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Community and Q&A

A green bathroom floor

TYvjMtwS9w | Posted in Green Products and Materials on

When building a bathroom downstairs, is it considered green when you don’t tile the floor and leave it concrete?

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Replies

  1. user-869687 | | #1

    You could say the "greenest" materials are the ones you don't use. It's hard to imagine that any tile material could be beneficial to the ecosystem, and omitting the tile means consuming less stuff. It's also possible that the strategy could backfire if you end up using some kind of epoxy coating that's more harmful than tile.

  2. GBA Editor
    Martin Holladay | | #2

    Carla,
    I love these discussions. You're right -- omitting the finish flooring is greener than installing the finish flooring.

    If you are considering a second bathroom for your house, it's even greener not to install the bathroom, and just to have one bathroom for the whole family.

    If you haven't built your house yet, it's even greener not to build the house.

    All of these statements are true, but they probably aren't very helpful. Good luck with your project.

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