Environmental and Economic of Flooring Building Materials

Abstract

Green building design requires use of building materials that minimize environmental impact, necessitating selection of building materials by their environmental profile as well as economic cost-benefit considerations. The objective of this research is to determine the environmental impacts per square meter of three flooring materials; ceramic tiles, marble tiles, and parquet produced in Thailand. Life cycle cost (LCC) of the three materials are determined and compared. The study finds that ceramic tiles cause the greatest environmental impact, especially during the material extraction phase. When calculating all costs incurred throughout the life-cycle, the cost of untreated solid wood parquet is highest.