Bamboo Flooring Pros and Cons

Bamboo Flooring Pros and Cons
The Ugly -
Bamboo is often touted as a wonderful, green building alternative – but is it really?  When choosing a bamboo producer and flooring company to purchase from, there are a few things you should investigate first.  For the most part, bamboo produced in the flooring industry is harvested from strands and plantations located in China.  While China has no standardized government regulations for bamboo flooring quality and production, quality importers in the US will set standards and stringent guidelings for the flooring materials that they will sell.
China is notorious for having questionable labor practices.  While most environmental and green building practices will advocate buying closer to home to cut down on emissions related to shipping items over a long distance, with bamboo that often just isn’t possible.  While there are many countries besides China that produce a large quantity of bamboo each year, most bamboo used in the flooring industry comes from China primarily and also Vietnam.  Smaller exporters include Japan, Indonesia, and Costa Rica.
Because of the popularity of bamboo flooring in America, flooring companies are demanding much higher quality standards than in the past.  This is beneficial for the consumer looking for quality bamboo flooring.  When purchasing bamboo flooring, keep in mind to check that the bamboo includes a water based finish as well as being manufactured without formaldehyde.  If the dealer you initially choose will not disclose formaldehyde emissions information, it is best to stay away from purchasing from them as China does not have air quality emmissions standards for toxic formaldehyde emmissions.  If the information is not disclosed, the bamboo floor may contain high levels of urea formaldehyde and not meet US safety standards.  If you are in doubt, you can always check with the Forest Stewardship Council to make sure that the bamboo flooring you are considering is high-quality and meets safety standards.
The Good -
When fair-trade harvested, bamboo truly is an eco-friendly and renewable flooring material.  Unlike hardwood which can take over 100 years to mature, bamboo is actually a grass that grows for four to six years prior to being harvested.  When made into strand woven bamboo flooring, virtually no waste product is left over from the bamboo plant itself.  Often bamboo costs much less than traditional lumber flooring as well.
The process of boiling strand woven bamboo in a solution of boric acid and lime removes the starch and sugars from the plant that attracts termites.  Once these strips are dry, some of the lime and boric acid remains behind providing an extra layer of protection against termite infestation and common fungi that can cause wood rot in hardwood floors.
While standard bamboo plank flooring tends to be on the softer side of wood floors, strand woven bamboo is much more dense and durable.  Originally when it was first introduced to the market, lighter shades of solid bamboo flooring have been compared to the approximate hardness of maple floors while darker colored bamboo flooring was compared to the hardness of walnut floors.  These types of floors are on the softer side and can be easily damaged by furniture and high heel traffic for example.  Engineered bamboo flooring was created next to improve the performance and durability of bamboo as a floor covering.  While engineered bamboo performs well and is better for high humidity areas, it has the drawback of not being constructed of 100% bamboo.  Strand woven bamboo flooring is the most recent advancement and addresses the question of durability while providing a solid bamboo flooring material.
Other Green Flooring Materials
If you decide that strand woven bamboo flooring isn’t the best eco-friendly option available for you, there are also some other green flooring options  that are increasing in popularity.  These include reclaimed wood which doesn’t harvest new hardwood, cork flooring, concrete flooring, and mudfloors.  Most of these other typses of green floorings will have a vastly different look than bamboo, however.

The Ugly –

Bamboo is often touted as a wonderful, green building alternative – but is it really?  When choosing a bamboo producer and flooring company to purchase from, there are a few things you should investigate first.  For the most part, bamboo produced in the flooring industry is harvested from strands and plantations located in China.  While China has no standardized government regulations for bamboo flooring quality and production, quality importers in the US will set standards and stringent guidelines for the flooring materials that they will sell.

China is notorious for having questionable labor practices.  While most environmental and green building practices will advocate buying closer to home to cut down on emissions related to shipping items over a long distance, with bamboo that often just isn’t possible.  While there are many countries besides China that produce a large quantity of bamboo each year, most bamboo used in the flooring industry comes from China primarily and also Vietnam.  Smaller exporters include Japan, Indonesia, and Costa Rica.

Because of the popularity of bamboo flooring in America, flooring companies are demanding much higher quality standards than in the past.  This is beneficial for the consumer looking for quality bamboo flooring.  When purchasing bamboo flooring, keep in mind to check that the bamboo includes a water based finish as well as being manufactured without formaldehyde.  If the dealer you initially choose will not disclose formaldehyde emissions information, it is best to stay away from purchasing from them as China does not have air quality emissions standards for toxic formaldehyde emissions.  If the information is not disclosed, the bamboo floor may contain high levels of urea formaldehyde and not meet US safety standards.  If you are in doubt, you can always check with the Forest Stewardship Council to make sure that the bamboo flooring you are considering is high-quality and meets safety standards.

The Good –

When fair-trade harvested, bamboo truly is an eco-friendly and renewable flooring material.  Unlike hardwood which can take over 100 years to mature, bamboo is actually a grass that grows for four to six years prior to being harvested.  When made into strand woven bamboo flooring, virtually no waste product is left over from the bamboo plant itself.  Often bamboo costs much less than traditional lumber flooring as well.

The process of boiling strand woven bamboo in a solution of boric acid and lime removes the starch and sugars from the plant that attracts termites.  Once these strips are dry, some of the lime and boric acid remains behind providing an extra layer of protection against termite infestation and common fungi that can cause wood rot in hardwood floors.

While standard bamboo plank flooring tends to be on the softer side of wood floors, strand woven bamboo is much more dense and durable.  Originally when it was first introduced to the market, lighter shades of solid bamboo flooring have been compared to the approximate hardness of maple floors while darker colored bamboo flooring was compared to the hardness of walnut floors.  These types of floors are on the softer side and can be easily damaged by furniture and high heel traffic for example.  Engineered bamboo flooring was created next to improve the performance and durability of bamboo as a floor covering.  While engineered bamboo performs well and is better for high humidity areas, it has the drawback of not being constructed of 100% bamboo.  Strand woven bamboo flooring is the most recent advancement and addresses the question of durability while providing a solid bamboo flooring material.  The care and maintenance of bamboo floors is very similar to that required for most hardwood floors.

Other Green Flooring Materials-

If you decide that strand woven bamboo flooring isn’t the best eco-friendly option available for you, there are also some other green flooring options  that are increasing in popularity.  These include reclaimed wood which doesn’t harvest new hardwood, cork flooring, concrete flooring, and mudfloors.  Most of these other types of green flooring will have a vastly different look than bamboo, however.

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