# Environmentally Sensitive Hardwood Flooring **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616 "2013-04-13T16:59:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/1 "2013-04-13T16:59:25Z")
Any hardwood flooring experts here? I’m wondering what are the best options for someone who wants hardwood floors, but also wants to be environmentally sensitive. Bamboo, I understand is good on the sustainability side, but I also understand that it’s got issues in the “high VOC” category, that most of it comes from China (who knows what environmental practices are observed), and of course it’s not a hardwood in the first place. I’ve heard of people recycling scaffolding planks by splitting them down the center and using them cut side up. Not sure if that is particularly environmentally sensitive, though. It does save cutting down trees by using something that might be just tossed in the dump, but it also might be taking perfectly good planks that will have to be replaced by cutting down more trees. Anyway, input from the experts here is appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/2 "2013-04-13T17:21:25Z")
Used wood is a way to keep from cutting down more trees. There is plenty of old barn wood, submerged wood, old factory floors. But the stuff is in demand and usually demands a higher price. There is also a substantial amount of reclaimed flooring available. I saw a site for reclaimed Heart Pine the other day (that’s what my floors are, not reclaimed, just old). Search on ‘reclaimed flooring’, you’ll get a lot of hits. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/3 "2013-04-13T17:45:16Z")
Bamboo is not wood at all off course, but is comparable to oak in common formulations, and can be made three times as hard. That’s why people talk about it as a “hardwood” (as opposed to a softwood like pine). There are companies that provide salvaged wood – for example [http://www.thewoodscompany.com/](http://www.thewoodscompany.com/) has “reclaimed” as an option. Like **Tripolar** says, just search for “reclaimed” or “salvaged” flooring. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/4 "2013-04-13T19:24:34Z")
Yeah, but is reclaimed wood really environmentally friendly? How much carbon footprint is created by reclaiming wood? Sure, you don’t cut down any trees, but is the carbon footprint better or worse than cutting the trees down? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/5 "2013-04-13T20:00:50Z")
The footprint should be less than that for new wood because it doesn’t have to be dried, and requires less initial milling. After that it’s the same as new wood, for boards. For reclaimed flooring, sanding and possibly planing is the only thing done to the existing flooring. Mills are pretty efficient these days, but fresh wood has to be kiln dried, usually by burning scraps and sawdust from the milling process, and that dumps a lot of carbon into the atmosphere. The process of making laminated wood flooring (real wood or bamboo, not plastic) must consume a bunch of energy with the additional milling and drying the glue, but it uses lower quality wood for the lower laminates getting a higher yield out of the tree. Cutting down the trees doesn’t produce much carbon except for the inefficient and heavily polluting chainsaws, but it does remove a large carbon sink from environment. I don’t think you can beat reclaimed flooring for carbon footprint, it just needs resurfacing. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/59ef9b/32.png) [@FlyingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRat)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/6 "2013-04-14T02:28:54Z")
We have a [Fossilized bamboo floor from CaliBamboo](http://www.calibamboo.com/bamboo-flooring-fossilized-natural.html) and really like it. No formaldehyde, and FSC-certified, but it is strand-woven and so incorporates resins. A lot of bamboo flooring (and there are a lot of varieties on the market now) is soft and easy to mark, but this stuff is pretty much the hardest floor out there, and it looks awesome. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/7 "2013-04-14T07:16:49Z")
One other thing about hardwood coming from companies which do not traditionally make flooring: The custom is for flooring to be made a tongue and groove - with nails driven at 45 degrees through the tongue and set flush with the tongue. This can be either incredibly time-consuming and difficult, or relatively easy with the use of collated nails held by a jig. Those jigs can be adjusted to handle either 1/2" or 3/4" (I suspect 5/8a’ would also be possible; don’t know). POINT BEING: Make sure your T&G “Flooring” is a size the machine can handle - HOME DEPOT SOLD A SHITLOAD OF BAMBOO “FLOORING” WHICH WAS 3/8" THICK" - good luck holding each individual nail at exactly 45 degrees. Modern scaffold planks are plastic - finding old white oak planks would be handy, but the pieces would be narrow. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/8 "2013-04-14T07:43:04Z")
Cork. Cork rapidly regenerates itself. They can peel cork off a tree forever. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/9 "2013-04-14T13:04:30Z")
If you care about trees, then you should buy regular 'ol hardwood flooring. The more demand there is for hardwood flooring, the more trees they will plant and allow to grow. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/10 "2013-04-14T15:20:23Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > Cork. Cork rapidly regenerates itself. They can peel cork off a tree forever. Cork is a hardwood? ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/11 "2013-04-14T20:32:52Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Cork is a hardwood? Well, it comes from a kind of oak tree, doesn’t it? I actually think most hardwood flooring is about equally environmentally friendly. Very little of it is old-growth wood, or virgin rainforest wood. You can look for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approval if you want an extra guarantee. ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/12 "2013-04-16T11:40:21Z")
Have you considered Engineered flooring? It looks great, wears just as well as pure hardwood, but is much ‘greener’ then a pure hardwood floor. ---
