It probably isn’t the first thing you think about in purchasing new flooring, but it is quickly becoming a major concern: biodegradability. Thankfully, Alberta First Flooring has you and your floor covered.
“Most of the products that we do carry, they're environmentally friendly. If you ever want to throw them out they will decompose, which is great, especially with what's happening in our environment,” said Bahar Mehrabi, co-owner at Alberta First Flooring located at the Giroux Crossing Business Centre on the northwest corner of St. Albert Trail and Giroux Road.
The store carries many trendy products but with an eye always to high quality. Right now, vinyl plank is having a moment because of its durability. It’s easy to maintain as well, and that’s always top of mind for people with families or pets.
The good news is Alberta First Flooring sells vinyl plank made by Harbinger Floors, a British Columbia company whose products are all 100 per cent certified with FloorScore Indoor Air Quality Certification to comply with the volatile organic compound emissions criteria of the California Section 01350 Program. These products keep the air clean because they don’t have any VOC, she said, referring to volatile organic compounds, including phenols, formaldehydes, and phthalates, which are generally released into the air once a product is installed.
They have been specially engineered that way, making sure they still adhere to the highest standards. They are waterproof, very durable and very clean. On top of all of that, if you change your mind and decide to take it out, it will decompose.
Mehrabi has noticed over even just the last five years that more people are becoming thoughtful of the issues of the quality of air in their home and what happens to home building materials after they are discarded.
“People are more conscious of it. They're not using plastic bags anymore. They're bringing their own bags. With flooring, because it's not an inexpensive thing, it's something you want that's going to last forever. Some people would pay extra for a better quality product, for something that's more environmentally friendly. The change is slow but it's coming,” she continued.
If vinyl plank isn’t your thing, the store also carries cork, which she said is having a good comeback as well.
“It's a natural product; it's warm. It's a clicking system and they have really great colours out as well.”
They do a lot of tiles as well and the new trend there is in hexagonal tiles that allow for some really creative patterns and 3D looks, which are beautiful and amazing, she said.
Of course, cork is a natural product, so it is more biodegradable as well.
Mehrabi says it is most important to be mindful where you get your product from and what is the product made from, especially when you're putting something in your home and you're investing money. Shopping local helps too.
"Why not get something that is going to last and be durable, and it's clean, and it's good for the environment, and it's good for your pets and it will last so you don't have to come in and redo it down the road?” she asked, rhetorically.
“It's a competitive market in the flooring industry. What I like to sell is good things. I don't want the customer coming to me 10 years down the road, or even a year or two, and saying, ‘I'm not happy.’ That's important.”
