Flooring Comparison Report 2014

Transcription

1 Flooring Comparison Report 2014

2 Table of Contents Carpet... 3 Lifecycle & Environmental Impact... 3 Polished Concrete... 4 Epoxy... 5 Life Cycle Assessment of Industrial Floors... 5 Vinyl... 6 Center for Health, Environment & Justice Calls Vinyl Flooring an Environmental Nightmare... 7 Tile... 8 Aggretex... 9 Wood Terrazzo Life Cycle Cost for Floor Finishes Flooring Comparison Chart M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 2

3 Carpet Carpeting covers more floors in homes, businesses, and institutions than all other floor coverings combined in the U.S. While carpet can provide some padding underfoot, a multitude of color and design options as well as noise absorbing properties, it does not come without problems. Air quality is a major issue as is maintenance and useful lifetime effecting lifetime cost. Wall-to-wall carpets are a sink for dirt, dust mites, molds and pesticide residues. says Philip Landrigan, M.D., director of the center for children s environmental health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. But that s not the only problem, a carpet flooring is really a integrated flooring system made up of the carpet plus backing and padding and products that adhere the carpet to the floor. Synthetic carpeting, such as those using nylon or polyester fiber, toxic chemicals derived from petroleum and are thought by some to be carcinogens. Carpet offgases chemicals into the air we breathe, but it is also the glue that is used to bind the carpet to the floor that giving off chemical gasses as well. If that isn t bad enough, carpet also captures VOC (volatile organic gasses) that are emitted by pressed woods (walls & cabinets), paints, sealants, and even cleaners. Carpet is also a repository for any pesticides used indoors as well as anything tracked in from shoes, wheels and other items. Wet carpet is about one of the best breeding grounds for mold (which can be highly toxic) and mildew. Carpet is also an ideal environment for dust mites, which leave highly allergenic excrement. Lifecycle & Environmental Impact The most commonly quoted useful life for both residential and commercial carpet is eight years which is obviously lower for poor quality carpet and longer for higher quality carpet flooring. Factoring in replacement costs, any long-term lifecycle cost or environmental lifecycle assessment puts carpet at the least desirable flooring solution as stated in a study by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation comparing the embodied energy and environmental impacts of several flooring materials pronounced carpet to be the worst. This study and another done recently by the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands put the nylon carpet at the bottom although it should be noted that these studies tended to look at the lower grade carpet systems. Woven carpets, for example are likely to be less toxic and offer a longer lifecycle depending upon traffic. Frequent and effective vacuuming (increased maintenance) can reduce the accumulation of such contaminants, but not even hot-water extraction can eliminate them all. Of course any carpet that has been wet for over 24 hours must be removed because there is no effective way to eliminate the mildew growth. M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 3

4 Polished Concrete Concrete slab floors, either new pours or an existing slab (which may be covered in carpet, vinyl, epoxy, etc.) are excellent opportunities to start with a low cost, naturally beautiful and healthy polished concrete flooring solution. Polishing using diamond grinding pads and special densifiers will allow you to create a high gloss, hard wearing, and durable surface that is virtually maintenance free. Add decorative stains or dyes and even saw cuts and you can create a flooring that is a true and natural looking piece of art. Polishing concrete is a quick process and can be done at many stages of construction or remodel. Office buildings, schools, high-end residential properties, warehouses, hospitals and retail are some of the most popular uses. These projects are specifying polished concrete at an ever increasing rate due to the low installation costs as well as the outstanding lifecycle cost advantage. Specifiers of polished concrete are typically looking for a decorative solution that is easy to clean and maintain (mop and sweep as needed without having to clean any seams, yet has an option to be high gloss (for beauty and light amplification) while being resistant o spills and water damage even harsh chemicals. Environmental and health issues are virtually nonexistent as there are no dangerous VOCs to pollute the air nor mold and mite issues. Polished concrete does not create a new product destined for a landfill and the waste that is created during the process is reused in other concrete processes. M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 4

