Bamboo Flooring Information

Bamboo flooring is a great choice of flooring. It has many advantages and it can look similar to hardwood flooring. Bamboo flooring is cheap compared to hardwood flooring. You can go for planks of bamboo flooring which resemble hardwood flooring type. Or you can go for exotic strand woven bamboo flooring, and enjoy a stylish look of bamboo strands on the wooden flooring. Wondering, what makes bamboo flooring cheap and surpass other types of flooring? Here are the various facts on bamboo flooring, that will help you consider bamboo flooring as a choice for your home floors, rather than other types of wood flooring.

Why Is Bamboo Flooring Cheap?
First of all bamboo is not a tree but it is actually a type of grass. Most of the bamboo plants which is used for manufacturing bamboo flooring comes from China, and the variety of bamboo grown for making bamboo flooring planks is called 'moso'. This variety is very strong and flexible. It also grows very fast, which makes it readily available. Bamboo being a grass grows fast, and has a short harvest period of only 3-7 years. But, on the other hand the harvest period of hardwood trees is between 50-120 years.

Growing bamboo for profit is environment friendly too, because bamboo absorbs poisonous carbon dioxide gas and releases a high amount of oxygen in the atmosphere. Also, bamboo being a grass regenerates itself, and prevents soil erosion. Thus after harvest, one doesn't need to replant it as it grows on its own again. Another reason which makes bamboo such a good choice is that it has no problems, and very little amount of fertilizers and pesticides are required for growing bamboo.

Bamboo Flooring Vs. Other Wood Flooring
Bamboo flooring is stronger and harder than other types of wood flooring. Did you know, that bamboo is so strong that it is used as rebar for reinforced concrete beams, because it has a tensile strength of 28,000 lbs per square inch compared to 23,000 for steel? Here is another interesting fact: in Limon, Costa Rica, only bamboo houses of the National Bamboo Project stood after the violent earthquake in 1992 happened. Bamboo material is structurally stable as maple and denser than oak.

Bamboo flooring installation is easy and similar to other type of wood flooring installation. If you wish to save money you can go for the click and lock type of planks. You can install these kinds of planks yourself, and save the cost of hiring a contractor. Another easy installation method is using the tongue and groove planks, which fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Bamboo floor is easy to clean and maintain, you can use a vacuum or dust mop on the floor, and keep rugs or doormats at the entrances to collect moisture, sand or grit to avoid your bamboo floor from getting damaged. Bamboo flooring due to its unique pore size, is more resilient to water spills than other wood and laminated floors.

Types of Bamboo Flooring
Given below the different types of bamboo flooring, and the respective pros and cons. The natural color of bamboo is blonde, but it can be stained or carbonized to change it to the color of your choice, thus you can match it with your home decor. Natural bamboo flooring is light in color and durable. It comes around USD 2 per square foot. Carbonized bamboo flooring comes in various shades like coffee, caramel and honey, these colors are produced by boiling bamboo at different temperatures, which makes it 20% softer compared to natural blonde bamboo flooring. Carbonized one costs anywhere between USD 2-4 per square foot. If you want a particular color then go for stained bamboo flooring, which comes for a price of USD 4 per square foot.

Solid bamboo flooring is another type of bamboo flooring which is filled with intricate details, and you can see the fine and long thick lines. Another type is engineered bamboo flooring, which is not 100% bamboo, as it contains different types of wood glued to each other and only the top layer has bamboo strips. This type of bamboo flooring is an ideal choice for heavy traffic areas, and places which have very dry or very humid weather. It comes for a price of USD 3 per square foot. Another excellent choice is strand woven bamboo flooring, which is a very visually attractive flooring as you can see stripes on the floor. It comes for a price of USD 4 per square foot. For DIY enthusiasts, floating bamboo flooring or laminate bamboo flooring are good choices, as these are easy to install.

Shopping Tips
Get some samples of bamboo flooring which you like and check them for denting. You can also go with a sample which comes closest to match your home décor. Make sure to buy the planks from a reputed and trusted supplier, who gives a quality product for a reasonable price. Make sure that you calculate additional costs like installation cost, cost of staining planks, beveling its edges etc. other than the bamboo flooring cost. And, lastly buy a product which comes with a good warranty, as some bamboo flooring comes with zero warranty, while others come with a lifetime warranty.

Bamboo flooring is a stylist, modern, eco friendly and affordable choice of home flooring. So, use the above tips and buy the right type of bamboo flooring, and enjoy a eco friendly and good looking flooring in your home.