What are the best eco-friendly flooring options?

In this era of environmental awareness, more people are starting to think about the impact of their everyday choices on the world around us. One of the areas where it is possible to have a positive environmental effect is in the choice of floors that you opt for in your home.

When it comes to eco-friendly flooring choices, the matter really boils down to two factors: how the floors are manufactured and how long they will last. It is about whether the process of making the floors harms the environment or not, whether the raw materials can be recycled and how quickly the floor will need to be replaced.

Read on to learn about the best floor choices if you want to make a ‘green’ statement in your home.

Cork

Cork is universally recognised as one of the best floor choices in terms of its impact on the environment. To start with, the material used to make it is taken from cork oak trees, which can have their bark stripped each decade with no long-term damage being done to them. The material is also fully biodegradable and able to be recycled once the floor has reached the end of its natural lifespan. However, cork floors tend to last for a long time, as the material is very durable.

That earns it full marks in terms of eco-friendliness and makes it a fine choice if that is a priority for you. It is a floor that can be fitted very easily, and has a number of other advantages too. Cork is warm and soft underfoot, which is useful in places like Chester when its especially cold. Cork is ideal for bathrooms because it is resistant to water damage.

Solid Wood

Solid hardwood flooring is another very eco-friendly choice for a home. Unlike engineered wood, it is completely natural so there is little in the manufacturing process that will harm the environment. Again, wood is a material that is totally biodegradable, being a natural earth resource, and it can be recycled for use as fuel or for other purposes when it is no longer being used for the floors of your home.

If properly looked after, solid wood floors will also be a very durable and long-lasting floor surface. Some homeowners choose to put down rugs in rooms where people will be walking over the wood in boots or shoes or where the claws of dogs might cause scratching. Wood can also be rotted by water, so it will be better for living rooms or bedrooms than bathrooms, but solid wood floors have the further advantage of looking great and being easy to wipe clean.

Bamboo

Many people think of bamboo as wood, but it is actually a type of grass that makes for a highly sustainable floor choice. It has a very rapid growth cycle, so it is soon restored after being cut for use as a floor material. While it may not sound like it would be especially hard wearing, bamboo is actually surprisingly durable too – even more so than some types of wood.

Like solid wood floors, it is also a wholly natural earth resource and thus is biodegradable and recyclable after its lifespan has ended. All of that makes it another floor option that passes every eco-friendly test as well as one that is a cost-effective selection. Bamboo can mimic the beautiful look of wood floors due to the dark caramel and earth shades that it is available in.

Like wood, it is best used in rooms where there is no danger of excessive water spilling on it though. That is because this can cause it to warp.

Wool Carpeting

Whether carpets are eco-friendly or not depends entirely on what material they are made from. Carpets made from synthetic fibres fail most environmental tests, both in their manufacture and their afterlife, but the same is not true for a material like wool.

This is a natural resource that is sustainable and fully biodegradable. As long as it has natural jute added as backing, it can be broken down rather than ending up in landfills. Wool carpeting will also not give off the fumes that synthetic carpets do that are caused by the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are utilised during their manufacturing process.

Wool carpets may be a little more costly than synthetic ones, but they will last for longer, which is another eco-friendly point in their favour. They also make for a floor choice that is very warm and comfortable underfoot, ideal for areas that are used a lot such as living rooms and bedrooms. The one room to avoid fitting them in is the bathroom, as they can be damaged by water.

You can contact flooring professionals who have years of experience to get more details about these eco-friendly floor choices.

How to get free carpets for your new home in North Wales

Many people struggle to save up a deposit to buy their first home and often have little left over to spend on furniture, appliances, and floor coverings. According to Olivia Marshall, a consumer affairs reporter for The Sun newspaper, it is possible to get free carpets for your North Wales home.

Marshall reports that some builders and developers offer financial incentives to help first-time buyers purchase items for a new home. She interviewed Harry Smith and Henry Broad, both in their twenties, who bought a house in Accrington, Lancashire for £145,995. They work in telecoms and are classified as key workers. This qualified them for a first-time buyer’s scheme offered by developers Gleeson, who gave them £1,000. This paid for extra plug sockets, fencing and new carpets.