5 Epoxy Epoxy floor cover solutions offer a tremendous range of design options and when applied properly and in the right situation can be a great solution because like polished concrete, you get a hard wearing surface that is easy to clean and maintain with very little ongoing costs. If you re choosing an epoxy coating for your final floor surface versus a polished concrete floor, there are a few things you should know that could be drawbacks to watch out for. The biggest thing is epoxy coatings don t breathe and especially in the Bay Area of California, that is a big issue. An epoxy coating could potentially trap any moisture vapor coming up from the concrete slab (and the Bay Area has a lot of moisture). We recommend that you have the concrete slab tested for moisture vapor emission rate before making a decision to apply epoxy coating, If the moisture rate is high, the epoxy topping can delaminate. Should you still decide to go with epoxy, it s a good idea to ask your contractor if their system is moisture tolerant and if not, what are they going to do to test and address moisture issues. One test we often use is a calcium chloride test and it s going to tell you how much moisture vapor is emitting out of the concrete slab and if that rate is too high. Most of the other issues with epoxy floor solutions relate to the existing substrate. A concrete floor with oil, grease or other residues is not going to adhere. A similar issue is if the concrete is not in good shape or weak. The epoxy might bind to the concrete but the concrete may come apart from the concrete underneath it. What would be needed is a grind off of the top coating and perhaps the addition of a densifier to harden the exposed concrete but that is part of the concrete floor polishing system so you may as well save the additional cost of the epoxy and just polish the concrete into a natural, hard floor surface. Life Cycle Assessment of Industrial Floors The Department of Mechanical Engineering and of Industrial Environmental Technology Linköping University A life cycle assessment enables you to examine the environmental impact of a product from the raw material stage through to waste management. In a comparative life cycle assessment, the common areas in the life cycles of the products are excluded and the remaining areas are analyzed. Epoxy floors are very common in industrial premises and the floor used in this comparative study is a 3-mm, Peran SL, self-leveling epoxy floor. The results of the comparative life cycle assessment of epoxy and HTC Superfloor (a concrete floor polishing system) show a huge difference between the floors. The epoxy floor s contribution to potential global warming is 189 times greater than that of the polished concrete Superfloor Equivalency factors indicating the contribution to acidification (process of turning materials into environmental acid that impact water and soil) and eutrophication (harmful nutrients added to water) are 548 and 758 respectively. The environmental impact of the epoxy floor is also a major part of the floor as a whole. The epoxy coating s contribution to eutrophication and acidification is as much as 50% of the floor as a whole. Corresponding values for HTC Superfloor are 0.19% and 0.12% respectively. M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 5

6 Vinyl With vinyl flooring you can also find a wide variety of colors and styles and is in the moderate range for durability. It also is somewhat easy to maintain with cleaning being as easy as moping appropriate cleanser and water regularly but you will also need buffing with frequently based on usage. At least annual strip and recoat are required as well as an annual strip and refinish.* Analysis.pdf Both vinyl composition tile (VCT) and sheet vinyl flooring resist scuffing and tearing and sheet vinyl is moisture-resistant. Although moisture resistant, liquid left to sit too long especially along seams can cause failure requiring replacement. Stains and discoloration can also result from spills left on the vinyl too long. Sheet vinyl floor, installed correctly should have lifetime of at least 10 years although high quality vinyl flooring, properly maintained, can go well beyond that. Combining useable lifetime, relatively low installation and product costs together and vinyl flooring comes to ward the low cost end of the flooring comparison scale. Installation is where this flooring solution can run into problems if improper materials are used or the floor is not prepped properly. A host of issues can literally bubble up to the surface when installation has been done improperly. They include: cracking seam failure or bubbling or irregular surfaces print matching or alignment issues open seams Once the vinyl floor has been installed, there are a few issues that might surface that are not necessarily related to the installation. Discoloration can occur as a result of direct sunlight (near windows and doors), high traffic areas or near heating duct outlets or anywhere the vinyl is subject to high heat. Dullness can also be related to some of these same issues or improper maintenance products or lack of upkeep. M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 6

