative humidity (RH) ranges of 35% to 65%. It is important to run heating and humidity control systems in advance of installing wood flooring so that job site conditions at the time of installation are similar to those that will prevail when the space is occupied. Conditions that are too dry can cause as many problems as conditions that are too wet! Dry climates can present environmental conditions that are very hard on wood flooring. This is not an issue with just eco friendly flooring, it is an issue with any wood flooring from any source. Wood floors are products of nature, and as such are subject to natural forces.

If you expect your wood flooring installation to experience humidity levels lower than 35%, the guidelines below may help prevent problems. Keep in mind that it’s not only desert and mountain areas that experience dry conditions – in cold climates, humidity levels indoors during the heating season can be extremely low. A high rise building in New York City might be as dry as a home in Arizona during the coldest months of the year.

* Use Humidifiers: The best way to avoid problems caused by excessive drying is to regulate the moisture in the space with humidifiers, which should be functioning throughout the life of the floor. (Don’t turn them off if you are away from home). Most flooring manufacturers require that humidity be maintained within certain levels (usually 35% to 65%) in order for the warranty to stay valid.
* Avoid Sudden Humidity Change: Just as it is important to protect your floor from extreme dryness, it is equally important to protect it from moisture. If the wood takes on moisture and is then subjected to its normal dry conditions, the rapid drying may damage the floor. Painting, plastering, or anything else that artificially adds moisture to the space should only be done if dehumidifiers are in place to remove that moisture from the air before the flooring has a chance to absorb it.
* Install Engineered Flooring Right Out of the Box (Except Exotics): If engineered flooring is allowed to dry too quickly it can cause stresses within the planks, which may result in cracking, cupping and other problems. For best results, leave the flooring in its packaging on site. If acclimation is recommended (as with some engineered exotics when installed in dry conditions), only open the ends of the boxes. During installation, only open as much as needed to work from. Once the flooring is laid, the factory finish will help seal the floor so that the moisture escapes more slowly, preventing damage.
* No Wet Mopping: When you wet mop your floor in a dry climate, the dry wood will absorb moisture (causing expansion) and then shed it very quickly (causing shrinking) once you’ve finished mopping. This rapid change in dimension of the planks causes cupping and other damage. To clean the floor, use a lightly damp applicator that does not allow moisture to sink into the seams.

Some species and formats are more susceptible to damage from excessive drying than others. For example, White Tigerwood and Hickory will tend to perform better than Maple; and Vertical Grain Bamboo will tend to perform better than Horizontal Grain Bamboo. Generally, engineered bamboo or Cumaru (Brazilian Teak) is not recommended in dry climates unless humidity conditions are carefully controlled. Maple is somewhat unstable as well.

The products that are most likely to survive without problems in dry out-of-warranty environments are: hand scraped Hickory, White Tigerwood, and properly acclimated solid flooring such as bamboo, woven bamboo and solid exotics.
Wood Surface Scratching

This is one of the most common complaints that flooring dealers receive from customers who have had a floor installed and then return a few weeks later unhappy that their floor is scratched. Educating the customer before the floor is installed can often prevent these complaints. The key solutions to the common pitfalls are proper maintenance and managing customer expectations. Always make sure that your customer reads the manufacturer’s care and maintenance instructions before they occupy the space where the floor is installed. And remember, there is no such thing as a scratchproof wood floor!
Refinishing an Eco Friendly Wooden Floor: Screening & Top Coating

Screening and top coating is a method for renewing the finish on a wood floor without actually removing the old finish and sanding down the wood. It will repair most signs of wear and create a uniform, sealed surface on the floor. It is relatively quick and inexpensive and can be repeated indefinitely. With screening and top coating, even the thinnest wood veneer wear layer can last forever because people walk on the finish, not on the wood. Factory applied finishes can be top coated just like jobsite applied finishes. In areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, and spaces where food service occurs, top coating a newly installed factory finished wood floor can help prevent against moisture damage. In heavy food service areas such as restaurants, two to three top coats are recommended.

There are both mechanical and chemical systems for screening, i.e. roughing up the surface of the old finish so that new top coats can adhere to it. The mechanical method usually involves putting a Scotchbrite pad on a standard drum flooring sander and operating the sander in a normal fashion. Chemical systems are offered by Bona Prep (Bona Prep Recoating Adhesion System) and Basic Coatings (Basic Coatings “TyKote” Sandless Recoating System). The manufacturer’s instructions should be followed.

Part 12 of our 15-part Q&A series on all aspects of green building from the publishers of HealthyHouseInstitute.com. Click here for the introductory post and furthur details.

Question: Why don’t you like certain types of carpeting?

Answer: Some carpets are high emitters of VOCs. Choose low-VOC types.

Question: What’s the best kind of carpet to buy?

Answer: Look for those rated by the Carpet and Rug Institute's Green Label Program. Otherwise, the best advice we can give is to look for a product with as little odor as possible. It’ll help to take someone along with you who has a good sense of smell when you go shopping for carpet and padding. This is imperfect advice because some of the chemicals outgassed don’t have an odor. If you can’t find a low-odor carpet, you can roll it out in an uncontaminated garage and let it air out there before you bring it indoors for installation. Furthermore, you should install the carpet with tack strips rather than an adhesive.

Many people believe natural-fiber carpets are inherently healthier. Sometimes they are, but that’s not always the case. Natural fibers are often chemically dyed or treated and wool carpet is routinely treated with mothproofing chemicals. Actually, some 100%-nylon carpets are less bothersome than some natural carpets. Whatever kind of carpet you choose, we highly recommend using a central vacuum cleaner to maintain it.

Area rugs may offer advantages over carpet. First of all, you can often find them locally made of cotton or other natural fibers at reasonable prices. Some may even been dyed using natural plant dyes. If they have any odor when new, they can usually be laundered in a washing machine or hung outdoors until odor-free. As a result, they're much easier to keep clean than wall-to-wall carpet. If a larger area rug won’t fit in your washing machine, you can take it outdoors and beat it over a line—but be sure and wear a good dust mask.

Question: Wood floors are always a healthy flooring choice, right?

One of the hottest trends in flooring today is the selection of environment- friendly options. Some of the top green options include cork, bamboo, linoleum, wood and wool. Additionally, recycling programs allow the flooring industry to do its part. Blakley’s Flooring, in Indiana, is one company with environment-friendly flooring options in addition to a recycling program that helps benefit others.

• Cork is the outer bark of the cork oak tree, and is used for a variety of products including engine gaskets, wine corks and of course, flooring. During the manufacturing process, much of the work is performed with traditional hand labor and most of the energy used originates from recycled cork waste. Cork is a great choice for high-traffic areas and is an excellent insulator from sound and vibration.

• With bamboo, no natural resources are depleted because it is actually a grass. Bamboo often seems like hardwood because of its rigid texture, and comes in vertical and horizontal styles. Since 1944, manufacturer and importer Teragren has been upholding a mission to help reduce the dependence on timber by manufacturing bamboo options. Also considered to be “lucky,” bamboo provides a durable and yet contemporary option.

• Linoleum is made from natural materials and is considered durable with antimicrobial properties provided through the continued oxidation of linseed oil over the flooring’s life. Linseed oil is produced when seeds from the flax plant are pressed together. It comes in several colors and is usually provided in sheets. However, it can also feature a snap-together installation method with a cork attached to the back.

• Some hardwood options come from socially responsible forests where five trees are planted for each one cut down.

• Wool is both renewable and biodegradable in addition to being the most durable and resilient carpet fiber. It is naturally soil resistant, repels water, accepts the deepest and richest colors of dyes and is flame-retardant. Additionally, wool carpeting helps improve air quality by absorbing contaminants in the air.

With each new flooring job, several pounds of flooring materials are often wasted and dumped into landfills. Realizing that this was detrimental to the environment, Blakley’s Flooring implemented a recycling program and adopted a green commitment. Each month, Blakley’s keeps 20,000 pounds of refuse out of landfills, which is enough to fill two three-car garages every day. This unique recycling program provides fuel to Indianapolis homes and businesses. If the materials were not recycled, it would take more than 1,000 years to decompose.

