Bamboo Floors
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Bamboo Flooring
Designing and building with bamboo has of late just began to surface onto the green construction methods for environmentally safe building and re-usable resources. Bamboo flooring construction has its “goods and bads” when comparing to your standard construction methods of today. More benefits outweigh the negative in the long run. 
For starters, bamboo is a very renewable source of material. There are plenty of varieties of bamboo that can grow anywhere from and inch to a whole foot in one day. Because of this incredible growth rate, construction with bamboo is a “no brainier” when deciding to make a floor out of either wood or something else.
Bamboo is known to be very resistant to water. One awesome feature not many people know about thus reducing corrosion of material making the floor last a lot longer. Bamboo is also extremely strong when compared to ordinary wood. Tests have concluded that some species of bamboo are twice as strong, durable and hard compared to Red Oak and Maple Woods. After the bamboo flooring is completed, the aftercare or “proper maintenance” is fairly easy.
Many find it simple and less of a chore to maintain the beauty of the natural shine and decore that it holds. A simple dust and mop can do the job easily. No chemicals or toxins are needed. Another benefit to bamboo is the actual “Feel” that it has on the human foot. Even though it may look slippery to the eye, bamboo is amazingly comfortable and smooth to the touch making it a pure pleasure to walk on barefoot. Now, for a few cons of bamboo flooring even though there are not many. Unfortunately, much of the bamboo is grown and harvested in China so we may be looking at some higher than usual shipping costs for transportation.
We suggest trying the US market and doing some Google search for nearby dealers who may have some discounts or better yet, know some connections to help you out. One very important factor to consider is to make sure whatever manufacturer you use , you check out the high levels of VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) which are not too healthy for humans and animals.
VOC’s are also known to have a somewhat but small negative impact on some of the air quality in the home so make sure you have the manufacturer have thoroughly inspect the material of MSDS sheets before purchasing. This should also be documented. Also, since there are many varieties and species of bamboo materials, if you are not keen on your purchase, you may buy bamboo flooring that is not as durable and mature as it should be.
Try your best to locate the most mature bamboo with at least five years of growth if possible. Much of the plant is typically harvested only after three years of growth and because of this, is NOT as durable and strong. It may be worth spending a little bit more on your material because you do not want to replace your bamboo flooring anytime soon so look at this as an investment. You do want your flooring to hold up in the long run, don’t you?
That would make sense.
If bamboo flooring is not what you are looking for but still enjoy the comforts of bamboo, there is also clothing and fabric made from this resource as well. For more information about this, check out: Bamboo USA $100 off $500 or more at BackyardXScapes.com!