CA44 - Replace this material
GHG impact of timber in UK, the problems with LVT, and a 100% biobased building
NEWSWORTHY
🎄Timber Development UK releases a knowledge sheet on the embodied carbon of key timber products.
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THE TOPIC
This past summer we embarked on our first home renovation.
It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but we replaced our entire kitchen.
It was from the 1970’s and some of the drawers were literally falling out. Much needed to say the least.
When we started our search for new flooring the selection at local retailers was shocking.
Piles and piles and piles of Luxury Vinyl Tile with a side of plastic laminate.
At a few locations, I made the mistake of asking the obvious question:
“ Do you have any more sustainable flooring options?”
To which I received the confused reply:
“I’m not sure what you mean … we have some cork though!”
In many circles, LVT isn’t even looked at negatively. It’s a savior!
It looks great, it’s relatively cheap, and it’s bomb-proof.
What’s not to love about Vinyl?
Well there are two problems that people often overlook…
Human health and the environment.
So why is LVT so bad? And what can we use instead?
What makes Vinyl Tile so bad?
So many things! You can read this article by Green Building Supplies as to why they don’t even sell it.
1 - LVT it made from PVC. Why so many acronyms? Probably so people don’t think about the fact that it is made of polyvinyl chloride which is hazardous from production to disposal.
2 - 99% of LVT products are either incinerated or tossed in the landfill because it is very difficult to recycle. As you might guess, that allows all of those toxins to leak out into the environment.
3 - Vinyl Chloride is a human carcinogen and is listed as a toxic chemical to avoid in the Living Building Challenge Red list. I don’t think you want your kids crawling around on that!
4 - PVC is contains harmful off-gassing toxins that are known as forever chemicals!
What can we use instead of Vinyl?
1 - Linoleum Flooring
Linoleum is both a sheet and a tile-based product that is a great swap out for LVT. In fact this is what I did with my kitchen floor and it looks and feels great. Sure, you can’t get the same fake wood look … but should anyone have that anyway? The product I purchased was a Linoleum Click by Forbo which has a cork backer and is super easy to install yourself. Here is a snapshot of what our system looks like.
2 - Reclaimed or new hardwood
Wood is an age, old flooring material that checks all of the boxes in my books. If you can find something reclaimed or reused it makes an even better case. A wood floor can last a long time and doesn’t go out of style IMO. Just pay attention to the finishes on your hardwood.
3 - Cork flooring
Cork is a good replacement because it’s made from the bark of trees and doesn’t require the tree to be cut down. This product comes in a variety of shades and colors but does have a very unique look. We considered this for our floor but decided it wasn’t the right fit for us. I’d try this in a bathroom or smaller space where you want something a little fun!
4 - Lower CO2 LVT
This is not a recommendation, but remember that even with product categories like LVT there is a large range of emissions factors for products. Take LVT for example, a quick search on the EC3 Tool shows a range from 7.11kg to 93.73 kg. So if you HAVE TO specify this product, make sure to still do your research on which one does the least damage.
PS - what got me thinking about this topic was Robin Guenther talking about the health issues with our healthcare system. Here is her 30min TedMed talk if you want to hear more.
From the talk:
“If US healthcare was ranked as a country it would be the 10th highest GHG emitter”
THE PERSON
Jack is the Director of Climate Strategy for the architecture firm EHDD in San Francisco and Seattle. He is the lead technical developer of EHDD’s EPIC tool and their wider C.Scale suite of emissions models. he is very connected in the AEC carbon industry including presenting at conferences and posting most of his work on LinkedIn for all to see! Give him a follow and make sure to check out EPIC!
THE PROJECT
This showhome is built of almost entirely biomaterials including wood, mycelium, seaweed, straw, and vegetable fibres as well as earth and sewage. There are 100 bio-based materials in this building to showcase different plant-based building products. Some are obvious like wood but others are more surprising like tiles made from sewage.