Bamboo flooring is becoming more popular and more available every year. But the questions many people have is, how does it compare to other flooring choices?

Should You Consider Bamboo Flooring?

If you’re new to bamboo flooring, you may be wondering if this type of flooring would be a good choice for you. After all, it originates in China, and we know about their record…

Relax, the truth is, bamboo flooring is highly durable, economical and beautiful, and as good a choice, or better, than most wood flooring material.

Here Are Some Of The Advantages Of Bamboo Flooring:

• Attractiveness - The nodes of the bamboo are tighter and darker than the rest of the grain, creating appealing natural-looking patterns.
• Hardness and durability – Bamboo is harder and stronger than many hardwoods. It is also resilient and resists denting, although, like any other wood floor it will scratch if scraped with something sharp.
• Insect resistance – Insects, such as termites, prefer softer woods.
• Moisture resistance - Bamboo has a higher resistant to moisture than most wood flooring, so you don’t need to worry about spills ruining your floor. This makes bamboo flooring an excellent choice for kitchens and bathrooms.
• Easy to clean - All it takes to keep bamboo floors clean is a daily sweeping and a weekly damp mopping.
• Eco-Friendly – Unlike hardwood, bamboo is quickly replenished and highly renewable. Technically, the bamboo plant is a grass and grows accordingly. It reaches maturity in considerably less time than the trees used to make wood floors. The United States Green Building Council’s LEED program allows points for the use of bamboo floors by virtue of it being a rapidly renewable resource.

How is Bamboo Flooring Made?

In Southeast Asia, bamboo is used in a more natural form. For North American markets, bamboo flooring is processed so it can be used in the same way other hardwoods are used. The bamboo is split, flattened, dried, and then laminated in layers with glue under high pressure. Manufactured bamboo floors are typically made available in planks with either vertical- or horizontal-grain orientation.

Vertical or Horizontal?

Bamboo flooring may also be classified as Vertical and Horizontal. In vertical bamboo floors, a vertical plank will have each of the component pieces stood vertically on their narrowest edge and then press laminated side to side. The effect is a lined, almost uniform look to the surface of the finished floor plank.

Horizontal bamboo floors have individual slats that are arranged in a horizontal direction, on their widest edge, and then joined side by side with adjacent pieces using a high-pressure laminate system. The look of the finished horizontal surface is one where the characteristic nodes of the bamboo are randomly visible.

Locking bamboo flooring is the easiest to install. Individual flooring planks have interlocking joints that click precisely into place.

Colors

The two major colors are natural (similar to beech) and carbonized (similar to oak). The process of steaming bamboo material under a controlled pressure and temperature is called carbonization. In this process, bio-organisms and sugar breaks down, and the color of the material changes into brownish. The carbonization process typically softens the bamboo by 10-20%.

The natural and carbonized bamboo floors are typically referred to as solid bamboo, although in fact the structures are layered, similar to a plywood. By combining plank alignment and color, many variations in styles and colors can be produced.

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