With the heavy focus on green or sustainable materials in today’s economy, when its time to replace flooring, the focus undoubtedly always turns to bamboo. Bamboo is technically a grass, not a wood, though it is sold as if installing a wood floor. A bamboo floor is constructed of rectangles of bamboo glued together, engineered as a top layer that sits over wood layers for strength and durability. The newest types of bamboo construction are strand woven, a process that makes the bamboo flooring harder then its predecessors.
While bamboo flooring is a great option for many homeowners, there are a few things to keep in mind before you make bamboo your final choice.
Bamboo Expands
When installers lay a wood floor, they know to leave expansion room along the sides of the boards. With bamboo flooring, it will expand and contract along its length as well, so its important to leave expansion room on both the sides and the ends.
Janka Ratings and Strength
One of the biggest reasons people don’t fall in love with a wood floor its its potential for scratch and dents. Bamboo is no exception. Bamboo fibers are strong, but the lignins bonding them together are weak. During a Janka test, a round ball is pushed into the bamboo to test its durability. Bamboo is springy, so it can resist the ball test and appear more durable than it is. When a stiletto heel, for instance, is pushed into a bamboo floor, far more damage can be done. The exception is the new strand woven bamboo, which Janka provides more accurate results.
Acclimate
Bamboo flooring is often made in one location, then shipped in here to Colorado for final sale. With different temperatures and humidity levels, its always a good idea for your flooring to acclimate to its new conditions before it is laid in place. Solid bamboo flooring tends to acclimate quickly – three to seven days is typical. Strand woven bamboo acclimates slowly, needing even more time to adjust to its new conditions. If you choose engineered bamboo, it may not require acclimation at all – check with the manufacturer for more details.
Bamboo flooring is the perfect choice for your home … if you understand its properties and how it will act in certain situations. Make sure you choose a reputable company when making your final selection, and you will have a long lasting flooring choice you will be proud to come home to for many years into the future.
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