Green Stone & Tile Recommendations

Cassandra Adams is an architect with over 22 years of experience on a wide range of building types for public and private sector clients. Ms. Adams has taught in the Architecture Department at U.C. Berkeley, where her research focused on construction and environmental issues. She is internationally recognized for her award-winning publications and academic research as it relates to architecture, construction, and the natural environment.

Like all building materials, stone and tile products have both beneficial and negative environmental aspects when compared with other products. With respect to indoor air quality, people with serious allergies or other chronic respiratory ailments better tolerate stone and tile products because they release few, if any, emissions. Furthermore, stone and tile can more easily be thoroughly cleaned, preventing the build-up of dust mites or other allergy-causing agents. 

However, because of weight, stone and tile products require more energy for transportation than other alternatives for floors and walls, producing greater contributions to global warming. From an environmental standpoint, it is definitely preferable to buy products that originate as closely as possible to the building site.

Another important consideration is the relative durability of a product. Long-term maintenance and replacement costs can be reduced to such a degree that lifetime costs may actually be less than those associated with more inexpensive products, especially in areas of high wear where periodic replacement is normally required. The environmental benefits associated with this include a reduction in the amount of resource extraction and in the energy consumed for manufacturing and installation.

It should be noted that all earth-based products (stone, tile, masonry, concrete, gypsum wallboard, etc.) contain traces of radon, a radioactive gas that occurs naturally in the ground throughout the U.S. and elsewhere. There is currently some discussion within industry circles as to whether levels of this off-gassing in stone products are problematic. Although the issue is yet to be resolved, several prominent academics have weighed in on the side that the amount of off-gassing is not problematic in the types of stone that are generally available for use in buildings. 

Stone
Stone is extremely durable; it easily outlasts other flooring and wall materials when properly designed and installed. Stone’s durability leads to fewer repairs and replacements over the building’s lifetime.

From a design standpoint, stone, with its natural appearance and richness of color and texture, can become a strong focus within a design that has a naturalistic aesthetic. 

Terrazzo
Terrazzo consists of small colored chips (stone, masonry, concrete, tile, glass, etc.) bound together by an adhesive matrix that is either concrete or epoxy-based.  Terrazzo is extremely durable and long-lasting, generating lower maintenance and replacement costs over time, and giving it some of the same environmental benefits as described for stone above. Manufacturers can incorporate recycled materials (such as glass) into the matrix, improving its environmental profile. Epoxy-resin binders are not completely free of emissions during the cure period, but most people tolerate the cured product well.

Because of the wide range of materials and colors available for both the matrix and binder, terrazzo’s versatility lends itself to a wide range of aesthetic effects. It can be designed as a subtly textured background surface, as a major focal point, or as anything in between.

Ceramic Tile
Ceramic tile is more durable than wood, linoleum, and carpet. However, it does require periodic maintenance, especially the grout. Ceramic tile is more energy-intensive to produce than some alternatives (wood and bamboo, for instance). There are few specifically green ceramic tile products. Some manufacturers claim to use recycled materials, but those are mostly post-production (not post-consumer) wastes.

Ceramic tile is available in a wide range of colors, textures and patterns, so the design possibilities are endless. For this reason, ceramic tile can provide a unique look for a particular spot.

Glass Tile
Although glass tile has been around since before the Romans, many new products incorporating post-consumer recycled glass have recently become available. Some of these tiles have the appearance (and durability) of ceramic tile while others look (and wear) more like traditional glass tiles, where abrasions tend to become more apparent more quickly.

Although glass tile does not have as wide a range of colors, textures, and patterns as ceramic tile, many have an appealing translucency and softness of color and texture that cannot be found in ceramic tile.

Installation
Environmental considerations should be addressed during the installation phase of a project in order to protect the health of construction workers and also to prevent the retention within porous building materials (such as gypboard, wood, carpets, and fabrics) of toxic air emissions (such as VOCs) and dust produced during construction, things that could later be re-released into the enclosed living spaces.

First, select adhesives and sealants that are not only appropriate for the intended purpose but that also contain minimal VOCs or other toxic emissions. Secondly, specify that your contractor do their cutting and grinding of tile and stone outdoors as much as is reasonably possible. Also, note that grout may stain or trap dirt if not properly sealed.

Resources
For additional information on the environmental aspects of tile and stone products and installation methods, please read GreenHomeGuide’s reviews for each product and/or contact its manufacturer. The following resources contain additional information:

John Bridge Ceramic Tile offers an advice forum for people with tile installation problems.

The National Training Center for Stone and Masonry Trades has a substantial list of publications for installation and care of various stones, although it does not address environmental issues.