Bamboo Flooring Basics: What You Need to Know About Bamboo Floors

In various cultures around the world, bamboo has been used for thousands of years as scaffolding, flooring, structural foundations, among others. It has proven itself to be a dependably building material that also has the added plus of being easy to harvest and abundant. In the Western world, bamboo has been touted to be a fine material for floors, being at the forefront of green building materials and the green building revolution. Bamboo flooring is the most well-known of the environmentally friendly flooring products and has been featured in many publications touting its qualities.

About Bamboo Floors

The bamboo used in making bamboo flooring may come from several types of bamboo plants which are harvested at about 5 or 6 years of age. The fact that it only takes such a short time for bamboo to mature makes it a very viable flooring and building material. Unscrupulous manufacturers will try to sell bamboo that had been harvested at a far earlier age, resulting in bamboo flooring that is softer than standard. Take extra care in choosing a reputable retailer or manufacturer, or you'll end up with bamboo floors that warp and bend.

When properly manufactured and installed, bamboo flooring is comparable to most hardwoods in hardness, maybe even harder. The environmental friendliness of this flooring material is but a plus to its list of qualities.

Homeowners also love the tongue-and-groove characteristic of bamboo flooring. This makes bamboo flooring very easy to install even by novice home builders. Pre-installation preparations and detailed installation instructions are also easily available so virtually anyone can take part in a bamboo flooring project.