Featured Green Home Building LinksRASTRA - an Environmentally Friendly Building System Silicon Valley Power - Use our new tools to learn where and how energy is used in the home and how to use it wisely. Includes GreenBuilding - From top to bottom, what you want to know about being green. Build It Green - Smart Green Home Solutions Inhabitat - Green design solutions |
Make Your Home GreenReducing Homes Environmental Footprint Learn about healthy wooden floors for your home as opposed to carpets Wood vs. Gas Stoves Clean Indoor Air How Trees Create Insulation |
Welcome to Silicon Valley Green Home BuildingA Resource for building a green home in the Silicon Valley. Green Buildings are sited, designed, constructed and operated to enhance the well-being of occupants, and to minimize negative impacts on the community and natural environment. Wood Floors are a healthy option for floor coveringEcological Sound: Unlike most floor coverings, wood floors come from a natural resource that is sustainable. Long gone are the days when timber was cut down with little thought for the long term consequences on the nation's forests. Today most timber is cut from forests that are carefully managed to ensure continued resources in the future. In fact, according to U.S. Forest Service statistics, almost twice as much hardwood timber Is added every year through new growth as is harvested. Additionally, there is more standing hardwood timber today than there was 50 years ago.Healthy: The Environmental Protection Agency has said that indoor air quality is one of our top health threats. Installed in the home or elsewhere, wood floors help contribute to a healthy living environment. Hard surface flooring such as hardwood floors does not rap or harbor dust mites or molds. That creates better air quality for all inhabitants, but especially for the estimated 35 million Americans who suffer from allergies. The hard surface of wood floors also helps avoid artificial substances such as pesticides that can accumulate on some floor coverings. A recent EPA study found that pesticides used in gardens and homes accumulate on floors and other surfaces in the home, but that wood floors greatly reduce the accumulation of such toxins. Another concern for the home environment is the off-gassing of toxins that results from some synthetic materials. Any of these chemicals can make people in the home chronically ill. |