healthy-floors / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

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...

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...

Mold in homes is a bad sign, so how to get rid of it or prevent mold in drywall? Mold and mildew in homes develop in conditions of high humidity, most often in bathrooms, kitchens, and basements, unless caused by roof leaks and other building envelope failures. Along with affecting the durability of your home, mold and...

How much insulation does a basement floor need? Insulating a basement is a great idea if it wasn't insulated when built, as before we began insulating foundation walls and below slabs (see slab on grade), it was generally estimated that basement heat loss accounted for about 1/3 of the total heat loss of a house. It is...

Polished concrete floors are extremely durable and non-toxic; silicate-based densifiers keep them that way and make it a great start to safe indoor-air quality in a home. This is an excellent flooring option for anyone with chemical sensitivities who wants a beautiful and durable eco-friendly floor in their passive sol...

Protect your home air quality during renos Any renovation or building project is exciting, but it can also be exhausting and emotionally taxing. Don't forget to keep your air safe to breathe in the process. Right at the end when it's time to furnish your new space can be one of the hardest times to stick to your enviro...

How to install a radon barrier - slab floors If in the kind of area where it's a good idea to install a vapor barrier against radon ingress, (check out the Radon maps by state and province page to find out here) we can't stress enough how important it is to test for radon, or better still to continually monitor for hig...

Sanding and refinishing a hardwood floor, when is the best time to do it? It may seem weird to say, but the best time to refinish a hardwood floor is before it shows severe signs of wear and tear. Hardwood floors and hardwood laminated or engineered floors are durable and can withstand a lot of traffic, but over time, ...

Backyard composting: create your own rich garden soil from kitchen food scraps Composting is nature's ultimate recycling system, turning your kitchen scraps and yard waste into a nutrient-dense, soil-building material. For the eco-conscious homeowner, it's a direct way to reduce waste and landfill methane emissions. Fo...

Being safe to breathe, natural oils are suitable and safe for pretty much  everyone, but of particular value in the homes of pregnant women, young children and newborns, and anyone with respiratory issues or chemical sensitivities. Food safe oils are a great choice for sealing cutting boards or butcher-block counters, ...

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have daydreamed on more than one occasion of having the luxury of being able to work from home. Oh, the thought of not having to deal with the daily commute, of being able to put your laundry on before the weekend rolls around and being able to spend your lunch break in the luxury of ...