Bamboo Flooring For Your Home

While bamboo has been used for centuries in other parts of the world, it is just starting to gain popularity in the US as a flooring material. In the US, we associate bamboo with furniture, window treatments, mats, food, toothpicks, toys, wall coverings and a host of other things. Only recently, has bamboo been used as floor covering in the US.


Most of the bamboo flooring sold in the US comes from China and is of the Moso bamboo species. This species matures in three to five years. Bamboo is actually a grass and as such does not have to be replanted, but comes back from the root systems. It is used by a large part of the world as a main source of building materials. It generates more oxygen than a comparable stand of trees and can grow in many different climates. Because of the environmental aspects of bamboo, many people consider using bamboo a way of helping preserve our planet. However, there are issues to be considered when choosing bamboo flooring.


The softness of the flooring can be a drawback. If the bamboo is harvested too soon, the flooring produced will be soft and more easily marred. Most producers of bamboo flooring are overseas and do not necessarily have the types of quality standards and inspections that US manufacturers must adhere to. Most of the companies selling bamboo flooring in the US today import their material from manufacturers in China and the Far East. US companies carrying these types of flooring must scrutinize the quality of the product and manufacturing procedures. Some bamboo flooring is made with formaldehyde resins in the gluing process and do not meet the standards for indoor emissions of formaldehyde.


It is said that bamboo flooring can be made into any color. The darker material has to be carbonized and the darker the color the more carbonization has occurred. Carbonization occurs when heat is applied to the strips of bamboo. The more heat that is applied the softer the flooring material is. The closer to the light natural bamboo color, the harder the flooring material. If you are considering purchasing bamboo flooring, use the fingernail test on a sample to see how much of a mark is made when pushing the nail into the wood. You might want to compare bamboo to other flooring woods you may be considering.


There are several classes of engineered bamboo flooring including Horizontal and vertical flooring which indicates how the strips are glued and laminated together. The flooring planks of the vertical and horizontal method look different but are alike in installation. Both types can be glued, nailed or stapled but floating is not recommended. There is also a strand woven flooring which is harder but can present more installation challenges.