Bamboo Hardwood Flooring FAQ

Ultimately, the popularity of bamboo flooring has stemmed from two important goals for more consumers. First, bamboo flooring is visually appealing and offers an aesthetic appeal that is unique bamboo. Secondly, bamboo flooring provides the long-lasting durability that is essential for both consumer and commercial applications. The added bonus to bamboo flooring is that it has become known as a renewable building material, which reduces its impact on the environment. Balancing aesthetics, practicality, and eco-friendliness, bamboo flooring provides value far beyond most hardwood flooring alternatives.

What exactly is Bamboo?

Bamboo is a type of grass, rather than a traditional hardwood. While this is surprising to many consumers that consider bamboo flooring, it’s even more surprising that this grass can achieve the hardness of maple, while also growing significantly faster, with some species growing up to three feet per day. Because of these unique traits, bamboo has become ideal as a flooring material, and even for uses beyond just floors.

How Does Bamboo Become Flooring?

Making bamboo flooring is a complex process. Once the bamboo has been harvested, the outer skin is first removed. Next, the bamboo stalks are cut lengthwise into strips where they are then milled and flattened. These flattened strips are then dried to remove natural moisture and are then boiled. Bamboo pieces are then glued and compressed together to form a strong finished plank. There are different types of bamboo, which undergo slightly different processes.

Natural Bamboo Flooring vs. Carbonized Bamboo Flooring

Natural bamboo compared with carbonized bamboo offer differences not only when it comes to style and personal taste, but also in strength. Natural bamboo provides more of a blonde shade of color and is stronger than carbonized bamboo floors. Due to a longer boiling process when the planks are made, carbonized bamboo flooring offers a color that is darker, more caramel, and is also slightly less firm than natural bamboo flooring.

Strand-Woven Bamboo Floors

Offering the most eco-friendly option, strand-woven bamboo floors is slightly different from the bamboo flooring types mentioned above. First, much of the discarded bamboo material that results from the manufacturing process is compressed and is bound back into the bamboo planks via a scratch-resistance resin. Because it reduces the amount of wasted bamboo material, it is often seen as the greenest of flooring types. The result is ultra firm bamboo flooring.