Bamboo Flooring
A rapidly growing trend in home flooring, Bamboo offers environmental benefits, natural texture and strength not found in other flooring materials.
Used since ancient times in the home decor traditions of many Asian and Polynesian cultures, bamboo can help set an exotic theme in your room decor.
It will also fit well in any modern decor, offering natural texture and colour that can be matches well to most design themes and motifs.
You might be thinking of a rustic, unevenly planked or round canes found in a tropical cottage or hut when you think of bamboo flooring.
Bamboo offers a more environmentally friendly flooring product than hardwoods and can just as easily match most home decors, as this ultra modern home interior demonstrates.
However, today’s quality manufacturing processes enable a smooth, laminated finish and plank or strip construction that closely resembles that of wood flooring products.
Since bamboo is actually a grass and not a tree, it has a very distinctive appearance and finish, with a pattern of light and dark bands that comes from its nodes.
These patterns set bamboo apart from the grain and texture found in wood flooring materials. The tight grain and uniform colour of a bamboo floor further distinguish its appearance.
Most bamboo flooring products come pre-finished in either the natural light bamboo colour or darker shades created by using carbonization; applying steam and pressure to the bamboo in the finishing process.
The carbonization process darkens the sugar content in the bamboo fibers, turning it a honey-brown colour, which varies depending on how long the process is applied. However, the longer carbonization is applied, the softer bamboo becomes. Thus, the lighter, more naturally finished products will tend to be more durable.
Choosing a supplier is important when opting for bamboo flooring. The carbonization and lamination processes greatly affect its durability and resistance to scratching. A bamboo floor may be as soft as pine or harder than maple. The species and maturity of the bamboo when harvested largely determine how hard the final product will be.
Bamboo flooring will also vary by how the planks are constructed, with three primary types generally available on the market; vertical or horizontal solid planks, engineered planks, or woven strand planks.
Despite being a species of grass, bamboo can be as strong as some hardwood flooring materials, like maple or black walnut. Bamboo’s resilience even allows it to withstand a greater impact without denting than some of these hardwood products, although it may not be as durable or scratch resistant as some traditional wood flooring materials like oak.
Bamboo, which grows in highly moist tropical environments, also offers great moisture resistance and dimensional stability. Since it is a laminated product, bamboo is less likely than most hardwoods to gap, cup, or warp. Thus, it is well-suited to spaces like your kitchen and bathrooms, where hardwood flooring can be problematic.
With increasing concern over the depletion of hardwood forests, bamboo offers a fast-growing and more environmentally friendly renewable resource.
Bamboo can mature to heights of over 50 feet within five years and is commercially harvested multiple times from each plant. This compares with most hardwoods, which, depending on tree species, take thirty to one-hundred years to mature.
Installed properly installed, a bamboo floor will give your home the natural texture, warmth and luxury feel of a fine hardwood floor, with easier cleaning, care and maintenance.
