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Page 14 of 15 pages « First < 12 13 14 15 >
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Teragren
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Marian Keeler's Review
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Flooring
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Approved by Subject Editors on May 31, 2005
Reviewed by Marian Keeler
Teragren Studio is a wide plank floating floor with a patented self locking installation system called TeraLoc (TM). Its planks are 7-11/16" inch wide, available in only prefinished applications, in vertical grain, flat grain, and natural or caramelized colors. The beauty of a floating floor is that no glue is required for installation.
Bamboo is not considered a wood, rather, it is a fast growing grass and is thus rapidly renewable. Presenting a viable wood alternative, bamboo is an increasingly popular choice when it comes to issues of protecting old-growth forests. Because of increased harvesting in areas like China and Vietnam, it is important to keep an eye on local sustainability questions such as social equity for workers and local environmental impact. Because the source material is harvested overseas, the embodied energy of this product is slightly higher than a locally grown FSC certified wood product.
Teragren uses Moso bamboo, a species noted for its hardness. On the Janka Ball testing method, most bamboo in the Studio series tested harder than white Oak or Rock Maple. Since durability is a factor in considering sustainability of a product, bamboo should be an excellent choice. Studio comes with a 25 year warranty.
Teragren should be commended as one of the few companies around who voluntarily does emissions testing on their products and associated adhesives. They have selected low VOC, water-based laminating adhesives, sealers and colors from the German manufacturer Klumpp. Their formaldehyde levels, a compound commonly found in bamboo because of the laminating process, are quite low comparatively, and adhere to stricter European standards.
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Buddy Rhodes Studio
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Eric Freed's Review
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Countertops
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Approved by Subject Editors on August 12, 2004
Reviewed by Eric Freed
Made from all natural materials, concrete should be highly green, except for the fact that it's primary ingredient, Portland Cement, has a high embodied energy. This means that the production of Portland Cement is resource-intensive and it's manufacture produces a large amount of greenhouse gas. You can, however, negate the effects of Portland Cement by replacing up to 50% of it with Fly Ash, a harmless by-product of coal mining. Concrete resists staining, denting, scratching and cutting. A lemon left on the surface may etch acid into the top, but this is true for any countertop except metal. Cracking is common, but part of the look of the material.
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MetaForm Studio
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Cassandra Adams's Review
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Furniture
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Approved by Subject Editors on July 08, 2005
Reviewed by Cassandra Adams
The company fabricates these lights from recycled wood, so each lamp is one-of-a-kind depending on what kind of wood is available at the time of manufacture.
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Syndesis
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Cassandra Adams's Review
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Countertops
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Approved by Subject Editors on August 13, 2004
Reviewed by Cassandra Adams
This product is a concrete terrazzo containing up to 41% recycled materials. The use of recycled and waste materials reduces the amount of environmental impacts for raw material extraction and to landfills. This product is locally manufactured (in Santa Monica, California), so there is also a reduction in the amount of transport energy consumption.
Terrazzo releases few, if any, emissions into the indoor environment, and its hard surface allows it to be thoroughly cleaned with ease. Terrazzo products are among the best-tolerated by people with chemical sensitivities or chronic respiratory ailments.
Terrazzo is extremely durable, comparable to concrete and stone, although it requires occasional maintenance.
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Light Corporation
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Lydia Corser's Review
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Furniture
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Approved by Subject Editors on August 13, 2004
Reviewed by Lydia Corser
This company makes elegant fluorescent lighting for home, office and more recently, public buildings. They use virgin materials, but have been recognized for their energy saving business practices. Anything to gain public acceptance for fluorescent lighting is a good thing. These fixtures are well-made, aesthetically pleasing and will be appreciated for years to come. The fluorescent lamps take 10,000 hours or more to burn out, so I give this company a high rating for reduced environmental impacts during use.
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Wausau Tile
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Marian Keeler's Review
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Flooring
Stone & Tile
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Approved by Subject Editors on August 13, 2004
Reviewed by Marian Keeler
Uses 100% recycled glass using a combination of post industrial and post consumer recycled glass. The old version of this tile was 33% recycled content by weight, the New Thin Tile is 60% by weight, owing to a change in production from a face and back construction to a unified material. Manufactured in Wisconsin. Uses a process developed by Columbia University to protect cement and glass from the alkali-silica reaction and thus, erosion of cement matrix. Refer to http://www.civil.columbia.edu/meyer/indre.html for more information.
Tile production in general has impacts:
Embodied energy studies reveal that there is habitat alteration/destruction, and erosion from mining during the manufacture of ceramic tiles. There is also the threat of over-excavation from mining and mining itself creates combustion, which causes emissions. Tile setting adhesives, latex mortar and grout are derived from petrochemicals and their emissions cause health problems. During firing of tile, combustion by-products are released.
