Art House Mark Ham

Written by: Quick Home Tips

If you’ve chosen bamboo flooring for your home, the decision was no doubt influenced by how beautiful the finished product looks. You may have also chosen it for how unique the floor is compared to traditional options. Whatever your decision, one of the best reasons to choose bamboo flooring is because of how good it is for the environment.

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the entire planet. This means, unlike hardwood floors, your purchase of bamboo flooring is not having a negative impact on an ecological system somewhere.

What’s more, bamboo is a pioneering plant, which means it has no problem starting out in soil that would not be able to support other plants. In this way, bamboo is great for the environment because it can do more with less and turn poor soil into great soil, just by growing there.

Lastly, if you’re using strand bamboo flooring you’re taking part in a pretty amazing example of recycling. Stand bamboo is simply the leftover byproduct from processing the plant into floor panels. These leftover pieces are ground into a fine powder and then put under extreme pressure and heat, eventually forming panels of their own. But don’t worry, they retain the bamboo flooring hardness you’re looking for in your choice.

Bamboo flooring has a lot going for it, not the least of which is that it’s tremendous for the environment.

With the surface area of cities slowly getting smaller and smaller, most companies are deciding to build up rather than build out. With the rise of apartments and condominiums that need to cater to the growing number of people looking for houses, the sizes of these apartments are getting smaller and smaller.  With less space at one’s disposal many amenities a normal house would contain now has to be taken out. This poses apartment owners with a serious conundrum: “Which amenities should I remove?” Freezers can always be integrated with the refrigerator and refrigerators can always get smaller. Stoves can be done away with as the microwave and toaster oven can still be viable options for cooking.

Article submitted by The Laundry Alternative, trusted providers of the compact washing machine.

Installing new exterior doors in your house is a surefire way to increase its curb appeal and potentially its property value. But did you know that putting in new doors can also save you money in the long run? This is because, in many cases, newer doors will lead to big savings in how much you have to pay to heat and cool your home. By installing new, energy efficient doors in your home, you can keep your home comfortable, attractive and reduce your energy costs.

In order to make sure that you are getting the most energy efficient doors possible, look for doors that are ENERGY STAR qualified. The ENERGY STAR program is run by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to encourage homeowners to use products that are energy efficient, and this extends to doors. In fact, you might even be eligible for a tax credit if you purchase and install ENERGY STAR qualified exterior doors in your home.

Along with the ENERGY STAR qualification, there are several other distinguishing features that are common with highly energy efficient doors. They tend to have insulating glass that is double or even triple paned to reduce the flow of heat. They are made with core interior materials that are designed to be as energy efficient as possible. This can include wood cladding, steel or fiberglass. And energy efficient doors have improved weather stripping — in cases with magnetic strips to ensure a tight fit.

When combined with energy efficient windows and skylights, ENERGY STAR qualified doors can reduce a family’s energy bills by seven percent or more each year. Combined with the ability to reduce your carbon footprint, installing an energy efficient door is a choice that makes sense.

This special article was provided by Eto Doors. Eto Doors has a wide range of ENERGY STAR-rated doors available for purchase. See more or browse Eto Doors reviews.