If you want to achieve eco-friendly flooring, many non-toxic flooring choices are available in Canada. Most of the time, a lot of people perceive “being green” as those products made and crafted only from renewable materials and came from natural resources but little did they know, there are more things to take into consideration aside from those. If you want to get eco-friendly flooring in Canada. You should choose those types that are renewed, recycled, transported in the distance, non-toxic to the environment, have a long life cycle, low-maintenance, and come from a reliable manufacturer.

Types and Cost of Non-Toxic Flooring

When it comes to non-toxic flooring, you can choose from various wood floorings, from engineered to prefinished wood flooring. Each of these types varies in features and costs. It’s up to you on what to choose or what fits best to your home styles.

Engineered Hardwood Floors

Usually, engineered wood consists of several plywood layers forming your core flooring, with a top hardwood layer. The finished look of engineered wood is like any other hardwood floor. These wood floors fit well to in-floor radiant heat and relatively good soundproofing. It is solid and stable, just like any hardwood floor. It is environmentally friendly because it helps reduce demand on forests by using leftover wood scraps in the laminate core. The average cost of these wood floors is $4 to $9 per sq. ft.

Solid Hardwood Floors

Solid wood floors can come either raw or pre-finished. You can usually find local and FSC woods; solid wood floors are natural-looking but quite durable. Usually, the traditional raw wood flooring requires tedious work in finishing compared to installation, more so if you finish it with polyurethane. After installation, you need to sand it to furnish it fully. However, for a superior finish, you need to take a lot of time and effort. The average price of solid hardwood is $3-$12 for each sq. ft.

Recycled Hardwood

Generally, this wood is recycled from other floor types and building projects. Since various woods are scarce, recycled woods have become more prevalent. Most of these woods came from recycled stuff in old constructions. For being recyclable, these materials cut down environmental waste and prevent the cutting down of more living trees. Be careful only when choosing these woods, as some are infused with toxic substances.  If you want to have these non-toxic flooring woods, you have to pay $5-$30 for every sq. ft.

Bamboo Flooring

Although bamboo is often thought to be wood, it is a fast-growing grass that needs no fertilizers or pesticides to grow. It is renewable, sustainable, antimicrobial and durable. It’s available as FSC certified and formaldehyde-free, making it better for interior air quality. Bamboo has five years turnaround time from planting to harvesting.

The only downside of this eco-friendly flooring in Canada is its sizable carbon footprint since it almost comes from Asia. Also, there have been issues regarding working conditions for those in the bamboo flooring industry. The average bamboo flooring cost is around $5 to $8 per sq. ft, almost the same as common hardwood flooring types.

Solid pine floors

Pine is a relatively common type of non-toxic wood flooring, but these are more often found in custom homes in rural areas. However, pine is softwood, so it is more prone to damage compared to hardwood floors. Scratches are certainly what you will get with these floorings, particularly if you have kids or pets inside the house. The good news about pine flooring is, it is cheaper than hardwoods and is most likely local. You can purchase it mostly anywhere in Canada. It is a beautiful wood with a lot of character and a warm tone.

Many Canadian homeowners choose pinewoods for their flooring for its affordable cost. The average pine product for residential flooring might cost around $1.50 to $2.00/sq. ft

Reclaimed Wood Flooring

Reclaimed wood is too flexible and can give you a floor with many styles depending on your taste and fashion. You can also reuse old flooring or use old barn boards for a more appealing and rustic look. Usually, barn boards are much wider and have a richer colour and history. Re-using flooring material is more challenging to work with than using newly milled wood. At a minimum, the cost of these non-toxic flooring is around $8 to $12 per sq. ft. But the maximum price can reach as high as $20 to $40 a square foot.

Cork

Cork is another renewable and durable wood flooring material usually harvested from a specific oak tree’s bark. Cork flooring often contains recycled content from wine bottle corks. Just like other types of wood floor materials, cork also requires the same maintenance.

Cork is best at giving natural air as it has pockets making cork soft and well-insulated. Aside from that, it can also provide excellent acoustic properties for absorbing sound. Getting finished flooring from this product brings a unique and more comfortable, warm feeling to your home.

However, when purchasing this material, you should be more cautious in selecting brands since the core is often made from a high-density fibreboard. You might find some material that contains VOCs. Also, it doesn’t grow in North America, unlike other wood materials. Being lightweight and renewable material remains under the ‘umbrella’ of what we consider a ‘green’ wood material. Usually, these non-toxic flooring’s average cost is between $5 and $10 per sq. ft.

Prefinished wood flooring

Some flooring does come prefinished, and it is most commonly found with polyurethane. However, you might find pre-oiled floors as well. Most prefinished hardwood flooring makes an easy and quick installation since it has tongue and groove ends over the length and a tiny chamfer cut on the top, avoiding sharp edges.

If you are installing a floor in an existing home, this one can be a great solution to avoid dust and fumes coming from finishing. As to maintenance, it would be the same as any other types of wood floor materials. The national average cost of these non-toxic flooring is $5.38 for every sq. ft, with a range between $4.64 to $6.11

Should I Get Non-Toxic Flooring?

If you are much concerned with your and your family’s health, you may want to consider getting non-toxic flooring. There are many eco-friendly flooring choices in Canada, and they differ in features and costs. Just in case you are looking for new wood flooring that offers elegance, style to your home and non-toxic to the environment and human health, you may visit Three Trees Flooring. You may call us at (416) 665-2624.