Finishes, and finish lines

This last month has been a blur. Issues with sewer and water easements, late delivery of flooring and counters, and insane heat and humidity that impacted the painters were just a few of the annoying factors. Basically, it felt as if we were sliding into home, and then we missed our closing deadline! Now that we have our Certificate of Occupancy from the town and just some minor finishing touches, we should be able to move into the house in early August as long as our inspection with the bank goes smoothly (new construction mortgages require independent appraisals--a full inspection--now).

I wanted to share a few of our decisions regarding countertops since they're a pretty big ticket item and they have a real environmental impact.

When considering surfaces we looked for durable products that required minimal (if any) maintenance other than regular cleaning, while also investigating products that required "greener" raw material, less processing, and transportation. As discussed earlier, some products have a "life-cycle cost analysis" associated with them.  Embodied energy is another term used to describe the energy required to extract and process the raw materials of a product, as well as the energy used to transport the finished product to the job site and install it.

For instance, granite countertops have a high embodied energy, unless you happen to find a piece of granite lying relatively close to your home. The stone needs to be extracted from a mountain (hence it isn't renewable), it is normally transported to Europe for finishing (really, this is true even for most "local" stone) before being shipped back to the continent where various distributors for cutting and finishing will prepare it for installation. It is heavy and fragile, so transportation costs can be high too. Like any igneous rock, it can emit radon, which is why some homes have tested for higher than acceptable radon levels. But it is durable, lasting forever, and if you aren't particular about stains and blemishes you won't need to seal it as is recommended, on an annual basis (sealants can be a source of VOCs). And it is beautiful.


There is one stone product that we considered up to the end: Cambria quartz surfaces. Their products are often mined, and all are manufactured in the U.S. It is nonporous and nonabsorbent, so unlike granite, it eliminates the risk of bacterial growth and staining and doesn't need any sealer or polish to keep its finish. It is Greenguard certified. 


PaperStone is another cool product that is made in Washington state. It is certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. It is made from post-consumer waste, recycled paper and petroleum-free phenolic resins derived from organic materials (hence, VOC free). It is heavy like stone, and has the patina of soapstone, and comes in a number of earth-tone colors. However, the price is greater than granite! This could change as more manufactures delve into this product area. 


For two of our bathroom counters (there are three full baths with toilet and shower), we went with products that were readily available through the builder's supplier, Roma Tile, in Syracuse, NY. The first product is a quartz stone from the DuPont Zodiaq Terra collection. It has a 10-year product warranty, and is also available through Lowe's. The product looks like any other quartz composite, but the Terra collection (eight in all) contain a minimum of 25% post consumer recycled content. Like other quartz products, it is non-porous, and resists scratches and is heat resistant (not an issue for our baths obviously), while also being maintenance free. The adhesives used in the product meet or exceed VOC standards, meeting GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Standards. While fabricated locally, I've no idea where this product is made and am still awaiting that information. DuPont makes Corian, which is another popular solid surface counter top choice. Depending on the composite selected, it can cost as much as "basic" granite.

DuPont Zodiaq Terra in Calm Springs used in the master bath

The second bathroom counter will have a composite quartz product called ECO by Cosentino. It too is highly resilient, resisting scratching, staining, and scorching (although our supplier was worried that the corn-based resin would be more susceptible to heat), and depending on the product selected, will contain at least 75% post-consumer or pre-consumer recycled content. Post-consumer products have completed the end of their life-cycle, and include such items as mirrors, porcelain (ceramics, including toilets!), glass and stone scraps. Since ECO uses a corn-based resin to bind the materials together, it meets strict indoor air quality guidelines. Like the DuPont product, it doesn't need to be sealed, so we avoid using substances that can introduce harmful fumes into the house. The company claims to recycle 94% of the water they use in manufacturing. As to where our stone was made, nobody can tell me, since they have locations around the world where they source and manufacture products. If I ever get an answer to this inquiry, I'll post it. It is listed at Lowe's for as much as $75 a sf, but my builder got it for roughly $40 a sf.


Our kitchen counters will be stainless steel. We are still awaiting the final details on where our steel came from (sheet steel is more often made in China today than in North America), but our local fabricator is Frigo Designs in Brewerton, NY. They worked with us to create counters with integrated sinks and a backsplash in the kitchen. The great thing about the product, is that it is easily recycled, maintained, won't emit any VOCs

A peak at the stainless steel counter in our guest bath...

Another sustainable counter choice is to search for stone in your local fabricators "scrap" yard. Often, you can find good "remnants" if people changed their mind after their counter was cut, or if the piece of stone got damaged--cracking, or losing a corner. Stone pieces can be re-fabricated to fit smaller spaces, so as long as you don't have an enormous swath of counter, you might get lucky. Or you can combine different stones in smaller spaces. Finally, concrete counters can be manufactured locally, using local materials. It can include all sorts of ingredients to give it a range of different looks, although they require regular sealing to maintain their appearance. One made to order concrete product that I looked at include Sonoma Stone's Earthcrete. Their prices started at $55 a sf, before shipping and handling. Finding a local fabricator who can pour on-site is probably the best way to go to minimize the impact of this type of counter.