Carpet alternatives

[Matata]

Hi ya''ll....if you could replace your carpeting (great room & dining room) with an environmentally friendly product, would you consider cork? I''m going to talk to my interior decorator about it tomorrow. Been looking at some on-line retailers and I''m loving some of the pics. I''m also thinking about lineoleum. The new furniture is a combo of deco/contemporary. Anybody have any experience with cork floors?

 

[snlee]

Hmmm...I thought cork floors are traditionally used for kitchen floors and I've heard they are great. I've never heard/or seen cork floors in a family room or dining room. But it sounds interesting. I'm interested in hearing what your interior decorator thinks.

 

[Gypsy]

I like the bamboo floors I''ve seen. And the eucalyptus (spelling). But my favorite (really contemporary) is polished stained concrete.

 

[Dee*Jay]

We have bamboo in our family room and we love it. The only downside is that it will discolor over time in bright sunlight. Interestingly enough it gets darker though, not lighter like many other wood floors do, so you'll see a line after a period of time if you have a rug down.

I adore the look of concrete but it is hard on the joints over the long term. There is a woman who is a friend of the HH's parents and she had to have both hips replaced, the doctor thinks it's a direct result of her concrete floors. Who knows 100%, but definitely something to think about. Plus they are heavy and require some maintenance.

Cork is an interesting alternative, and is especially good with sound absorption, but if you spill anything on it it's all over. Are you thinking cork tiles? That would be OK because you could always replace individual tiles as needed, but the large sheets are a bad idea.

What about a reclaimed floor? E.g. a wood floor that has been salvaged from it's prior use, like an old wood farmhouse or church floor. That doesn't impact the environment and makes use of an item that would likely otherwise be thrown away.

 

[scarleta]

is hardwood a consideration?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

How about the wood laminates? Does anyone have experience with them?

 

[Gypsy]

Laminates have gotten a lot better. If you buy high quality ones, they can be quite nice. My parents have marble. Not sure how enviromentally friendly it is, but its an alternative.

I love the reclaimed wood idea though.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 8/30/2007 11:34:51 PM
Author: Richard Sherwood
How about the wood laminates? Does anyone have experience with them?

yes they range from awesome to total garbage!
The good ones are pressure laminated (glue is applied under pressure and penetrates the whole wood). They are sold as sandable.
The other types will split and your lucky too get 5-10 years!!

 

[Mara]

i put higher end wood laminate in my last place and i loved them. i only had them for ~3 years before i moved out but they were super durable. i did a lot of research online to find the right type to use and most affordable for top quality. i find that the lighter colors are the most 'real' looking, darker ones don't look much like real wood but it's still pretty and durable. we are considering putting it down in our family room and dining room because we are so tired of getting the carpet cleaned 2x a year...but we might move in less than a year so we also figure maybe not. but next hours, SO getting real wood floors, that's it...tired of carpet!!

cork...the thing that comes to mind is...be careful with those wild stiletto heels!

 

[poshpepper]

Bamboo flooring is very environmentally friendly (since it is grown and harvested specifically for use in flooring and only taken from renewable sources) and supposed to be durable.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We had a cork floor in our family room growing up. Really easy to care for. They can be really beautiful too.

 

[laine]

My brother''s fraternity house had cork flooring, so its definitely durable. I think it had some sort of varnish to protect it, as it still looked decent.

 

[perry]

For the unusual - but very elegent: Leather tiles.

Yes, these are tiles covered with real leather (thick). Not good for entry ways, kitchens, or bathrooms where they could get wet.

In dryer rooms such as living rooms, studies, etc they can last decades with proper care.

Natural sound proofing too.

Not cheap.

I believe their are at least three companies who sell them - in a vairiety of sizes and colors.


Perry

 

[ice_princess]

NOOOO! Cork is a nightmare to take up again. I work in a flooring studio and a few years back apparently floor fitters stuck it down directly on the concrete floors so now we have to remove it with a pneumatic drill. If you have it laid make sure they put it on plywood because otherwise if you have a change of heart a few years/months from now it's gonna cost a FORTUNE to remove it. sorry, I just have this reaction in my head everytime a customer says they have cork floors they want taken up...
I love sisal and seagrass personally link. It's a 'green' product so completely enviromentally friendly or even hardwood (that's obviously natural too) and if you go for something like oak it will last for years and years and you can just sand it when it gets scruffy, something else to consider is a product called marmoleum/linoleum. It's a natural product made from linseed oil in sheet form. Yes, I know it sound horrible but it's actually quite good and not that expensive.link
anyway, that's just me being my usual flooring nut...

 

[Pandora II]

I''ve just put down bamboo and I love it!

It''s not slippery, came with a 25 year guarantee on the surface, doesn''t warp so you can even use it in bathrooms, looks great, comes in loads of colours and is amazingly inexpensive.

It''s also very eco-friendly.

We didn''t have a single plank that we couldn''t use - they were all perfect (the Ikea ones are not very good) and there was a great choice of skirting boards and dividers and nosings. I have loads left over so made paperback bookshelves out of the planks with a nosing edge to fit a very shallow alcove.

Basically I''m a huge fan.

My parents used cork and it was a nightmare to take up again.

If you lay tiles, try to get porcelain rather than ceramic, they cost $$$ more but they don''t break if you drop things on them.

 

[Matata]

Thanks for the responses. I''m still researching. The reason cork is so appealing to me is that it''s antimicrobial, antifungal, can be used in bathrooms, helps with soundproofing, isn''t noisy when walked on like laminates & hardwoods. Every source I''ve read said it bounces back within minutes if it''s dented. I like the fact that it''s soft to walk on unlike laminates & hardwood. I think you can lay flooring over it, so I''m not too concerned about taking it up if I get tired of it.

I''m still considering bamboo but have a hard time with the fact that large areas of forest are being cut down for bamboo plantations so it isn''t as environmentally friendly as it''s touted to be. Yep, its a renewable resource, but it has quickly become a monoculture replacing more diverse habitat.

Eucalyptus is another alternative but I haven''t done much research about it yet. If I can find salvaged hardwood that can be repurposed, I''d consider it but I''m not too fond of taking care of wood floors.

The marmoleum/lineoleum alternatives are interesting and I''ll look at them a bit more in-depth.

I really really like the EnviroGLAS terazzo flooring but it''s too expensive for large areas and too darn hard a surface for comfy rooms like the great room. I might put it in the entry & dining room. I''m really hoping I can find something easy to maintain, comfy to the footsies, and resistant to pet damage.