Bamboo floor

Why use bamboo?

Because bamboo is one of the most environmentally friendly materials we can use for building, furniture making and floor covering. Bamboo is not a tree – it’s a grass. It grows very fast and matures in five years. Comparatively, hardwoods grow slowly and take from 30 to 100 years to mature. Also, given that bamboo is a grass, the same plant can be cropped many times.

Bamboo is not only eco-friendly but it’s strong, hard-wearing and water-resistant. It’s stronger than many hardwoods such as red oak and maple..

How is bamboo flooring made?

Most bamboo flooring comes from China where they grow one of hardiest species of bamboo. The bamboo then is cut it into strips before drying and laminating it under pressure.

The Bamboo flooring sold in the West is normally pre-finished with poly-urethane and hardened using an ultraviolet procedure. It comes in planksof many different lengths ready to nail or glue down or float like other type of engineered wooden floors.

Appearance

Bamboo has a golden tint by nature, so the original flooring is light and natural. A darker honey-brown version is also manufactured by carbonizing the wood during drying process. However, this is not as strong as the lighter floor.  You can choose between vertical (side-pressed) or horizontal (flat-pressed) construction. The horizontal style shows the bamboo ‘nodes’ in the grain, whilst the vertical style looks more dense.

Where to use bamboo floor?

It is suitable in most areas – in rooms of high or low traffic, be they moist or dry.  Given that bamboo is  an exotic plant, it’s naturally water-resistant, making it a very good choice for kitchen and bathroom floors

Installing bamboo floor

Bamboo flooring is installed just like hardwood tongue-and-groove flooring, either glued together or nailed down. It can also be installed as a floating floor. Bamboo should be acclimatized for at least 48 hours in the room in which it is to be installed.

Maintenance

Maintaining your bamboo floor is as easy. Just vacuum and clean it with damp mop. Obviously, don’t use abrasive cleaners or scouring pads like steel wool on this or any other wooden flooring.

All natural floors are subject to seasonal expansion and the day-to-day wear and tear of moving furniture, appliances. You can protect your floor from scratches by using furniture leg pads and of course, do avoid wearing stiletto-heeled shoes!

Read about bamboo rugs.