Bamboo Flooring - A Product Review

Bamboo Flooring has become very popular in recent years due to heavy marketing and the general promotion of environmentally friendly floor covering options. Bamboo flooring gives a look and feel very similar to hardwood. Along with it's appearance and texture, Bamboo offers an Eco solution as a very sustainable product.

Why is Bamboo such an Eco friendly flooring option worth considering? Traditional hardwood flooring like Oak can take many years to grow to maturity for harvest. Granted, real hardwood looks and performs wonderfully. However, it can task the environment with unnecessary losses to our ecosystems. Even worse, critical forests and areas can be jeopardized with the cutting of trees used to produce hardwood floors from exotic species that originate in rain forests and third world countries.

Bamboo can be harvested in as little as 3 years and even the hardest of Bamboo groups are culled within 5-6 years. Bamboo can also regenerate in the same spot as the original stalk with little to no fertilizer.

If you are considering a Bamboo floor, there are several terms that you will need to understand. Picking a Bamboo floor can offer as many choices as selecting hardwood flooring. Yet, if you understand the terminology you will be able to make a great decision on the right floor covering for your flooring needs.

• Carbonized versus Non Carbonized - These definitions for Bamboo Flooring apply to the color of the boards. Non Carbonized Bamboo presents a very light and bright color. If you desire a true natural color, Non Carbonized is probably the right option for you. Carbonized has a much softer look to it's color. Some even consider Carbonized Bamboo to have almost a "Honey" look to it. This process is used to achieve a different look for Carbonized Bamboo floors. One thing to note is the Carbonization process causes a slightly softer surface of about 10%. If you are concerned with dents or a less dense wood, consider a Non Carbonized.

• Stranding - Vertical, Horizontal or Strand Woven. These terms affect both the physical appearance of the board and it's grains, but also the hardness. Vertical and Horizontal have an equivalent hardness. Vertical designs have a smoother longer running grain where as Horizontal still has grain effects but noticeable joints (sometimes called "knuckles") where the strands have been connected in the manufacturing process.

The difference between these two is primarily aesthetics. Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring has the closest appearance to wood. Strand Woven also has a much harder surface than horizontal or vertical stranding. Due to the nature of how it is made and it's superior hardness, Strand Woven Bamboo is the most expensive of the three choices and is typically priced evenly with very high end, exotic hardwood species. Strand Woven products may also have a slightly warmer look like Carbonized but without the sacrifice of a soft surface.

• Stained versus Unstained - Bamboo used to be refinished as a natural color only. Now you can find some manufacturers that offer a stained version of Bamboo. Common stains are Wine/Cherry, Gun stock and even darker colors are offered such as Toffee or Black Walnut.

• Installation - Engineered (multi layered) or Solid - About half of the Bamboo products offered on the market are an Engineered board design. Engineered boards are used for glue down or floating floor (no glue) applications. Engineered can also be installed on a concrete sub floor in most cases. Solid Bamboo Floors are nail down products and can be refinished many more times than engineered designs. Solid may be a better choice in most cases unless you need to install over a concrete floor.