There is no denying the beauty and durability of traditional hardwood floors, especially those that have nice grain patterns and are stained in warm colors. However, with the growing interest in conservation and concern for the environment, more and more people are looking for alternatives to wood flooring for their homes. There are many different natural and artificial flooring materials available today, but none are as unique as bamboo.
Bamboo is an ideal material to convert into ecological flooring: it grows extremely fast; it is robust and stable; it is beautiful to look at; and it is profitable.
The bamboo floor is made of bamboo, which is a grass. Bamboo is considered a renewable resource because it is a fast growing plant that can be harvested over and over again. Bamboo is the fasting plant on Earth. Some species of bamboo can grow up to one meter in a single day. Due to its rapid growth, bamboo can be harvested every 3 to 5 years, unlike oak trees, which can take 10 to 20 years to grow to useful size. Quality bamboo flooring is generally made from bamboo that is harvested in its seventh year.
While bamboo is not wood, bamboo flooring is comparable to hardwood flooring in terms of strength and durability. It is almost as hard as oak and maple, and stronger than many of the traditional wood flooring materials used in average homes. However, keep in mind that the durability of bamboo flooring depends on the species of bamboo, the age of the plant when it was harvested, and the process used to make the flooring.
Bamboo can be stained and finished like normal hardwood and therefore bamboo flooring comes in a variety of colors and grain, just like hardwood flooring. Some people appreciate the more subtle grain patterns of bamboo compared to the more pronounced ring patterns of hardwood.
Another great benefit of bamboo flooring is its cost. There was a time when bamboo flooring was hard to find and expensive. However, thanks to its growing popularity and increased production, bamboo flooring prices have dropped. Average material cost for bamboo flooring is between $ 2 and $ 4 per square foot, which is comparable to the price of oak flooring. And bamboo flooring boards are no longer difficult to find, as they are commonly sold alongside traditional hardwood floors in all hardware stores.
Installing bamboo flooring is easy too. Bamboo flooring can be installed using any of the common wood flooring installation methods, including floating flooring where the boards are simply glued together to form a single piece and float freely over the subfloor, directly gluing new flooring to a existing floor. and a basic nailing method for nailing each board to the subfloor.
Bamboo flooring is proving to be a versatile and attractive alternative to hardwood flooring. It has a unique appearance, is available in many different colors and grain patterns, and is competitively priced.
If you are looking for a flooring material of unique beauty that will bring years of character and warmth to your home, you cannot go wrong with installing a high quality bamboo flooring.