7 Proper maintenance requires proper cleaning on a regular basis including a annual stripping procedure with a solution that is recommended by the manufacturer of the flooring product. Of course there is always the possibility of surface dents and damage from accidents or lack of proper care. A hard object dropped on the vinyl floor can cause a dent or ding as can heavy furniture or furniture with sharp edges on the bottom being dragged over the floor. Over time, you might get peeling around corners or other areas that usually can be fixed with another application of adhesive. Staining is possible from many types of everyday spills especially f not immediately removed. Center for Health, Environment & Justice Calls Vinyl Flooring an Environmental Nightmare Vinyl flooring, both sheet and composite tiles (VCT), is made with Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), also known as vinyl. PVC is the most hazardous plastic on the planet, manufactured with and releasing chlorine gas, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride, mercury, dioxins, PCBs and other hazardous pollutants. It is nothing short of an environmental nightmare. Vinyl flooring is made with phthalates, toxic chemical additives used to make vinyl products more flexible. They do not bind to the plastic and are released into the air during the life of the product exposing children and consumers to these unnecessary toxic chemicals. PVC and phthalates are linked to asthma, allergies, reproductive diseases, changes in organ development, cancer, respiratory problems, diabetes, obesity, autism and countless other illnesses. A study published earlier this year found that phthalates can have lasting effects in the form of trans-generational inheritance as well. The EPA has identified phthalates as chemicals of concern and created a Chemical Action Plan, one of only ten, for six of the worst offenders. Phthalates are banned in children s toys and baby products, and are being phased out by many companies and countries around the world, yet are still allowed in flooring for our homes and schools. So why are vinylflooring materials still being made, let alone being highly recommended as a consumerfriendly product? Why did Consumer Reports not address these major public health concerns? Read more at: traffic. M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 7

8 Tile Tile is one of the oldest materials used for floors literally has been used for thousands of years. Tile is a natural product offers a wide range of selection in colors, styles, sizes, textures and patterns. Like polished concrete, it is a hard surface and therefore extremely durable. Also like polished concrete, it is an environmentally-friendly flooring solution and has none of the health risks associated with other flooring methods covered in this report. Like concrete, porcelain, stone and ceramic tile are some of the longest lasting flooring products on the market today. Carpet, vinyl, and laminate flooring have to be replaced periodically, (from 8 to 11 years usually) while concrete, stone, porcelain and ceramic can properly maintained and installed could last a lifetime. Unlike carpet, tile is not a friendly environment for dust mites, mildew, mold, and bacteria and gives off little or no health threatening VOC s. Tile is easily maintained with simple cleaned with regular vacuuming or sweeping and occasional warm water mopping. The only chemicals that are needed are for periodic sealing and resealing. M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 8

9 Aggretex Aggretex is a concrete based flooring solution that is not very well known to most people, yet offers some very unique flooring options. It is a patented, branded, and pre-bagged product made of a special mixture of fine aggregates, sands, and various secret blend components that when mixed with water, turns into a cementitious slurry (a semi liquid mixture of fine particles of cement suspended in water) to which decorative aggregates (glass, sand, shells, stone, marbles, etc.) are added. This is all controlled and mixed on the job site. The slurry produces an aggregatecontaining cement layer, which is wet bonded to the freshly placed regular concrete subslab layer, at the same time. Once fusion of layers has occurred, the surface is trowled and then revealed to show the matrix aggregates. After curing, the Aggretex thickness is usually 3/8"-1/2" inches which is typically the thickness of the largest decorative aggregate in the matrix, and the Aggretex bond is effective for permanently securing the decorative aggregate. Unlike the random installation of a hand placed or seeded similar system, Aggretex allows control of uniformity and even aggregate reveal and texture - much like Terrazzo. Usually on an interior floor installation, the Aggretex surface then goes through a process much like polishing where the surface is diamond ground and honed, infused with a liquid denisfyer and then diamond polishing continues to the desired gloss level. Finally, a special penetrating and hardening guard technology is applied, leaving you with a one-of-kind floor that beautifully simulates terrazzo, at a fraction of the price. This system is a cost effective way to place a concrete slab, with an Aggretex matrix, and provide a controlled aggregate distribution in the final polished concrete surface. This type of system provides a low maintenance, highly durable floor that lets you use your creativity to custom design a floor to your unique specifications. Aggretex is used both indoors as well as outside, and when used outdoors, people often leave the raised aggregate which lowers the cost significantly, and creates a beautiful "sand finish" type architectural reveal. M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 9

