Old toilets, sinks and porcelain tubs are finding new life as designer flooring, thanks to Texas businessman Tim Whaley.
Two years after Whaley dug Plano, Texas out from under mountains of crushed, recycled glass, the city once again asked the enterpreneur to put on his thinking cap. Whaley came up with a process of turning recycled glass into designer countertops. Could he do the same with toilets and tubs?
Judge for yourself.
The bathroom floor shown here is made of EnviroPlank -- tiles of recycled porcelain bound by a non-volatile resin. At about $25 per square foot, the flooring is cheaper than traditional poured-in-place terrazzo. If you're handy you can save by installing it yourself. If you're not, any contractor experienced in tile floors can help you out.
Standard mixes and resins come in a couple dozen varieties. Those with an artistic bent (and a larger budget) can play with custom resin colors and mixtures of recycled glass and pottery aggregates.
The half-inch thick tiles come in three sizes and can be installed directly onto a concrete slab or wood sub-floor with thin set mortar. The tiles maintain their matte or gloss finish without sealing, waxing or polishing.
The flooring can earn your house green building credits.
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