Blakley’s owns its own shredding machine that breaks down old flooring materials including carpet, vinyl and wood. The shredded materials are taken to Indianapolis Power and Light. IPL then converts the materials into steam, which helps power Indianapolis.

If you are interested in Blakley’s environment-friendly flooring options or recycling program, please visit our Web site at www.blakleys.com or call us at 317.576.8200 (near Castleton) or 317.575.0440 (Carmel).

The average person spends 80% of their lives indoors. Public awareness about the health effects of poor Indoor Air Quality has increased demand for building products that do not pollute the air in our home or office.

Conventional paints, finishes, flooring, adhesives, cleaning products and carpeting are known to contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, polybrominated Diphenyl ethers (PBDE), phthalates and many other hazardous chemicals that can result in health problems like allergies and asthma, especially in children.

Using Low- or No-VOC materials, reclaimed or sustainably-harvested wood products, wood alternatives such as bamboo and palm wood, natural flooring, carpets, rugs, and decor can make your house greener.

Building with tested and proved green materials also provides an alternative to products that degrade the environment we want to leave for our children and grandchildren. In buying green building materials, you can cast your economic vote for a better world, personalize your home or office, and make the air you breathe cleaner.

Yet another fabulous shopping weekend looking at eco-friendly products for the house. We discovered the Eco-wise store, which got the Best of Austin 2007 award for the most eco-friendly, green store. Good for them!

We met a very animated, yet friendly sales guy giving us the scoop on eco-friendly/sustainable flooring, countertops and rainwater collection.

Basically, there are several types of flooring:

• Bamboo flooring, which is a fast growing type of grass that is easily grown and harvested, but shipped from China. Bamboo is hard, resilient and can be made into many different beautiful patterns. There's a variety of quality, so be careful what you pay for!
• Cork flooring, which is made from the bark of cork oak trees, and when stripped, does not destroy the tree. Advantages are that they are softer on the feet, especially in an area where you stand a lot (i.e., kitchen), and are recycled and have no VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
• Linoleum flooring, which is an all natural, non-toxic flooring made of linseed oil, produced by pressing seeds from flax, an easy to cultivate and abundant plant. They are usually warm and softer on the feet than cold tile flooring and come in a variety of colors. The problem is the look of it, in my opinion, as it has that 70s retro look that doesn't evoke beauty to me, but hey, beauty is the eye of the beholder :-).
• Local or reclaimed wood, specific to your area. Check out wood that has been taken from buildings that were demolished. You can sometimes find great deals in reusing it for your flooring, banisters, ceiling beams, etc! We are checking out using hickory, which is a near diamond hard wood that is found in Arkansas and milled locally in the Hill Country. It is a beautiful wood that can be stained to your desired color and will last decades.
• Stained concrete with fly ash, which is basically the mineral residue resulting from coal plants and when mixed your concrete, greatly reduces cement production and therefore eliminating much of the carbon emissions. They are quite fashionable in homes nowadays, as it can make your home look very modern by staining or creating patterns in the concrete. It also provide a large thermal mass for your home. A thermal mass is some sort of structure (i.e. stone) that keeps a constant temperature and thereby positively affects the temperature in your home. Concrete floors are relatively cheap, as they can be part of your foundation, and you can then stain it, and then instantly have your floor ready. You can easily repair them if they crack and are durable, but the only problem is that concrete can be hard on the feet and unforgiving if you drop something on the floor.

We also looked into concrete countertops with varying degrees of recycled glass in them or using sorghum or bamboo as a countertop as opposed to concrete. There are even countertops made of recycled paper that are even stain, scratch and heat resistant! You have a lot of options to create the look you desire.... MORE HERE...

We've just published another installment in our continuing effort to bring you in-depth information on every product, designer, material, method and expert mentioned on the show. In our guide to Episode Eight: Floors & Closets, you can learn how to build health and happiness starting with beautiful, earth-friendly materials underfoot. From high-tech concrete and natural stains and finishes, to natural carpet and recycled sheep barn flooring. Discover the possibilities alongside Kevin.

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