**Author:** ![Saraya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Saraya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saraya)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/13 "2013-04-16T13:53:34Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Any hardwood flooring experts here? I’m wondering what are the best options for someone who wants hardwood floors, but also wants to be environmentally sensitive. > > Bamboo, I understand is good on the sustainability side, but I also understand that it’s got issues in the “high VOC” category, that most of it comes from China (who knows what environmental practices are observed), and of course it’s not a hardwood in the first place. > > I’ve heard of people recycling scaffolding planks by splitting them down the center and using them cut side up. Not sure if that is particularly environmentally sensitive, though. It does save cutting down trees by using something that might be just tossed in the dump, but it also might be taking perfectly good planks that will have to be replaced by cutting down more trees. > > Anyway, input from the experts here is appreciated! I was really curious to the answer(s) to this, as I also could not fathom how ripping up or cutting into trees/plants of any type would be considered environmentally sensitive - or rather only using certain types. Does this mean there’s an abundance of X tree vs Y tree? Maybe you’re referring to not using wood of certain ages or purity levels? Why not instead use synthetics? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/14 "2013-04-16T14:13:17Z")
Would you consider eating corn or wheat from plants that were grown on a farm “environmentally insensitive?” Because most trees used for wood flooring, lumber and so forth are grown on tree farms specifically for the purpose of being cut down and milled. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/15 "2013-04-16T15:10:37Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > One other thing about hardwood coming from companies which do not traditionally make flooring: > > The custom is for flooring to be made a tongue and groove - with nails driven at 45 degrees through the tongue and set flush with the tongue. > This can be either incredibly time-consuming and difficult, or relatively easy with the use of collated nails held by a jig. > Those jigs can be adjusted to handle either 1/2" or 3/4" (I suspect 5/8a’ would also be possible; don’t know). > POINT BEING: > Make sure your T&G “Flooring” is a size the machine can handle - HOME DEPOT SOLD A SHITLOAD OF BAMBOO “FLOORING” WHICH WAS 3/8" THICK" - good luck holding each individual nail at exactly 45 degrees. Home Depot rents pneumatic floor nailers which are good for 3/8 stock; although if I were building a floor I’d want something thicker. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/16 "2013-04-16T17:30:32Z")
First of all, the notion that buying solid hard flooring is somehow “insensitive” to the environment is nonsense. If anything, the opposite is true. Secondly, the OP should definitely consider an engineered hardwood floor. It is a laminate, and the top layer (wear layer) is hardwood. And because it’s a laminate, it is very stable and resists warpage. I installed oak engineered flooring in my basement, and have been very happy with the results. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/17 "2013-04-16T19:03:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yeah, but is reclaimed wood really environmentally friendly? How much carbon footprint is created by reclaiming wood? Sure, you don’t cut down any trees, but is the carbon footprint better or worse than cutting the trees down? While cutting down trees to build things out of may not be environmentally friendly in some ways, it’s _carbon_ impact is good. Trees that are logged generally are replaced (in the US). Trees that are built into things are generally protected from decomposition, so the carbon is locked up in the product for as long as it lasts. Young trees grow faster than old, so the young sapling that replaces the mighty whatever is going to fix carbon at a faster rate. Add all that up, and (sustainable, responsible) logging has a positive impact reducing atmospheric carbon. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Medlo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hi\_Medlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Medlo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/18 "2013-04-16T20:10:27Z")
A friend has had bamboo flooring for a little less than ten years and it’s not wearing well. Her dog’s toenails mark it and the finish has worn off in high traffic areas. I do not know the quality of the product, but I’m not impressed with what I’ve seen of hers. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/19 "2013-04-17T09:18:58Z")
Import slats of Leucaena glauca. Probably cheap if it’s not farmed. The wood is hard, heavy, and kinda brittle. Those mothers increase their trunk diameters by 1 inch every year. They’re more of an unsightly pest here in my country. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616/20 "2013-04-18T09:05:35Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > First of all, the notion that buying solid hard flooring is somehow “insensitive” to the environment is nonsense. If anything, the opposite is true. Secondly, the OP should definitely consider an engineered hardwood floor. It is a laminate, and the top layer (wear layer) is hardwood. And because it’s a laminate, it is very stable and resists warpage. I installed oak engineered flooring in my basement, and have been very happy with the results. I have a house with “sunken” spaces - actually, they built a box just inside the entry, so you “step down” - see! it’s “sunken” if you step down! Anyway - did your product have some kind of trim which would turn the corner from horizontal to vertical? ```auto ___________________________ | | ``` If I could find engineered with solid trim and baseboard, I’d be on it. Brand names? Product lines? Thanks (yes, the current stuff is Home Depot grade crap - cheap ceramic where refrigerators are going to be dragged. Sadly, there are ocer 100 sq ft of this crap installed - all that labor to install a product with a service life of 5 years) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/environmentally-sensitive-hardwood-flooring/655616.md?page=2)