Environmental Benefits Of An Agreed Floor Maintenance Programme

…AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR JUNCKERS CONTRACTORS AND DISTRIBUTORS

Should we talk about the environmental impact of hardwood floor maintenance as often as we do the environmental credentials of the product itself?
 
Junckers Approved Contractor and Approved Maintenance Contractors’ schemes, and Junckers Warranties are good ways for contractors to form long term relationships with clients by offering expert advice and periodic floor inspections. With increasing focus upon environmental issues there are some environmental arguments that can be used to encourage the client to maintain contact with their contractor. This helps to extend the life span of the floor; something that benefits the environment by reducing the burden on landfill, recycling and disposal, and reduces energy use and carbon release associated with replacing a floor.

A Junckers floor is a good choice at design stage because of its exceptionally long life span and use of low carbon sustainable materials. However it is also very easy to repair and refurbish- two key factors that contribute to the extended life of the floor.

Here below are some ideas that will show the client that they have made the right product choice, and the environmental benefits they can gain during the life of the floor. It is also important not to forget what happens when the floor finally needs replacement as this is also part of its “environmental story”.

Ease of repair
Floors made from large components eg. plywood or chipboard sheets 600mm x 2400mm on to which vinyl, polyurethane or linoleum is laid, can be difficult to repair because of the large sheet size, and repairs will often result in large scale wasteful repairs. Junckers floors boards are easier to repair on a small scale with minimal waste because of the versatility of the plank size and because the planks are never bonded together.

Floor Refurbishment
Solid wood floors can be sanded and sealed to give them a life span of 60 years or more. But not all refurbishment is necessarily good. Is it good for the environment to refurbish a polyurethane resin floor by applying more layers of PU resin and thereby increasing the use of plastics and adding to the future burden on landfill?

Using local contractors
The environmental impact of maintenance will be reduced if carried out by local contractors, because less energy will be used travelling to and from site and less movement of plant and machinery.
You have a strong selling point if you can minimise the number of journeys and show you are a local-based contractor.

Can it be recycled?
Keeping raw materials in use for as long as possible reduces environmental damage. This the main concept of the Circular Economy. Some materials, such as solid hardwood can be reprocessed to produce new raw materials or making a clean bio fuel for energy production for example. It is important to be sure that recycling schemes do actually exist for the material in question, for example vinyl flooring is often described as “recyclable” but this applies only to offcuts of brand new material. No such scheme exists for old vinyl flooring, which currently goes to landfill or incineration.

Repurposing
Many floors cannot be re-used because they will be destroyed when they are lifted and cannot be refurbished. Junckers nailed or Clipped floors are ideal for re purposing, re-fitting and refurbishing and can have another lease of life lasting many years.

For more information, contact Junckers Technical Department.