Durapalm can be used for indoor or outdoor walls as well as flooring.

Palm Flooring

You can add palm wood to your list of renewable flooring options, thanks to a product called Durapalm. The flooring is made from plantation-grown palm trees that no longer produce coconuts.

Pros:

• With more than 150 species growing in countries from Southeast Asia and Africa to Central America, palm trees will be a long-lasting renewable resource.
• When palms stop producing nuts after about 100 years, they frequently go unused. This flooring is a way to use this valuable resource.
• The flooring is held together by nontoxic adhesives.
• The product is extremely moisture-resistant, so it can be used for indoor and outdoor products.

Cons:

• Durapalm sells for a retail price of $8.99 a square foot, so it's not as affordable as some other green flooring choices.
• Most of the palm trees are grown in Southeast Asia and South America, so it's definitely not a local product.

Bottom Line: Palm wood can create a dramatic eco-friendly floor in your home, but the costs and embodied energy are high. Install it if your heart's set on palm, but other hard-surface products are just as eco-friendly and much more affordable.

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