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Consumers appreciate bamboo products because of the design, elegance,
unique grain and color. Our factories produce a wide variety of bamboo
floor lengths, widths, colors and styles (engineered, hand scraped, and
stained). This type of
elegance, design and color is not found in most hardwood products. Bamboo
is used for construction of decorative items and furniture for both
residential and commercial use as well as unusual applications such as
airport ceilings and sports floors.
Quality bamboo makes a beautiful, warm, environmentally friendly floor
that can be enjoyed for many years. Since the manufacturing of bamboo
flooring has so many variables, quality will vary from different
manufacturers. Our manufacturers use quality materials to make an
excellent product. We do not purchase our bamboo flooring because it's a
“great buy”! That “great buy” can be very expensive if the bamboo fails in
the future. The adage about getting what you pay for will be true with
bamboo as with other items.
BAMBOO FLOORING COLORS & CONSTRUCTIONS
Bamboo flooring is typically
available in two colors, natural and carbonized. The natural color is
golden or blonde whereas the carbonized color has darker, coffee-colored
tones. Other colors in bamboo flooring may be obtained by staining the
unfinished product.
Bamboo flooring has two basic constructions; horizontal and vertical.
Horizontal boards are manufactured by laminating three layers of bamboo
strips together. This presents an appearance that has been compared to
flattened bamboo stalks, with the unique nodal pattern characteristic of
bamboo.
Turning the bamboo strips 90 degrees and positioning the strips next to
each other produces the vertical construction. The strips are then pressed
into a single layer. In effect, one walks on the edge of the strip.
Click here to see
solid
bamboo flooring construction illustrations.
QUALITY BAMBOO FLOORING
Unlike hardwood floors that come from slow growing trees, bamboo flooring
is produced from an extremely fast growing grass. Bamboo is the fastest
growing plant on Earth. In fact, bamboo grows one third faster than the
fastest growing tree. Some bamboo species can grow 24 inches per day and,
within 90 days, reach 60 to 90 feet in height. When harvested, the bamboo
root system merely sprouts a new shoot the following rainy season; no
re-planting is necessary. In addition, unlike traditional hardwoods that
are harvested every 40 to 60 years, bamboo can be harvested every 5 to 8
years. Bamboo is also an important factor in controlling erosion. This
added environmental benefit is due to the extensive root system that keeps
the surrounding soil in place.
During the manufacturing process, almost 100 % of the bamboo is utilized.
The material that is too small or weak for flooring production is used for
many diverse products such as furniture, paper, chopsticks and toothpicks.
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