Want to install a green floor in your home? Even without doing a bit of research, its easy to determine what type of floor you’ll be looking at. Woods. Stones. Anything with sustainability attached to it.
Not surprisingly, natural stone tile is one of the greenest building materials you can use. Its moisture resistant, lasts a lifetime, and releases no harmful byproducts into your air supply. So installing it everywhere gives you instantaneous access to eco-friendly choices. But if you want to take it to the next step and make the installation process greener as well, here’s what you need to know.
Natural stone tiles have a high thermal mass, which means overall it can help you with your heating and cooling. If you place natural stone tile in a room with lots of light from south facing windows, the stone will soak up the warmth throughout the day and help keep your rooms naturally warm. Likewise in the summer months, natural stone tile will cool at night when you run fans over them in a dark room, retaining the coolness that will mean less use from your air conditioner. And if you want to take it to the next level and install radiant floor heating systems underneath your tiles, they will retain their warmth throughout the day, needing less energy for the actual heating process.
With natural stone tiles, don’t be afraid to look at recycled stone tiles as well. Stone tiles never die, and never reach a point where they can’t be recycled and used for another purpose. You can find perfectly good discarded tiles that would look just as good as “new” tiles in your room.
Different types of stone are commonplace in different regions throughout the world. If you want to stay as green as possible, make sure you are using stones that are quarried in a location near Colorado. By using local, you won’t burn large amounts of fossil fuel shipping it from around the globe and into your home. The more local you can stay, the less you will save.
Choose a low toxic sealer. Natural stone tiles do require a little bit of maintenance once they are installed in your home. A quality sealant will protect your tiles from spills and stains. Unfortunately most protectors on the market today have harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can bring serious health issues into your home. Always ask for installer to use a low toxic, low VOC sealer.
Seal your tile with a low toxic grout. In high moisture areas, you run the risk of mold and mildew if water gets under your stone and seeps into the floor boards. Make sure you seal all potential problem areas with a quality grout made from low VOC material.
Always remember to recycle when you are through. If you live in your home long enough, eventually you will want a change. Just remember natural stone tile never dies. If you remove it from your home, look for a place that will recycle it and put it to good use in another home or location. Its much better for it to be reused than to end up in the dump, where as much as 85 percent of construction waste ends up.
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