For recycled content products, the 'full benefit" of raw materials are realized from the recycling process, through the use of both post consumer and post industrial glass. Clay and sand is abundant but petroleum and natural gas are finite resources and should be considered when exerting care over natural resource depletion.
Can be set and grouted with cementitious products and is pre-sealed (New Thin Tile only) in the factory. Cementitious setting materials are preferable from an indoor air quality perspective. Latex-based setting materials are sources of VOC emissions and can thus be considered a threat to human health, particularly for people with chemical sensitivity.
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Hamilton Manufacturing Incorporated
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Dietmar Lorenz - DSA Architects's Review
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Insulation
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Approved by Subject Editors on August 19, 2005
Reviewed by Dietmar Lorenz - DSA Architects
'Thermolok' cellulose insulation is made of recycled paper fibers and has a very low embodied energy, but requires flame retardant additives. Turning old newspapers into insulation could be considered downcycling, and the fibers taken out of the paper process need to be replenished. However, without going into the details of paper production or the need for sustainable forest management and wise use of timber, cellulose insulation is still based on a natural, renewable material, which is inherently a positive environmental attribute.
As all insulation, cellulose insulation will save much more energy than used for its production. Spray installation is favorable as it also provides very good protection against air leakage. Cellulose insulation also provides enhanced fire resistance and good sound insulation.
Indoor air concerns of cellulose insulation are limited to the installation, when dust masks are needed to prevent fiber inhalation. Cellulose insulation does not contain formaldehyde binders and the flame retardants are generally considered safe. Borate flame retardants are not bio-accumulative, but may have toxic effects if ingested in large quantities. 'Thermolok' uses 100 percent Boron 10 fire retardants and no Ammonium sulfate; the latter may cause corrosion. Concerns about VOC emissions from printing inks are limited, as today's inks are almost entirely vegetable based. Hamilton Manufacturing Incorporated (HMI) provides a copy of a comprehensive toxicity study upon request.
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Chicago Art Glass & Jewels, Inc
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Cassandra Adams's Review
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Stone & Tile
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Approved by Subject Editors on August 12, 2004
Reviewed by Cassandra Adams
These glass tiles are manufactured in a similar manner to conventional products except that energy consumption for the processing of raw materials has been reduced because they contain some recycled glass (both post-consumer and post-production). However, energy consumption is still greater than some other products. Extraction impacts are also reduced by the use of recycled wastes.
Glass tiles, whether conventional or green, release no emissions into the indoor environment, and their hard surfaces allow them to be thoroughly cleaned with ease. Glass tiles are durable, exceeded only by concrete, ceramic tile, stone, and terrazzo. However, abrasions and wear are more apparent on shiny surfaces.
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Expanko
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Marian Keeler's Review
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Flooring
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Approved by Subject Editors on August 11, 2004
Reviewed by Marian Keeler
Renewable resource: Cork flooring is made from the bark of the cork oak tree which is stripped from the cork tree every nine years. Chemicals are rarely if ever used in the production of the cork trees either for pest control or fertilizer. Recycled content: waste cork from wine cork production is used, waste generated from floor tile production is then granulated and used to power the ovens that bake the floor tile (although energy is recovered, combustion produces emissions). The negative factor in cork pertains to its embodied transportation energy: most cork sources are found in the Mediterranean: among them, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria and France; thus, there is a large transportation energy load involving the shipment of the product to the West Coast of the U.S. Point of final assembly is Parkesburg, Pennsylvania.
No formaldehyde added, but concerns similar to those of linoleum are paralleled with cork products. 'Cork is now frequently used as a building product for floor coverings, because the material is often regarded as "natural" and "healthy". However, industrial cork products may contain a number of artificial ingredients and the quality, especially the emission behavior, will strongly depend on the type of additives and the manufacturing process. Several researchers have reported high emissions of formaldehyde, phenol, furfural, acetic acid and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from composite cork.
Installations have been recorded ranging up to 60-80 years.
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UltraGlas Inc
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Eric Freed's Review
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Countertops
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Approved by Subject Editors on August 12, 2004
Reviewed by Eric Freed
Glass is formed from the heating of silica, which is essentially sand. Glass is all natural, easily recyclable and can be made locally. The downside: Glass, especially the gorgeous art glass from UltraGlas, uses a fair amount of heat and energy in it's creation. UltraGlas uses a minimum of 15-30% recycled glass in their float glass, and can use 100% recycled glass, when requested. Glass is all natural, does not offgas, resists the growth of mold and mildew, won't scratch and is easy to clean. I suggest a citrus based cleaner to keep the surface perfect.
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Page 14 of 15 pages « First < 12 13 14 15 >
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