10 Wood Hardwood floors can be beautiful and natural like polished concrete. This is a strong product that adds a sense of permanence to a room it won t go out of style. There are many choices of color and texture to choose from allowing for many design options. Today s manufacturing processes offer consistency and uniformity. Hardwood floors are easy to clean and don t generally require a lot of maintenance sweeping, vacuuming and moping is about it. Like all polished concrete surfaces, some hardwood floors can also be refinished at least once in order to keep them looking good after years of wear and tear. Like many of the other floor covering solutions covered in this report, moisture is one of the biggest potential causes of failure. Moisture can cause cupping, buckling and crowning in hardwood floors. Wood needs room to expand and contract and moisture can cause wood floors that are installed too tight against walls to buckle and lose their contact with the flooring below. The problem is once a wood floor has had moisture damage, even when corrected, it may begin to crack. You can also have problems from heating ducts (poorly insulated), plumbing lines and heat generated near heating ducts. Concrete can also be a problem within the hardwood flooring system. Water plays a big role in the formation of concrete slabs, but the water remains in the slab after the concrete has cured and it will seep out for a long time. Moisture in the ground (a significant issue in the Bay Area) is an issue that should concern you. That moisture is going to come up through the concrete forever not to mention the walls as well, via a process called hydrostatic pressure and natural wicking. There are topical moisture retarders that can be applied but they do not eliminate the moisture, they just reduce the level of moisture or worse cause the water to seek a new location to flow into (a room with no moisture retardant). As we mentioned in the Epoxy floor section, there isn't always a visual sign of moisture issues. Like epoxy, a thorough moisture test is critical. Hardwood floors are also subject to denting, scratching damage from high heels and heavy objects. They will also discolor. Discoloration can come from direct sunlight, wear patterns, spills, damp towels and rain through a window. Then, of course, there are termites in which you probably won t see visible damage until it s too late. M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 10

11 Terrazzo Terrazzo is similar to Aggretex and is mixture of Portland cement and marble (or other stones) aggregate usually mixed or embedded with other materials including glass and metal to provide more colors and textures. Terrazzo was invented in Italy hundreds of years ago and has remained a popular flooring option due to its beauty, durability and low maintenance requirements. Like polished concrete and Aggretex, terrazzo is poured and then cured at the point of installation using all natural materials. Terrazzo must be installed over a concrete slab that has been prepared for the terrazzo layer. Skilled installers then work in the terrazzo by hand with trowels and rollers and then additional aggregate materials (glass. stone, etc.) are cast into the surface and rolled over and into the material. After the terrazzo has cured and dried leaving a rough surface, it is ground down and polished to a smooth finish and high gloss. You can read through the polished concrete benefits as they are basically the same for terrazzo so there is no need to repeat them here. With terrazzo, Aggretex and polished concrete you ll get a unique look, one that you can customize with your choice of colors and patterns. Maintenance requires sweeping and mopping on a regular basis with water and a liquid cleaner. After the floor has dried, buff the floor with an electric polishing machine to revitalize the terrazzo's natural shine. Diamond impregnated pads are often used with all three polished concrete / terrazzo systems to enhance shine over time. When comparing terrazzo to polished concrete, the big difference is going to be the cost of installation with terrazzo being many times more expensive per square foot then polished concrete as the following chart shows. M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 11

12 Life Cycle Cost for Floor Finishes (all costs per square foot) Floor Finish Installed Maintenance Expected 40 Year Cost Cost Cost/Year Life (Yrs) Comparison Per Year Polished Concrete $5.00 $ $25.00 $0.63 Carpet $3.22 $ $33.51 $0.84 Poured Epoxy $8.18 $ $33.73 $0.84 Man-Made Hardwood $9.58 $ $34.30 $0.86 Stained Concrete $12.40 $ $36.40 $0.91 Marble $21.00 $ $44.60 $1.12 Portland Cement Terrazzo $32.00 $ $54.80 $1.37 Sheet Vinyl $6.90 $ $82.68 $2.07 Quarry Tile $6.83 $ $82.83 $2.07 Glazed Ceramic Floor Tile $7.00 $ $83.00 $2.08 Glazed Porcelain $8.34 $ $84.34 $2.11 Vinyl Tile Flooring $4.50 $ $91.10 $2.28 Natural Hardwood $9.31 $ $98.51 $2.46 M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 12

13 Flooring Comparison Chart Use the chart below to fill in the rest of the comparisons based on your current knowledge and experience. Author s note: Michael Doyle Partners conducted independent research across the Internet using sources from many major flooring associations websites, studies, published materials and reports published by government organizations and independent sources. All information is available on the Internet simply by searching. MDP was contracted by PolishedCrete a California based concrete polishing system provider and contractor. Find more at M i c h a e l D o y l e P a r t n e r s P a g e 13

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