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Paper is 100% re-cyclable naturally, so no real need to "recycle" it.Polyurethanes are toxic when applied or burned and will eventually wind up in the landfill ...Not so sure we have an environmentally friendly process here.
I disagree, paper recycling is taking waste paper and turning it into new paper products, by definition. As if by tearing it into smaller pieces and glueing it to a floor. It has been altered and repurposed into something else, a paper composite type flooring. Hence, recycled. the phase 'recycling brown paper bags,' is American English vernacular speech, and implies repurposing traditionally, as well, as is stated in the title of my thread. This isn't even a case of semantics. If you care to elaborate on your point, I'd be open to hearing it, and also, others can feel free to chime in.
Agreed, the videos are not using all environmentally friendly materials. Since this is posted in Green Living, the point was to come up with alternate methods, improvements on the project toward green living. Alternatively, I may decide not to do it at all.
Polyurethane takes something like 200 years to decompose. Plastics are everywhere and in everything. Like processed sugar, it's getting to be impossible to avoid. Feel free to start a thread on environmentally friendly processes. Maybe we can figure out a way to avoid using environmentally detrimental materials. My main goal was to get ideas on repurposing paper bags and cost efficiency. Cheers!
If I had a concrete floor, I would paint or stain it. I’d do that before I’d put paper bags over it and poly it down. What a mess removing it at a later date! But probably, I’d prefer to cover it with some sort of carpet, because standing on concrete is miserable.
But there is a paint or stain for practically everything.
Right, and lay wax over the top of the paint or stain. That would be better than
using polyurethane. Cool.
Google 'bottle house'. There are some cool stained glass structures made with glass bottles. I wouldn't want that for a house, but it would make a really fun she-shed.
I'll check that out, just to see what it looks like. I wonder what a busted up glass mosaic tile floor, grouted, would be like?
If I had a concrete floor, I would paint or stain it. I’d do that before I’d put paper bags over it and poly it down. What a mess removing it at a later date! But probably, I’d prefer to cover it with some sort of carpet, because standing on concrete is miserable.
But there is a paint or stain for practically everything.
So true. My neighbors in Oklahoma had stained concrete floors. They told me those were really cold in winter.
I spent a few days working on an artsy table for a friend's business like that with paper bags, pages from raggedy old books, and a few sepia-toned printouts with custom images to make a really cool looking design. I agree that the polyurethane was the real trick. The whole thing took weeks and about a dozen separate layers of poly, but it was a big, solidly-built table.
I rented a house that was shingled in old style metal oil cans, opened flat. The front of the house was painted, but the back showed the labels.
I wanted to try the brown paper flooring in my last house, but never got around to it. We did glue down a map of the area topped with polyurethane floor finish. Looked good, held up well.
Nice thing about painted or decopauged floors; you can lay carpet/tile/vinyl right over them. Walls would be a real pain.
I spent a few days working on an artsy table for a friend's business like that with paper bags, pages from raggedy old books, and a few sepia-toned printouts with custom images to make a really cool looking design. I agree that the polyurethane was the real trick. The whole thing took weeks and about a dozen separate layers of poly, but it was a big, solidly-built table.
I'd definitely agree with layering being the key, like waxing and painting, the more layers, the better it looks. Well, layering in moderation! Twenty layers would probably make anything look like $h!t! That's a really cool idea for tables. A lot invested in drying time between layers, sounds like? Cheers, RayHammer.
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