I am often asked about this 'new' green movement and how we implement green building practices into our projects. I thought I would comment on this as well as talk about some specific products that we frequently use on our products.
First, let me state that I believe that remodeling in general is a form of green building. Rather than building a completely new structure, possibly on a new site where there would be obvious ecological impact, we are choosing to modify and/ or add to the existing structure, rather than abandon it for a new structure or site. There are other basic green reasons for not vacating an existing home and moving to another, but I won't go into those any more.
Another thing to note before just diving in and making your purchase is that there is a lot of "greenwashing", where manufacturers and suppliers make claims that their products are green products while in reality this may not be entirely true. This is one reason that we have not been able to fully embrace the green building movement as a lot of information needs to be sifted through in order to determine what really makes sense.
As for products that I feel completely confident recommending, here are a few:
-Marmoleum flooring- Manufactured using mostly raw natural products such as linseed oil, rosins, and wood flour. There are a multitude of colors and patterns and it can be a really striking floor. This is a great flooring choice for allergy sufferers.
Marmoleum
- Paperstone countertops are another really nice product that uses cashew nut resins and recycled paper to create a very durable, beautiful countertop material. This material can be fabricated with standard woodworking tools (routers, table saw, orbital sander).
Paperstone
- Low VOC (volital organic compounds) paints- if you are sensitive to odors that are generally associated w/ paints and finishes, most manufacturers produce paints that have little or no odor.
- Bamboo and other sustainably harvested wood flooring- We've been using bamboo a fair amount lately and it is really a very durable floor. Much harder than a lot of other wood floors and the factory finishes are really incredible. The sites below are a couple of sources for bamboo and other floors: