Natural Bamboo Flooring

With the nagging problem of global warming, even flooring has become quite an issue these days. This is precisely why natural bamboo flooring is a strong alternative to the usual hardwood used for flooring.

Concisely, bamboo is not a tree at all. It is a type of grass, but is as hard as wood that it makes a great alternative to hardwood flooring. What’s more, bamboo grows a whole lot faster than the typical tree used for flooring. Trees take usually decades to grow to just about that height and grade that is perfect for flooring. Bamboo, on the other hand, takes just three to five years to grow. This indicates faster replacement, when it comes to the usage of bamboo for flooring. In this alone, bamboo has a strong advantage over hardwood. It does have fewer harmful effects on our environment.

However, just like any other thing on this planet, using bamboo also has its share of setbacks. Its major setback is actually the fact that there are only a few choices offered when it comes to the shade of bamboo. This is because bamboo is often of a light shade, more like the shade of honey. There are times, though, when bamboo comes in a darker shade of amber. However, this shade comes out only when the bamboo has been pressure steamed. When this process occurs, carbonization follows. In addition, a darker shade of bamboo is achieved through dyeing or staining.

Bamboo Flooring from $1.99

The first step in processing bamboo is the cutting. These hollow canes are made intro strips, and then boiled in a blend of preservatives and water. Once the strips are soft and well-boiled already, they are then made flat. A resin that is urea-based is then used to make these strips into laminated boards.

Most people are put off by the idea of bamboo flooring because they think bamboo is not that strong a material. However, this is not true at all. The hardness of bamboo flooring can be likened to that of maple. Bamboo is also non-shrinkable, which is like the oak wood. Bamboo is also as dent-proof as oak wood. Since bamboo is not a type of wood, then exposure to water would not be that much of a problem as well. Surprisingly, bamboo has all of these properties despite its lightweight. With these qualities, natural bamboo flooring becomes all the more attractive an alternative to hardwood flooring.