We are still tossing what floor coverings we should use for our new house.Does anyone have experience with alternative floor coverings such as bamboo,cork,vinyl,sisal carpets?
We have young children and dogs so we are looking for easy cleaning with minimum staining and of course low use of chemicals and impact on the environment.
sustainable floor covering
(12 posts) (10 voices)-
Posted Monday 9 Mar 2009 @ 9:42:35 am from IP #
-
what is the bare floor surface ? concrete ?
Posted Wednesday 18 Mar 2009 @ 12:26:03 pm from IP # -
Yes it's a concrete slab.
Posted Wednesday 18 Mar 2009 @ 2:25:46 pm from IP # -
We have found cork a durable and relatively low maintenance solution. Laid in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry on a timber floor it is now just about due for recoating after 25 years. It had a two pot polyurethane coating so if this sort of finish is unacceptable then it is obviously not a goer.
Slate and a rug is also pretty durable, we have it in our living area and second bath room, again it needs to be sealed occasionally.
Another cheap and reasonably durable finish on concrete is paving paint, we painted the living room floor at the farm and with a few rugs it looks great and is easy to maintain, just wash it with a mop.
I have seen painted floors with stencilled patterns - looks terrific!
I believe some of Frank LLoyd Wright's houses had painted concrete floors, so you would be in good company.Posted Sunday 22 Mar 2009 @ 11:07:48 am from IP # -
About 2 years ago, we installed heavy duty compressed bamboo flooring throughout our lounge/dining, hallway and bedrooms, directly onto a concrete slab. We just love this flooring and found it hard wearing and durable, dropping something does not dent the floor. It's easy to maintain and hardly shows any wear. Our only issue is in one area near a damp bathroom floor where the bamboo has become discoloured. So I would not recommend it's use in any area likely to be water affected.
Bamboo is soft to walk on, and seems to hold a very even temperature, so I never notice the floor is cold, and I always like to go barefoot. I just love it, but would recommend that you consider the heavy duty variety. Our original quotes were for bamboo and wood, and we found only minimal difference in the quoted price.Posted Thursday 9 Apr 2009 @ 3:56:24 am from IP # -
another vote here for bamboo.. we've had it now for 18 months, and it is terrific. laid directly onto concrete with a plastic/foam waterproof membrane. couldn't be happier.
Very hard wearing, if you drop something, the item bounces and doesn't break, and the floor isn't dented either.Posted Thursday 21 Aug 2014 @ 10:11:08 pm from IP # -
Presumably a bamboo floor will be thermally insulating and so will compromise the thermal mass properties of a slab, but much less so than carpet. Does anyone have any comparative figures for this?
Posted Thursday 21 Aug 2014 @ 10:33:42 pm from IP # -
if the product is thermically insulating isn't that a good thing?
I hate the cold floors when they are tiled or polished concrete.. too cold for me even in summerPosted Friday 22 Aug 2014 @ 1:42:21 pm from IP # -
Carpeting is the best option for floor covering.. I like carpeted floors the most.. We covered most of the part of our home with the Custom Area Rugs .. It can give a more attractive look to any place..
Posted Monday 20 Oct 2014 @ 11:22:18 am from IP # -
I'ld vote for slate Had it in kitchen and bathroom for 30 plus years. Never bothered to have it sealed never had any trouble with it. Give it a wash if I've got guests coming and that's about it. I don't find it cold to walk on and I never have shoes on in the house. For the lazy house keeper it's great
Posted Monday 20 Oct 2014 @ 11:22:50 pm from IP # -
Interesting how treads get picked up after some time...the topic stays relevant though as more people choose to stay put and renovate.
Re the types of floor coverings and or coatings, there are a multitude of choices and it all gets down to ones preference and budget obviously.
Sealing concrete is really popular at the moment, some choose to grind back the surface exposing aggregate, or one can even leave it as is and add some colour with tinted oil. When sealing concrete it is important to ensure the slab is completely dry ( for new builds) and that the treatment does not created a plastic layer on top making it very slippery when wet. We have had great feedback from using natural oils as they are penetrating and don't create a film.
My personal preference would be cork. Soft and insulating, can be oiled and again colour used. No need for any carpet and easy to keep clean.
Posted Tuesday 2 Dec 2014 @ 10:39:00 pm from IP # -
We had a cork floor once on a north facing room of a previous home. It faded badly in the sun. But if out of the sun, it was great.
Posted Sunday 21 Dec 2014 @ 7:06:24 am from IP #