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Bamboo Flooring
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Bamboo flooring is a rapidly renewable flooring product that looks almost identical to wood, but with several important advantages. The greatest advantages are that because bamboo is actually a grass harvesting bamboo does not kill the plant. Also, bamboo stalks grow to maturity in just a few years, so the same plant may provide for many different floors.
Bamboo flooring is a very hard, dimensionally stable and durable substitute for wood flooring that creates a beautiful and unique floor. Bamboo grass is a renewable resource that can grow to a harvestable size in as little as three years. There are several different products available, but all consist of either three horizontal layers of flat grain or multiple layers of vertical grain. Although bamboo is native and grown primarily in China and South East Asia, it is also expanding into an economically sustainable forest product in South America and many South Pacific Islands. The benefits of using rapidly renewable flooring often outweigh the long-distance transportation impacts when considered against other options.
In dry climates it is a good idea to allow the bamboo to stabilize to the local climate by placing it for several weeks in the structure it will be installed in. This will allow the bamboo to react to the local climate of the building before installation.
Be aware that although bamboo is resource-efficient, there is indoor air quality concern related to the urea-formaldehyde binders used in most products. While conscientious manufacturers wouldn’t treat their products with toxic chemicals, check to be sure before you finalize your selection.
Top-Rated Products
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EcoTimber BambooEcoTimber bamboo flooring is made from bamboo plantations -- not from wild habitats. Bamboo is a hig |
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CVI Second Forest Bamboo FlooringCVI Second Forest bamboo flooring is an environmentally friendly product. It contains no wood from a |
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Standard Bamboo FlooringPlyboo® flooring is made from 100% Moso bamboo, found in large stands in China. All the strips |
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Before you buy... Finger Joined Materials
Finger-joined (or -jointed) lumber is becoming a very popular and desirable product in the construction industry’s selection of engineered wood products. The rise in popularity can be attributed to its straightness, dimensional stability, compatibility with standard dimensional lumber and efficiency in wood fiber usage.
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