Score one for the Earth! Using Reclaimed Flooring in Your Home

While there are lots of ‘eco-friendly’ flooring options to pick from, none may be more sound than reclaiming vintage or gently used flooring. In actuality you may end up with not only beautiful flooring but a conversational piece with a history deeper than what factory spewed it out.
Not all floors are ideal for reclaiming. You have to consider your needs, the requirements of harvesting, repairing, cleaning and installing your chosen flooring. Be sure you note damage, if any, and are realistic about what it will take to retrofit the flooring to your space.

The obvious choice for most will be wood. In fact if you can reclaim older wooden floors you stand the chance to get much higher quality flooring then you may find available in most stores. Another fun option when dealing with wood is that you can garner wood flooring from different places and revamp it in new ways. Older wood floors more often than not will carry stronger attention to detail and designs that cannot be matched. The great thing is short of water damage wood can be revived rather nicely. Still consulting a bit with a professional and perhaps even trying to forgo the urge to go totally ‘do it yourself-er’ may be wise.

With wooden flooring there are a plethora of places that you can go to find flooring options. Mostly you have to be willing to play investigator. Checking local listings for buildings changing owners, estate sells and the like will set you in the right direction. Be patient and willing to bring the topic up. Most people and businesses never think of the floors when they are cleaning house. However, you may be surprised how many will just tell you to ‘take it’, as long as you are willing to do all the heavy lifting, and of course do it on their time. Places that have been abandoned for a while may have hidden treasure. If you can, try to peak under old carpets for hidden jewels, you may be amazed at what you find.

To save a bit of footwork you can also try to simply go to a store or warehouse that harvests and then sells reclaimed flooring. Often this can be a bit of dicey situation since they will often get the flooring for free when businesses close or buildings are being remodeled, sold or demolished. If you chose to view it as paying them for the harvesting itself, which can be a bit of work, then you will feel better. Also, there is always the potential to haggle a bit. No matter what option you go for, the choice to reclaim flooring for your space is a choice that can really work toward the greater good. It is the joining of getting what you want without making a negative impact and that in itself makes it worth doing.