Bamboo
Plyboo™ bamboo flooring is competitive in price and performance with other standard floor materials. Both beautiful and durable, bamboo is one of the best alternative solutions in the flooring industry for natural home design. Even though it is a grass, it looks and behaves like a hardwood. Bamboo tests out at 95% the hardness of red oak. Its tensile strength of 28,000psi exceeds that of steel in laboratory tests, yet it is lightweight and flexible. As one of the fastest growing plants in the world, bamboo sprouts up faster than any tree. Where a hardwood tree used in flooring may take more than 120 years to mature, bamboo can be harvested every 3-7 years. Bamboo is a plentiful and renewable resource—an ancient building material known in cultures throughout the world.
Carpet
We offer a number of carpet patterns and colors made from renewable resources such as all natural, biodegradable high-quality wool, cotton, jute, hemp, and even silk. Our carpet contains the lowest possible percentage of chemical treatment at every stage of manufacturing, and is safe for children, infants, and individuals with a high sensitivity to environmental toxins. It also helps to prevent sick building syndrome. The wool carpet also naturally repels water-borne stains which allows for easy cleaning. (Livingreen can provide referrals for eco-friendly wool carpet cleaners. For cleaning synthetics, please see our cleaners section).
Certified & Salvage Lumber
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization pursuing a global initiative which enables consumers to identify timber and wood products from well-managed woodlands, through a system of forest certification and product labeling. FSC was founded in 1993 by a diverse group of environmental and social organizations, progressive timber traders, manufacturers, retailers, indigenous people’s groups, and forestry professionals from around the world in response to concerns about global forest destruction.
Our salvage lumber is collected from both local and international sources and includes wood from a range of species and prior function – old wine barrels, locally felled trees, and from buildings set for demolition. Some material is milled for flooring, some as slabs for counters or furniture. Please call for more specific information on available species, quantities and sizes.
Cork
Cork has been used as a flooring material for more than one hundred years. Cork flooring is durable, provides acoustical and thermal insulation, cushions the foot, is resistant to moisture damage and decay, and is fairly easy to clean. Though imported and thus energy-intensive to ship to North America, cork flooring is still worthy of consideration for use in low environmental impact buildings. Cork is the outer bark of a species of oak tree, Quercus Suber, which grows in the Mediterranean climates. Open, savannah-like cork oak forests cover approximately 2.2 million hectares (5.4 million acres) in seven countries: 30% in Portugal, 21% in Algeria, 20% in Spain, 16% in Morocco, 5% in France, and 4% each in Italy and Tunisia. Available as both glue-down tiles and floating floor planks.
Linoleum
Natural Linoleum is one of the greenest of flooring materials in composition. Its primary ingredients are wood flour & ground up cork. Organic pigments give the material its color, linseed oil binds it together and lime is used as filler. Jute, a natural fiber, is used as a backing to help stabilize the material. It is available in multiple patterns and a wide range of colors. Comes in glue-down sheets or tiles and floating floor planks.
Pre-cast Concrete Paver Tiles
Eco-friendly Paver Tiles are sun-cured and manufactured locally with minimal energy use. Nature is the inspiration for the colors and designs. Durable and long-lasting, they may be used both indoors and outdoors. State-of-the-art production and artisan attention combine to make these tiles beautiful, easy to install and low maintenance. These products have been independently tested and meet or exceed industry standards. The tiles come 9×9”, 9×18”, and 18×18” with 5/8” thickness. Well-known interior designer David Michael has created two styles – the clean-lined Minimalist Series and the more rustic Casa Monterey.
Recycled Rubber
Durable, colorful and inexpensive surfacing from old radial tires? This recycled rubber flooring is as strong and resilient as original tire rubber. It is slip-resistant and ideal for indoor or outdoor uses. It withstands extreme temperatures, is water resistant, and its low VOC emissions meet U.S. indoor air quality specifications. Pigment is added to provide a rainbow of color choices. The material comes in both rolls and pre-cut tiles in 5/32, 1/4, 3/8, and ½” thickness. The surfaces can be sealed and finished to ease cleaning and maintenance.
Palmwood
Palmwood flooring is manufactured from plantation-grown coconut palm trees that are in abundance throughout much of the world. Many palm trees species will produce nuts (including coconuts) for up to 80 years. When they become sterile, they are removed and replaced. The wood can then be harvested for uses that include flooring, paneling, and furniture. As global rainforests continue to be tapped for timber needs, coconut palms provide an innovative and creative alternative to exotic and tropical hardwoods that are more rare or endangered. Palmwood flooring is available in 3/4”x 3” x 72” planks, either unfinished or pre-finished with an oil-based low VOC polyurethane. 12” parquet tiles are also available in a cross or 4-square pattern. The lumber can vary greatly in color and density, but only the hard dark grade is sold in our product line. The color range is medium reddish tone to a dark mahogany , and the adhesive is formaldehyde- free no VOC. This flooring can be installed over a sub floor using a glue-down or nail-down installation.
Recycled Rubber / Cork Tile Flooring
Recycled Rubber/Cork Flooring tiles are designed to be one of the most environmentally sensitive flooring materials available. It is a composite made from a mix of recycled rubber and mineral fillers with cork granules. Both the cork and rubber are 100% post-production waste and any waste produced in the manufacturing process is recycled back into the product. At the end of its useful life, it can be recycled again. It is a unique high-performance material that is resilient, acoustically beneficial, extremely durable and easy to maintain. The 18”x18” flooring tiles are well-suited to heavy commercial applications and residential use—it can even be applied in wet areas such as locker rooms and bathrooms. The flooring is available in a variety of colors and two different surface finishes: studded for additional slip resistance and smooth profile for areas that typically remain dry.
Recycled Glass & Ceramic Tile
This hand-crafted ceramic and glass composite tile is comprised of 55% recycled glass obtained primarily from crushed airplane windshields, light bulbs, and waste automotive glass. The crushed glass is fused with ceramic materials to produce a tile that is comparable in performance to a mid-grade porcelain tile. The tile comes in 16 colors: 8 in earth tones and 8 with a jewel-like quality. It is available in 2 lines: a ‘Classic’ which has a glazed color finish and is used for countertops and backsplashes, and a ‘Traffic’ which has color throughout with a matte finish and is used for flooring applications. The tiles range in size from 4”x4” to 12”x12.” Trim and accent pieces are also available. Stain and scratch-resistant, this tile is easy to clean and has an excellent wear rating.