Hardwood Floors Can Be Less Expensive Than Cheaper Alternatives, And Healthier, Too

	Photo courtesy of Tripp Smith

(HIT) - Homeowners love everything about hardwood floors except the cost. Yet, according to industry experts, if homeowners consider other factors beyond initial purchase price and installation, they will find that hardwoods are actually less expensive overall than sheet vinyl, linoleum, carpet and other alternatives.

In fact, once you figure in maintenance, useful life expectancy and disposal of old materials, hardwoods are a more economical choice than other popular flooring materials. And here’s a bonus: they’re earth-friendly and naturally abundant, too. One of the original "green" building materials, today’s hardwood forests grow far more wood than is harvested from them every year, says the American Hardwood Information Center at www.hardwoodinfo.com. At current volumes, that ensures American hardwoods will be around for generations to come.

What hardwood floors really cost

Photo courtesy of Tripp Smith

Sue Tartaglio, interior designer at Burt Hill, an architecture firm in southwestern Pennsylvania, recently developed a life-cycle cost comparison of a dozen frequently used synthetic and natural flooring products. Her study, based on maintenance and life-cycle costs published by flooring manufacturers and conversations with their representatives, shows that in facilities with a lifetime use of more than 15 years—such as the average home—hardwood flooring has significantly lower life-cycle costs than other flooring materials despite higher upfront costs.

According to Tartaglio’s study, the average installed costs for common types of flooring range from $1.45 per square foot for vinyl composition tile to $12 per square foot for bamboo and hardwood. Costs for linoleum, cork, rubber, sheet vinyl, carpet and ceramic tile fall in between.

Since the comparison considers useable product life, replacement, cleaning and labor costs over 15 years, products with some of the lowest initial costs wind up having the highest total life-cycle costs. In fact, among the dozen flooring materials compared, hardwood, rubber and bamboo flooring have the lowest total cost at 15 years.

Replacement and Renewability

Besides its warmth, beauty and authenticity, American hardwoods come out ahead in two significant ways: replacement cost and renewability.

Hardwood floors can last 25, 30, even 50 years—or more. Broadloom and tile carpeting, on the other hand, because of its four- to-six-year life span needs to be replaced three times more frequently over a 15-year lifespan than a hardwood floor. After 15 or 20 years of use, hardwood flooring can gain a fresh, new appearance with refinishing for roughly half the cost of replacing carpet or other flooring options.

A well-managed and renewable resource, American hardwoods grow abundantly in North American forests. In fact, nearly twice as much hardwood grows each year as is harvested in the U.S., and the volume of hardwoods today is 90 percent larger than it was 50 years ago.

After Its Useful Life is Over

In choosing an environmentally friendly flooring material, consumers should consider what happens to old building materials after their useful life. Many end up in landfills where they can sit for literally hundreds of years. Hardwood floors, however, are reuseable, recyclable and biodegradable.

Indoor Air Quality and Well-Being

In addition to being more economical over the long run, hardwoods add a natural warmth and character, and are a natural choice for a healthy home. Hardwoods are easily cleaned with non-toxic products, and do not trap allergens like mold spores, bacteria and dust mites often embedded in other flooring products. For this reason, they are recommended for chemically sensitive individuals, or those who suffer from allergies or asthma. Simple regular maintenance such as dust mopping, sweeping and vacuuming keeps the environment allergen-free. Hardwood flooring adds considerably to a home’s resale value, too.

Its variety of protective surface finishes, from oil and water-based urethane to acrylic impregnated woods, not only enhance color, texture and grain pattern, but add exceptional durability and moisture resistance. And hardwood is a versatile, sustainable option in more locations than ever: in places with rigorous maintenance and health requirements such as hospitals and health care facilities, to retail, commercial, and institutional settings.

As consumers focus more on using natural, earth-friendly materials in their homes, American hardwoods are the natural choice: for value, for health, and for sustainability.

For more ideas on hardwood flooring and other ways to use American hardwoods in your home, visit the American Hardwood Information Center at www.hardwoodinfo.com.

Courtesy: Home Improvement News and Information Center