GreenTips

The use of hard floorings in buildings can be beneficial for a number of reasons. They can be harder wearing requiring less maintenance. They can eliminate the need for sheet flooring or carpets that require significant cleaning and use manmade underlays, which are often manufactured from petrochemicals. Hard flooring systems are so durable that they are more likely to be replaced due to changes in fashion rather than any failure of the system itself.

Hard floorings also offer the opportunity for the thermal mass of a floor to be utilised in the passive heating and cooling of the building. Floors are generally considered to be the optimum location for thermal mass in passive solar designs as warm sunlight will almost always fall directly onto the floor allowing it to capture and store the heat effectively.

Hard flooring materials are also the best option when using under floor heating and cooling systems. The use of timber floors, carpets or other surfaces will insulate the floor from the room, dramatically reducing the effectiveness of the underfloor heating system.

Hard flooring systems can often feel cold underfoot. Good levels of underfloor insulation (particularly around the perimeters of the building) and use of underfloor heating in key areas such as bedrooms and bathrooms where the occupants regularly have bare feet, should remove most concerns.

Ceramic and porcelain tiles are generally manufactured overseas and, taking into account their production and firing process, have a fairly high embodied energy. Their durability and beneficial thermal properties can compensate for this as they will almost always outlast (sometimes several generations of) alternative floor coverings.

The Ceramic Tile Institute of America provides a good source of background information on the selection and installation of tiles. Background information is available on the use of stone and the selection and design of terrazzo and tile systems.

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