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Interior Surfaces07
Homeowners want walls, floors, and counters that shine like jewelry in the home. Why not offer them products that combine beauty with eco-friendly attributes?
WHAT MAKES IT GREEN?
COUNTERTOPS
Nano Tops?
Sealants made with nanotechnology are becoming popular as a way to seal granite and other porous materials. The science of nano-coatings, researchers note, should not be confused with robotic nano-science. The coatings are simply a highly engineered system for rejecting water or soil from penetrating a layer. www.nanosurfacesolutions. com


 


Back in the building boom time of the 1990s, you almost never saw anything but granite or solid surface countertops in anything but a starter home. Blame it on the production home boom if you want. Developers were building homes quickly and from a narrow plan book with a limited set of options and a certainty that they would sell. One of the silver linings to the current housing doldrums has been the return of creativity among product innovators-and countertops are a fine case study. With sustainability as a rationale, companies have developed niche products that are stunning to look at, long lasting, and made using some of the stuff that’s filling up our landfills. In other words, these companies are doing good for the planet, at the same time they’re inventing marketable products. For a manufacturer in this age of uncertainty, what boast could be better?


 


ECO BY COSENTINO
At Greenbuild this year, we were excited to see all of the inventive ways Cosentino is using materials that might otherwise end up in landfills to make unique solid surfacing material. Its new Eco line uses a partially corn based resin to bond materials in a clear, durable resin, resulting in countertop that is 75% recycled content. So far, they’ve created products from glass, stone scraps (Riverbed is shown), porcelain, crystallized ash, and broken mirror glass. www.ecobycosentino.com


DENOVA QUARTZ
For countertops that have the look of natural stone, DeNova, a Masco company, is hard to beat. The product is made with 93% natural quartz fragments and 7% high-strength polymer resin. Color pigments are added to the resin. The resulting countertop is highly stain and heat resistant. www.denovasurfaces.com


 


WHAT’S THE TOUGHEST STUFF?
Ever wonder whether a quartz or granite countertop is harder? Or how tile responds to high heat? Consumer Reports analyzed various attributes of common countertop materials, with some surprising results.


Material -
Price per sq.ft. -
Overall score -


Quartz (engineered stone)
$50-100
79


Granite
$45-200
78


Laminate
$10-30
78



Solid surfacing
$35-100
62


Tile (ceramic and porcelain)
$10-30
58


Concrete (topical sealer)
$80-120
53


Stainless steel
$100-150
52


Concrete (penetrating sealer)
$80-120
38


Limestone
$60-100
36


Marble
$50-140
26


Source: Consumer Reports

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