durable-flooring / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Remember linoleum? Meet marmoleum! Remember linoleum, that durable but boring material found on most kitchen and bathroom floors of older homes? These days, its called marmoleum and it comes in bright colors and faux finishes. Whatever name you call it, it’s generally considered both the greenest and healthiest floor c...

The pros and  cons of cork flooring Cork is a renewable resource, harvested from trees without killing them. Although it comes from far away (mostly Portugal), its carbon footprint from transportation is quite reasonable given that it is light-weight and can be made very thin - so a lot packs into a shipping container....

Natural building products such as hemp flooring are gaining in popularity for those who want healthy homes with sustainable eco-friendly building materials. Hemp is a very sustainable crop given the quick growing time and the amount of carbon sequestered in hemp building products. A hemp crop goes from seed to ready-to...

The floors you choose really create the atmosphere in your home and give it its identity. The first considerations should be to choose a durable and non-toxic floor to ensure safe indoor air quality. When you are making choices, find out the estimated lifespan and what maintenance is required to keep it in good conditi...

How do the best heat pumps work? A heat pump works very differently than other home heating systems, in that it doesn’t ‘generate’ heat the way a furnace, boiler, radiator, oven or even a toaster or hair dryer would; instead, it collects heat from one place and transfers it to another. Think of your refrigerator as an ...

In many homes, basements are increasingly being converted into functional, comfortable, and often very livable spaces, but getting them to be warm, dry, and usable poses a unique set of challenges. A good underfloor heating system provides even warmth and saves space. Coupling this with waterproof floor screed helps to...

DIY video guide on how to lay tiles yourself We have finished the bathroom counter, floors and shower stalls with a dark slate tile. Slate is a natural stone, so its surfaces have more character and inconsistencies in texture - and at times in thickness - than manufactured tiles. This can mean a bit more effort on the ...

  This guide provides a comprehensive look at the key aspects of this topic. Below is an overview of the sections we will cover, allowing you to jump directly to the information you need. Comparison: metal vs. wood and other home cladding types Durability and performance Profiles and aesthetics of metal siding Metal s...

What is the two thirds rule? How insulation and wall assemblies work best In the world of durable, high-performance green building, few concepts are as little understood as the two-thirds rule. It's pretty much common knowledge that in cold climates the vapor barrier goes on the inside of insulation, and in hot humid c...

Have you ever noticed that at times you can feel cold in your home even though the air temperature is exactly where you like to keep it? That's because, contrary to what most of us think, air temperature is not the main factor that determines human comfort in a building. To illustrate a point, let's start outdoors. I m...

Slab-on-grade construction - technical guide   Deciding to build your home with a slab-on-grade foundation instead of a conventional basement or raised crawlspace foundation can greatly reduce your environmental impact during construction, and has the potential to offer significant financial savings as well. By replaci...