Kenneth F. Nansteel III Tile & Remodeling

Environmental Responsibility

Like many people these days, we are concerned about our impact on the environment. We have decided to green our business in every way that we can, and will be updating this page frequently as we come up with more and more ways to lessen our carbon footprint. At present, we have begun taking the following steps:

*We are members of the Lehigh Valley Green Builders Forum, "a non-profit all volunteer educational organization dedicated to promoting Green Building and Renewable Energy to the building industry and the public in the Lehigh Valley Region. Our mission is to promote environmentally responsible design, planning, construction, and operation of the built environment through advocacy, education, outreach, and networking."

*We carpool as much as possible to job sites, and group estimates together by location as often as we can to save on gas.

*We Freecycle as many materials as we can. If you aren't familiar with Freecycle, it is a network is made up of 4,622 groups with 6,065,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. We often have leftover materials such as doors, tubs, vanities, toilets, etc. from jobs we are remodeling.  In most cases they are in perfectly good condition and would otherwise be sent to the dump. Instead, we recycle these items to people who can use them.

*Recently, we have implemented an eco-friendle grout sealer. Safecoat Grout Sealer is a clear, moisture resistant sealer for porous tile grout and other cementitious surfaces. It actually reacts with and becomes a part of the grout, increasing water resistance and minimizing the penetration of liquids, helping to prevent staining and giving a wearable, washable surface. Like all Safecoat products, it is as safe and not toxic as possible, formaldehyde free and virtually odorless, giving off no offensive chemical fumes. Dries clear without discoloration.

*In addition, we also offer a non-toxic caulking product. Safecoat Caulking Compound is a not-toxic, water-based, elastic emulsion type caulking compound designed to replace oil caulk and putty for windows, cracks and general maintenance work. It will not dry out or crack and does not release any solvents or obnoxious odors. Safecoat Caulking Compound provides a water resistant, flexible, easy to install, non sag sealant with excellent initial and permanent adhesion. As a ready-to-use, pigmented elastomer, Safecoat Caulking Compound has thixotropic properties which enable the application to be made with ease with no stringiness and yet maintains flexibility and toughness with rapid drying characteristics. It may be applied to a variety of substrates and has high durability. Resin rich formula affords maximum bond strength.

*Plastic consumption is something we are always trying to reduce, which is why we were really happy to have found Perf  Go Green biodegradeable drop cloths. Perf Go Green products are produced using recycled plastic which reduces plastic in landfills. The recycled plastics are then combined with an oxo-biodegradable proprietary application method to produce the film for the bags. This product, when discarded in soil in the presence of microorganisms, moisture and oxygen, biodegrades, decomposing into simple materials found in nature. Perf Go Green Bags will completely break down in a landfill environment within 2 years leaving no residue or harmful toxins and have a shelf life of 2 years.

*Tile is a very “green” material in and of itself. Most tiles are made from natural clay that has been fired. Because it has an extremely long life, it needs to be replaced less often, which means less waste in landfills. We encourage our customers to consider purchasing more eco-friendly tile, such as ones that are made from recycled glass. These are becoming more readily available at our tile distributors as the demand increases. 

*We are proud to now offer more eco-friendly options for countertops, flooring, and cabinetry, as well as recycled tiles! Please view the Links page for more information.

*We send electronic invoices and estimates via e-mail as often as we possibly can, cutting down on our paper use.

*When cleaning up from our jobs, we use only non-toxic, fragrance free, earth-friendly cleaning products from environmentally responsible companies (Method and Seventh Generation). We also use sponges, mops, and cloths made from recyclable materials that can be washed and reused over and over again. Our theory is that if cleaning products are meant to be locked up away from children and pets they shouldn't be sprayed over every surface in the home. This is how we clean our home, and we feel we should extend that same courtesy to our customers and their families.

*We do work for Studio 26 Homes, a local green builder in the Lehigh Valley. You can view more information about them under our "published work" page.