Natural Stone can contribute to LEED Credits

The Natural Stone Council (NSC) in partnership with The University of Tennessse Center for Clean Products has published three case studies concerning the environmental advantages of natural stone.

The studies can be accessed on the NSC's website links listed below.

Case Study: Application of Green Building Certification Programs to Natural Stone
Prepared By The University of Tennessee Center for Clean Products

Case Study: Durability of Stone Flooring in High Traffic Areas

Case Study: The Use of Reclaimed Stone in Building Construction

As stated in the first case study above, "LEED-NC, for New Construction projects, is the most widely used green building rating system in the US. 3 LEED-NC emphasizes six categories for environmental improvement:

1. Sustainable Sites (SS)
2. Water Efficiency (WE)
3. Energy and Atmosphere (EA)
4. Materials and Resources (MR)
5. Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)
6. Innovation and Design. (ID)

Natural stone products, such as those made from granite, marble, and limestone, among others, can contribute to points in several of these categories."

For more information about the Natural Stone Council visit their website at the following link.
http://www.genuinestone.com/home.php

Are Granite Countertops now passe?

Over the past twenty years granite countertops became increasingly popular for use in residential kitchens and baths. Many alternative surfaces have been introduced to ride the wave of granite's popularity over the past few years citing they are better, safer and more economical. And some of these other surfaces have made some headway into the granite countertop market share.

Now that granite countertops are a common finish in many residential kitchens across this country are they now passe? If you were going to redo your kitchen today what surface would you prefer for your countertop? Would you be looking at greener / recycled materials? What surface would you consider more luxurious or more aesthetically pleasing. What feeling are you looking to convey?

Please drop me a note on this blog and let me know what you think. Or you can send me a tweet at http://twitter.com/Stone_Expert