In nearly every class at CHENG Concrete Training Academy, someone asks “What type of countertop is the greenest?” Despite the innumerable discussions on the “greenness” of countertop materials, the unequivocal answer without debate is that the...
#1 Greenest Countertop You Could Possibly Own: The One You Already Own.
Which countertop is the second greenest?
#2 Greenest Countertop You Could Possibly Own: The One Someone Else Already Owned
This would make it a recycled countertop—not a countertop made up of recycled materials. There’s a big difference. The first already exists and would probably be destined for the landfill if not reclaimed. The second, while recycled, still needs to be created and transported, and has some embodied energy. In our research, we have found that green is literally not a black or white issue. There are degrees of green, particularly with concrete as a countertop or any other decorative concrete application. Every countertop material has pros and cons when it comes to the delicate balance of environmental responsibility, style and performance in the home. Let’s rephrase the original question.
If I’m in the market for a new countertop and want to make the smallest possible impact on the environment while still choosing a functional and captivating material, what choices are available?
Consider concrete. While not the only responsible choice, it is local, durable, sustainable, recyclable, and uniquely beautiful with its earthy appeal combined with the personalization and nuances you can customize to your style and functional needs. By choosing concrete as a decorative building material, particularly for countertops, you affirm your consideration for the earth as well as a desire to be a little different, casting your own unique character in concrete.
CHENG Concrete Countertop Products are making it easier to create countertops, so that you can locally produce your countertop, whether you do-it-yourself or hire a Pro, and design one that is customized to your needs. By creating something with purpose and with an emotional value through personalization, you negate the “built-in obsolescence” pervasive of machined objects and are likely to extend the life of your countertop thereby reducing consumption of another countertop.
You’ll want to keep yours for a longer period of time—you’ll easily answer “What’s the Greenest Countertop?” as the one you already own because you took part in creating or customizing it with concrete—the countertop will have a “built-in timelessness” because of its material content, durability, and inherent emotional appeal which you’ll love and use for much longer than any other surface material.
Q2. What is the difference between concrete and cement?
Simply put, cement is an ingredient, or component, of a concrete mix. Much like an egg is to a cake, cement is the binding ingredient that holds the other components in a concrete mix, or batch, together.
A typical batch of concrete is made up of 80% sand and stone with only the remaining 20% being comprised of cement or some type of cement replacement.
What is the difference between concrete and decorative concrete?
The term Decorative Concrete is used to describe concrete that is not solely used for its structural or functional performance; rather, it is employed as a material of choice to achieve a certain aesthetic, pattern, texture or color for commercial or residential applications, both for interior or exterior uses in addition to its structural or functional performance.
For example, the broom-finished gray concrete sidewalks we are all familiar with in our cities and neighborhoods have a specific function and are usually void of any decorative character achieved with patterning, color, texture, and form (the pedestrian names carved into the concrete with a stick do not count). Compare this mental image with any of the images you find in the Design Ideas gallery as examples of the myriad of decorative concrete applications possible—the design, or creative, opportunities become limitless within the sphere of decorative concrete. Additional methods for creating with decorative concrete include: stamping, form liners, staining and engraving.
Q3. Can fly ash make my concrete countertop “greener” by replacing the Portland Cement in my mix? Do you recommend it?
Yes...and No. Fly ash is post-industrial waste from coal-burning electrical power generation plants. You can replace up to 20% of the Portland Cement in a concrete mix, effectively replacing a high carbon footprint material with fly ash that would other wise be headed to land-fill—you’ve now made your concrete countertop a little “greener.”
However, we don’t recommend using fly ash in concrete countertop mixes due to its wildly unpredictable impact on the ultimate color and appearance of the countertops. Its impact on color requires you (or your customer) to be less discerning—to have a very “laid-back” approach—to the final look and feel of the countertop.
If you are determined to ensure that your project employ the use of fly ash, be sure to talk with your concrete contractor or specialist to gauge how experienced they are with using fly ash and what type of expectations you have for your project regarding color, surface finish, and structural integrity. For a fly ash alternative to create "green" concrete projects, where the color and ultimate appearance are important, we recommend a stable, post-industrial waste cement replacement called VCAS-160.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a system of metrics developed by the USGBC to measure how “green” a building truly is. Here is an excerpt directly from their site:
“LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
LEED is flexible enough to apply to all building types – commercial as well as residential. It works throughout the building lifecycle – design and construction, operations and maintenance, tenant fitout, and significant retrofit. And LEED for Neighborhood Development extends the benefits of LEED beyond the building footprint into the neighborhood it serves.”
What are LEED points? Can a Material be LEED Certified?
There is a popular misconception that a product or material can be LEED Certified.
In fact, a project is what is certified by meeting established prerequisites and a minimum threshold of points as measured on a LEED 100-point scale. LEED points (or credits) are awarded across a wide range of key green performance areas including: Site, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Locations and Linkages, Awareness and Education, Innovation in Design, and Regional Priority. The Materials and Resources used during a projects construction directly impact the final point tally for a project—and ultimately its certification.
While there are many considerations that impact a material’s contribution to the final LEED tally, recycled content and origin of materials are often cited when evaluating concrete for use in a project. If a material’s origin is within 500 miles of the project, it will contribute positively to the projects LEED 100-point scale, as does a product that contains 25% post-consumer recycled waste. The USGBC provides a graphic analogy of a nutrition label that sums up the point details for each key performance area, see this example:
For residential projects, learn more on LEED for Homes.
An independent third-party certification entity, The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) ensures that projects intended for LEED Certification are built accordingly, thereby, maintaining the integrity of the LEED Certification Process. Participation in the LEED process—all voluntary—is considered a demonstration of leadership, innovation and environmental stewardship.
Q5. How much recycled content is needed for a concrete countertop to be considered green?
According to the USGBC, this is dependent upon whether you are using “post-consumer” or “post-industrial” materials (see next FAQ for details). To qualify for USGBC LEED points, a concrete countertop with 25% post-consumer material would qualify; however, post-industrial content would need to exceed 50% for qualification.
Q6. What is the difference between “post-consumer” and “post-industrial” waste products?
“Post-consumer” is the terminology used to describe any product that has been used and then discarded by an end user. “Post-industrial” describes waste material that is typically a by-product of the manufacturing industry.
Perhaps, the best example of this is glass. When you drink a soda in a glass bottle and then throw the bottle away, you have just created “post-consumer” waste glass. By contrast, when a bottle manufacturer discards 10,000 bottles, they have just created “post-industrial” waste. Post-consumer products are the most valuable in terms of LEED points because it has had a complete life cycle as compared to the incomplete life cycle of post-industrial by-products.
Q7. What are VOCs? Why are they important?
In laymen terms, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are chemical substances released by things like cleaning products, carpeting, adhesives and hundreds of other things in your home. As they evaporate into the air they react with oxygen to create ozone (O3).
Ozone is the primary ingredient of photochemical smog, the type of air pollution (at times thick enough to see) that we associate with cities like Los Angeles and Mexico City.
VOC levels are 2 to 5 times higher indoors than outdoors and a significant contributor to sick building syndrome. Symptoms of VOC exposure range from irritation of eyes, nose and throat to the more severe dizziness, headache, memory and visual impairment.