The offers available for new home buyers vary considerably on who builds the homes, the qualifying conditions and how much they are offering. Many new home builders in North Wales have generous incentives. For instance, Bellway has a development in Wrexham where home buyers can receive up to £20,000 to spend on a new house - enough for luxury wool carpets in every room and much more to make a dream interior.

Help to Buy schemes are also available in Wales, enabling first-time buyers to move into a new home with just a 5% deposit. By paying a reduced deposit, many buyers find that they are able to afford new carpets and furniture for their home.

Vinyl flooring is a credible alternative to hardwood

Vinyl flooring in North Wales homes is now considered a credible alternative to hardwood.

In the years after World War II, vinyl flooring was popular for its durability, ease of cleaning, and affordability, though it was often considered to look cheap compared to hardwood flooring, and certainty was not regarded as a luxury product.

While vinyl was once regarded as a cheap and inferior type of flooring, times have changed. Nowadays, according to House Beautiful's associate shopping editor, Jessica Cherner, luxury vinyl plank flooring is a great alternative to natural wood flooring. She writes,

"Luxury vinyl plank flooring does, indeed, exist, and there's a way to make it both look and feel expensive."

Luxury vinyl plank flooring looks remarkably similar to natural wood, but at a far lower cost. Additionally, vinyl is water-resistant, making it suitable for bathrooms as well as living rooms. Luxury vinyl is made from many layers, which is why it is very strong. In addition to styles that resemble real wood, vinyl comes in many colours and patterns to match the room décor. Luxury vinyl is heat and water-resistant and very hard wearing. As vinyl flooring is resistant to water, it can easily be cleaned with a wet mop.

It is worth noting that installing vinyl is more complex than some floor coverings, so it is best left to expert vinyl installers.

Another alternative to wood is laminate flooring. This is less expensive than luxury vinyl, but is not as good quality.

Carpet colours to avoid

Carpets are a popular choice for homes in Chester and North Wales. This is because they add warmth and comfort to a room. With an abundance of colour choices available, design experts recommend avoiding certain colours.

While grey has been a popular colour for contemporary-style rooms, designer Becca Casey prefers beige, a natural shade that complements modern designs.

White carpets may look stylish, but they are not practical for busy households with young children. Interior designer Rachel Chudley recommends avoiding white floors as they require more maintenance and rooms need more colour.

Karen Hailer, the author of The Little Book of Color, advises against using too much red in a room, as it can be stressful. Earth tones like chocolate browns and taupe can add impact in more relaxing ways.

Some people choose black carpets because they think it hides dirt, but it is healthier to regularly clean carpets to prevent the accumulation of debris. If you like black, designer Shea McGee suggests choosing a black and white striped carpet instead of all black.

Purple is a bold colour choice, but Lucy Searle, editor-in-chief of Homes & Gardens, warns that there are limited colours that go well with purple. She recommends using a colour that is closer to beige or dark blue for a more dramatic style.

Ultimately, the choice of carpet colour is up to individual preference, as there are no fixed rules about which colour is best. As a general rule, avoid colours that dominate or overpower a room.

AI monitors laminate flooring quality

A leading laminate flooring manufacturer is utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor quality control during laminate flooring production.

Laminate flooring is manufactured at a rapid production line speed of one hundred meters per second. However, it relies on experienced operators to spot manufacturing defects. This is a highly skilled job, and there is a shortage of experienced personnel trained to detect flaws accurately and quickly.

The Unilin Group, which produces QuickStep flooring, approached computer vision technology company Robovision to develop AI technology capable of detecting defects in laminate flooring. The challenge was to create an automated system that could distinguish between a natural-looking wood grain pattern on laminate and a flaw, even on differently coloured flooring. Robovision successfully created an AI system that spots flaws and instantly alerts operators, who can quickly remove the defective plank. This significantly increases production output.

AI-powered inspection systems are expected to be the future of visual inspection in manufacturing. They use cameras and image analysis AI to accurately detect defects. The system developed by Robovision for Unilin can even detect minute flaws in laminate planks moving past cameras at high speeds. Dries Van Poucke, the Unilin Group Production Engineer said:

“Thanks to Robovision AI, monitoring defects of every single laminate plate is now feasible in such a complex and fast-moving production process.”

Due to AI, customers purchasing Quickstep laminate flooring for their homes or commercial premises in Chester and North Wales can be assured that their new floors will look immaculate.