HIGHLIGHTS:
Material definition: Made from clay, a natural but finite resource. Durable, low maintenance.
Tips for Selection: Look for locally manufactured tiles with high recycled content (glass, ceramic), preferably post-consumer. Avoid lead-based and radioactive glazes on some imported tiles. Large tiles and tight grout joints reduce ongoing maintenance.
Advantages:
- takes hot pans
- easy to clean
- wide range of price, color, texture and design.
- highly durable
- low/no VOC emissions
- supports good indoor air quality
- resistant to stains and burning
Disadvantages:
- counter surface is uneven
- tiles can easily chip or crack
- grout lines become stained
- custom-designed tiles are very expensive
- high embodied energy to fire and produce tiles
- because of its heavy weight, high embodied energy for transport
- clay mining impacts land and water quality
- grout may stain or trap dirt if not properly sealed
Average Material Cost: $10 - $20 per square foot for ceramic, $5 - $12 per square foot for porcelain
OVERVIEW on Kitchen Countertops: The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home, and the right choice for kitchen counter tops is key to the successful execution and ongoing use of the space. Now more than ever, you can choose from a diverse range of kitchen counter materials. For each aspect of home design and remodeling you can also strive to make choices that are 1) Functional, 2) Stylish, 3) Cost-Effective, and 4) Environmentally Sustainable. These are the four key guiding principles in the GREENandSAVE strategy. You will find that in certain cases, one or two of the criteria take precedent over others. However, as you review the home improvement options that are right for your home, you may be surprised to learn that reaching all four is more achievable than you thought.
Selection Tip: In choosing a kitchen countertop material make sure to think through its integration with your kitchen cabinets, appliances, and the backsplash that will work best for your design and installation. Solid surface and natural stone materials typically need to be precut prior to installation versus tiles that can be cut and set right on the job site. Kitchen countertop backsplashes sometimes look great when they match the countertop material, but you can alternatively enhance the countertop material by choosing a different tile to run from the top edge of the counter all of the way up to the underside of the head cabinet. If you decide on the tiles, also take care in choosing the right color grout and look for new tile grouts that are stain resistant.
DETAILS on Kitchen Ceramic Countertops: Ceramic tile has long been a favorite due to its versatility and affordability. Liable to chip or crack if someone drops a weighty dish, however, tile is more likely to be used as a secondary work surface. For example, tile would be a good choice for a breakfast counter. Tiles in many colors and patterns afford endless opportunities for being creative and staying on budget.
Ceramic tile is durable and easy to clean. Add to that inexpensive and you’ve got a really good choice for countertops and kitchen or bathroom backsplashes for the average home. Because it’s installed a section at a time, it can be done by most resourceful homeowners.
GREEN Considerations: Some ceramic tile is made from recycled content such as old lightbulbs, bottles and porcelain. It is biodegradable, and use low-VOC adhesive. Two sound examples.
It’s hard to imagine that this beautiful countertop surface started as toilets, sinks and tubs. Enviromode is exactly that – a new surface made from pre-consumer Kohler toilets, tubs and sinks. It brings the ancient craft of Terrazzo into the 21st century by combining a choice of epoxy resin or cementitious binder with crushed, recycled porcelain chips.
Enviromode was created in response to a request from the City of Dallas, who asked EnviroGlas Products founder Tim Whaley whether he could do anything with a bunch of old toilets and commodes. Whaley’s result – EnviroMode – can contribute up to seven or more U.S. Green Building LEED points, is VOC free, heat and scratch resistant and easily cleaned with neutral cleansers.
“I am always looking for companies that are creating new and innovative products from recycled materials,” says City of Dallas recycling manager Sherlyn McAnally. “The crushed porcelain has a beautiful pearl-like finish and can be used in a versatile array of applications.”
Available in hundreds of resin colors, the bone-colored porcelain can take on a more muted look in either neutral or earth-toned resins or can achieve a bolder look with richer colors. EnviroMode can be used in either flooring or countertop surfaces and achieves a harder surface than traditional Terrazzo. It can also be combined with the aggregates of Enviroglas Products Inc. for a more chic design.
EnviroMode EnviroSlab was first used in a Chicago-area home basement. The remodel creates a warm and welcoming, as well as environmentally friendly, family room/entertainment center with EnviroMode as the focal point in the adjacent bathroom. “This material is a very ingenious product and a great way to ‘close the loop’ in recycling,” says project designer Karen Kaplan.
Whaley was presented the 2006 National Recycling Coalition Development Award for EnviroMode.
Gilasi InnerGlow surfaces are composed of more than 87 percent recycled material, the bulk of which is 100 percent recycled glass. “We call the slabs InnerGlow because you can see into the surface through the glass,” says Garrett Obluck, operations manager.
The slabs are available in slate, green tea, orchid and sand dollar — with an infinite custom palette to choose from based on colors, tones and the design of the aggregate mix.
“Different types of glass will show different types of texturing,” says Obluck. “Most of our countertops use standard glass you see all the time. However, if a customer wants to incorporate reds or purples, we use recycled art glass.” Gilasi slabs are made to order to reduce waste and unnecessary cost incurred by traditional countertop manufacturing methods.
