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Pictures on the right side
provide an illustration of what you might end up buying. These examples of
poor quality bamboo, which is currently being sold to Southeastern carpet
and wood dealers, was advertised as "A" quality bamboo with EU rated glue
(meaning low formaldehyde off gassing).
If you look closely at the
horizontal construction you can see:
1) The unevenness of the bamboo strip height (see the picture #1).
All three layers should be the same height (about 5mm). This assures that
the board is balanced and that the internal bamboo stress is evenly
distributed. This bamboo needed a partial forth layer to even out the top
layer (see the picture #3).
2) This bamboo sample had a gap in between the layers (click the
picture #2 to see the gap). When we cut into that gap, we found that the
inside of the bamboo strips were cracked throughout the length of the
board. This could result in a de-lamination problem later (see the picture
#2).
3) These bamboo strips were so bad they would normally have been
burned for the fuel or used for pallet construction by any decent
manufacturer. The construction was no more than pathetic.
4) This distributor/importer claimed the glue met EU standards.
Chinese glue manufacturers have found a way to contain formaldehyde off
gassing to a level meeting European standards. That is good news.
Unfortunately, this glue is lacking in another quality we look for in
glue--the ability to hold the bamboo strips together for a lifetime of
wear. Current Chinese glue production simply is not as durable as European
glue and after a few years we expect to see de-lamination.
5) The finish is also Chinese manufactured with aluminum oxide.
Scratch it with a key and you see the aluminum oxide flaking at the top.
This means that this finish cannot be screened and refinished. The Germans
have developed a finish that while scratch resistant, has no aluminum
oxide on the top two layers and can be easily screened and refinished.
Screening (buffing or very light sanding with fine sandpaper) and
re-coating is routine maintenance for wood/bamboo floors after 3 to 7
years of normal wear.
6) Obviously the Chinese manufacturer was totally unaware of what
it takes to manufacturer good bamboo flooring. The importer was either
buying for price and / or was totally misinformed about bamboo flooring
production
7) Because of the poor milling on the T&G and the over-wood we
found on the samples, we must conclude that the production machinery was
of questionable quality. |
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