Going Green With These Wood Alternatives

When it comes to building an eco-friendly home or to completing a “green” remodeling project, one area that you should certainly pay close attention to is to the use of wood. Many homeowners enjoy the look of wood and want to include wood in their construction and remodeling projects as much as possible. Fortunately, you don’t have to give up on wood completely in order to have an eco-friendly home. Rather, when searching for wood products to use with your home, you should keep these things in mind.

FSC Certified Lumber

If you plan to purchase lumber for your construction product, you can make it greener by selecting umber that is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. In order to achieve FSC certification, the umber needs to have been grown in a sustainable forest. Purchasing lumber that originates from sustainable forests is important because sustainable forestry focuses on maintaining the health and well-being of the ecosystem. To accomplish this, the amount of goods and services taken from the forest are kept at a level that the forest is able to maintain without reducing the quality of the soil or watershed features while also maintaining buy cheap generic viagra a good seed source for the future.

Recycled and Reclaimed Wood

If you want to install hardwood floors, you might want to consider purchasing flooring that was made from recycled or reclaimed woods. Not only is this wood made from timber that was cut decades or even centuries ago, which prevents the need to cut down additional trees, the weathered character of this wood can be simply gorgeous.

Bamboo

A popular option for those who are trying to build a green home is to use bamboo as an alternative to hardwood. Since bamboo grows by as much as one foot every day, it can be harvested and then regrown quickly and easily. This is because bamboo is actually a grass rather than a tree. Nonetheless, it is available in a variety of shades and colors. It is also quite durable

In addition to being a popular alternative choice for flooring, bamboo is also used by many homeowners for countertops, window shades and even bedsheets. Bamboo countertops, which are typically made from bamboo plywood, offer a look that is similar to butcher block.

When installing bamboo countertops and flooring, it is important to select adhesives that do not contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as VOCs are harmful to the environment as well as to your health. To decrease the amount of VOCs contained in your adhesives, you should select those that are water-based and cialis cheap contain150 grams or less VOCs per liter. You can also reduce the necessity for adhesives by selecting Brand Viagra tongue-and-groove flooring materials.

If you will be painting the flooring or countertop materials, you should also select paints that have low or no VOCs. VOCs were initially added to paint in order to help prevent the paint from freezing, to allow it to dry more slowly and to provide the pigment necessary to create the color. Today, a number of quality manufacturers offer eco-friendly paints that contain no VOCs or very low levels of VOCs.

Author Bio: Jim Olenbush is the owner of Cantera Real Estate in Aust

in, Texas. His team sells property in Lake Travis, TX, and they are very experienced with Waterfront Condos on Lake Travis. Jim and his team would love to answer any questions you may have about the area.

Category: Home/Home Improvement
Keywords: green homes, eco friendly floors, green floors

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