GREEN BUILDING CONTRIBUTIONS OF RUBBER FLOORING

All building products are routinely reviewed by architects and others for sustainability traits and quite often for how they can help contribute to certification under the LEED green building program or others. The U.S. Green Building Council has developed the well-known LEED rating system to recognize and certify buildings that can be considered to be green or sustainable. The current iteration of this popular system is LEED version 4 (LEED v4), which applies to a range of building types. Rubber flooring can be used to help contribute to earning LEED credits and ultimately certification at the Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum levels in several ways. Depending on the quantity of rubber flooring used on a project, the green building contribution could range from minor to very significant. Hence, it is worth recognizing the following green building attributes of rubber flooring.

Materials and Resources (MR)

A prerequisite for any LEED building is to reduce the amount of construction and demolition waste by recycling, recovering, or reusing building materials. Since rubber flooring can be installed very efficiently, there is very little waste to begin with. Any excess or scrap can be managed and recovered by the manufacturer. At least one manufacturer has a construction waste takeback program for the purpose of reducing job-site waste by taking back uninstalled waste flooring. Details of this program are made available directly from the manufacturer.

Photo courtesy of nora

Rubber flooring meets many green and sustainable building criteria, allowing people and operations to benefit.

Looking to the bigger picture, LEED v4 recognizes efforts to address the environmental impacts of materials over their full life cycle. Toward that end, a life-cycle assessment (LCA) protocol is used to support certification points for this Materials and Resources credit. Additionally, an environmental product declaration (EPD) based on the LCA and applicable product category rules (PCR) helps substantiate the green qualifications of most resilient flooring products, including rubber flooring. Although not recognized by LEED v4, some manufacturers also take the additional step of achieving ISO 14001: Environmental Management Systems certification, which helps assure that their processes and products directly address environmental concerns. By using this information, the environmental impacts of rubber flooring can be determined from the extraction of raw materials through manufacturing and shipping (cradle to gate).

LEED v4 also includes credits for the use of products from manufacturers that disclose the chemical ingredients using an acceptable methodology. Acceptable forms of documentation include Declare labels, health product declarations (HPDs), and Cradle to Cradle Certification, to name a few. The intent is to minimize the use and generation of substances harmful to human health to create beautiful and sustainable interiors.

INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (EQ)

Healthy indoor environments are paramount among many green building rating systems, including LEED, the WELL Building Standard, and The Living Building Challenge. In particular, the use of building materials inside of buildings that do not contain or emit substances that are harmful to human health has been a major motivation behind the creation of these standards and criteria. Their refinement and sophistication have helped define a high-quality healthy indoor environment.

Rubber flooring plays well into this situation not only because of the natural materials it contains but also what it does not contain. Rubber flooring is free of known problem ingredients; there is no polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ortho-phthalate plasticizers, halogens, or asbestos. Further, since no coatings, finishes, or special cleaners are required, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are not a concern with maintenance of the flooring.

Rubber flooring used in LEED v4 projects must be tested and certified in compliance with California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Standard Method v1.1-2010. Certifications like Greenguard Gold and FloorScore both demonstrate compliance with this CDPH Standard. However, Greenguard Gold is a more stringent standard since it includes the same 35 chemical emission caps as FloorScore plus an additional 330 more individual chemical caps and a total VOC (TVOC) emissions limit.

Adhesives used to install rubber flooring can be specified to be similarly friendly to human health. They can be specified to be low- or non-emitting and contained and separated from the interior environment by the flooring. Adhesives used in LEED v4 must be in compliance with the VOC content requirements of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1168 as well as have VOC emissions certification in compliance with CDPH Standard Method v1.1-2010 to protect the health of installers and other trade workers on-site during installation.

SPECIFYING RUBBER FLOORING

When specifying rubber flooring, there are numerous choices and options from which to choose. Coordination with manufacturers during the design phases of a project will help gain insight for project-specific details, cost drivers, installation nuances, and the latest options. In a standard CSI or MasterFormat, the usual location to include this specification is in Section 09 65 00: Resilient Flooring. Some of the relevant items to address in a standard three-part specification format are highlighted as follows.

Photo: Dirk Wilhelmy

Specifying rubber flooring is based on an understanding of the specific needs of the project and the types of conditions to which the flooring will be exposed.

Part 1: General

The scope of specification work can include all preparation work, substrate review, product choices, and final installation. In terms of specifying performance, the appropriate ASTM and other testing standards should be referenced both for testing the substrate (commonly concrete floor slabs) and for the rubber flooring and related products.

Submittals for rubber flooring products should include the usual manufacturer’s data and information for all products used, plus samples with color and texture data to confirm that the correct appearance is being achieved.

Quality assurance is an important part of any field installed system, and the same is true here. Installers should have qualifications acceptable to the manufacturer of the resilient flooring or be “resilient certified” by the International Standards & Training Alliance (INSTALL). Evidence of such qualifications can be requested as a submittal, but it is important that the people actually in the field are the ones with the qualifications and experience needed.

Delivery of the materials should occur sufficiently in advance of installation to condition materials to the required temperature for 48-hours prior to installation. On site protection of products should be carried out according to the manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations. The manufacturer’s standard limited warranty (10 years is common) for wear, defect, bond, and conductivity can be requested and sought for the entire installation.

Part 2: Products

All of the different rubber flooring products used in the building should be called out and specified. If multiple products are used, they should be identified by type in the specifications and the locations of each type needs to be clearly called out in either the drawings or specifications. The details of the specified products can include:

• The makeup and composition of the rubber flooring should be specified including the recognized ASTM type and grade of rubber flooring.
• The specific type, size, and shape of the rubber flooring(s) should be identified for each product used. These can include square tiles, rectangular planks, or continuous sheet flooring.
• The specific performance criteria for each product, including thickness, dimensional stability, flammability, burn resistance, slip resistance, bacteria resistance, sound absorption, and any other needed criteria, can be specified.
• The specific color, pattern, and texture of each rubber flooring product needs to be called out. Manufacturer’s literature should be consulted for this as with any finished product.
• Other requirements including the details of cleaning and stain removal for the product can be called out.

In addition, all trim, accessories, adhesives, and related items need to be identified in the specifications based on compatibility with the flooring, ideally as part of a complete, coordinated system.

Part 3: Execution

As with any site-installed product, the installation requires multiple steps that need to be clearly articulated in the specification to achieve the best results.

• Examination and preparation: The importance of this step should always be stressed. In addition to the architect, the installer should review and examine the substrate for conditions affecting the performance of the flooring in accordance with ASTM F710: Standard Practice for Preparing Concrete Floors to Receive Resilient Flooring. Any issues will need to be corrected if they are found to be out of compliance with the requirements of the standard or specifications. All surface defects must be repaired using appropriate patching materials unless a rubber flooring product is being used that is acceptable for irregular or high-moisture substrates. Ultimately, the goal is to provide a substrate surface that has been prepared to an acceptable level, is clean of all contaminants, and free of any debris.
• Installation: Rubber flooring tiles, planks, and sheet flooring are commonly adhered in place according to manufacturer’s instructions and installation manuals. Those should be consulted to assure that the flooring system is installed to meet the conditions for a successful project.
• Protection: Once applied, the flooring surface should be protected during any remaining construction work, including final mechanical or electrical trimming, painting of adjacent surfaces, or any punch-list work.
• Cleaning: Upon completion, the rubber flooring should be cleaned of any construction or miscellaneous dirt, debris, etc. Further, the flooring contractor should conduct a post-installation cleaning after 72 hours for wet set adhesives.

When specified and installed correctly, the finished flooring will provide the desired look and long-term performance characteristics that are intended.