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Bamboo Floors
What’s rapidly reaching star status as flooring, is beautiful, hard as nails, durable, renewable, and manufactured with environmental concerns uppermost in mind? It’s...
BAMBOO
Bamboo is a fast growing grass, harvestable in three to five years. When harvested, the roots remain intact and sprout new growth which reaches its full height in just a few months, but is not at maximum hardness until about 5 years old. There are many species of bamboo; those used for flooring are not eaten by Pandas, so bamboo harvested for flooring poses no threat to their survival.
Bamboo is dimensionally stable. In its natural finish (very light, blond),
it’s generally harder than Red Oak or Maple. Bamboo with a caramelized
(also called carbonized) finish—a darker, richer color—is somewhat softer
as the caramelizing process involves long soaking in order to change the color. “Strand-woven” can
be as much as 2 times harder than traditional bamboo flooring, making it an
excellent commercial flooring. Bamboo is available as single planks, panels,
wide-planks, and also in larger panels and veneers for use on walls or built-in
furniture (e.g. kitchen island bases).
Bamboo
- Environmentally sound
- Reduced/eliminated chemical emissions
- Range of colors & styles
- Socially-conscious companies
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The color is usually natural or caramelized;
some styles may be available with color stains; graining is
vertical or flat
(horizontal), and refers to how the strips are laminated more than how the end-result appears (see illustration). Strand looks much like vertical, both lacking a display of the growth nodes.
Bamboo flooring, like solid wood, can be nailed, stapled, or glued. Some styles can be floated. Generally, bamboo planking is not recommended for below grade installs, as it reacts to moisture just like hardwood does. Similarly, it’s not the best for bathrooms, saunas, or any place where moisture levels are high or floors are subject to standing water puddles.
Bamboo pieces for use as stair treads and risers are available, too, along with the standard molding/finishing-piece styles.
