Nov 16 2008
One of the big movements in the construction industry right now is green building. Architects and designers are working to implement green building practices in their projects whenever possible. Wood floors are a building product that is recognized as a green building material.
One of the most prominent green building organizations is the United States Green Building Council which established the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. This program encourages sustainable green building practices and assigns points to products and procedures that meet specific performance criteria. Wood meets several criteria for sustainability and improved indoor air quality.
One of the areas where materials can receive additional points is for being a rapid renewable. Hardwood is not considered rapidly renewable because it takes 40 to 60 years for most hardwood trees to mature, but when you take into consideration that wood floors last in excess of 100 years, hardwood is rapidly renewable when its entire life cycle is evaluated. Think about it ... the wood floors you install today will still be useful and beautiful 100-plus years from now, and during its service life, you won't be using additional raw materials, energy or natural resources.
To learn more about the many environmental benefits of wood floors, visit the National Wood Flooring Association's web site at http://www.nwfa.org, and click on the "What's New" link.
The NWFA is a not-for-profit trade organization of more than 4,000 wood flooring professionals working worldwide to educate consumers, architects, designers, and builders in the uses and benefits of wood flooring.