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Not just food for pandas or the stuff of cheap picnic mats, bamboo is now being processed with modern techniques into beautiful “hardwood” flooring that beats standard wood floors in durability, hardness, and dimensional stability.

An added bonus to these beautiful floors is the knowledge that bamboo, unlike wood, grows quickly and abundantly, reaching maturity in five years or less. Red oak and maple, by comparison, can take decades to mature and then have to be replanted. Clear-cutting of forests also has a negative environmental impact and threatens the planet’s biodiversity.

After harvesting, cutting, processing, and finishing, bamboo flooring installation is not much different from standard hardwood floor installation. The important steps in installation occur before putting in the bamboo floor. First, make sure you buy from a reputable manufacturer who is willing to back up their product with a warranty.

The next step in bamboo flooring installation is making sure the subfloor is dry, clean, and level. Dirty subfloors will not bond well with the adhesive, and subfloors that are not dry will eventually cause rot. If not level, the bamboo flooring will squeak when walked on. If you are competent in home repair and good with your hands, you may be able to complete the bamboo flooring installation on your own. In some cases, with certain types of bamboo flooring, a professional will be needed.

Bamboo flooring may be glued down using a moisture barrier flooring adhesive. After applying the adhesive to the subfloor with a trowel, the bamboo flooring planks should be immediately placed. You may also install bamboo flooring using a nail gun over plywood or particleboard. Once starter rows are secure, subsequent planks should be nailed directly above the tongue at a 45-degree angle to face.

After installing the bamboo flooring, you will care for it in a similar way to hardwood floors; frequent dusting/sweeping, occasionally mopping, and use of wood cleaners. With regular care, bamboo flooring will add a stylish, beautiful component to your home for many years to come.

Bamboo Flooring Info provides detailed information about bamboo laminate flooring, discount bamboo flooring, installation, suppliers, and more. Bamboo Flooring Info is the sister site of Hardwood Floors Web.

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Bamboo flooring is a relatively new alternative to standard hardwood floors. It offers similar and perhaps superior qualities of strength, hardness, and appearance. Using bamboo (which is actually a grass, not a tree), and modern processing, beautiful hardwood floors can be made that offer the added bonus of saving many of the exotic trees and forests that are cut down for standard hardwood floors. Typical bamboo flooring can cost around $6.25 per square foot, plus installation and preparation charges. The range is usually between $4 and $8 per square foot but there are wholesale bamboo flooring companies offering it as low as $2 or less per square foot.

When buying discount, you need to make sure that you are not getting a product of inferior quality. This is true of everything including discount bamboo flooring. Though not always the case, some discount bamboo flooring is sold cheaply because it has a defect in the finish or the moisture content is high. Here are some things to look for in quality bamboo flooring:

Raw Material
Bamboo flooring mills may try to cut costs by buying immature bamboo stalks and do not take the time to dry them properly. This results in moldy, high-moisture bamboo that will not last.

Drying
Many bamboo mills will not dry the bamboo sufficiently, which will cause problems in dry climates or places with seasonal humidity fluctuations. Properly dried bamboo should have a moisture content of less than 10%.

Adhesives
Adhesives made in many discount bamboo flooring mills are of inferior quality and will off-gas in the home.

Finish
It is important that the finish be of high quality so that scratches won’t be a problem. Inferior finishing is one of the most common problems in discount bamboo flooring.

Shopping online for discount bamboo flooring is a good idea; online dealers can sell at a lower price because they have little overhead. Make sure to read the fine print, however, and be sure your new flooring is guaranteed for at least a year. In general, businesses want referrals and repeat business, so they will want to make you happy no matter what they are selling. There are always a few bad apples though. A good gauge is to check how long the business has been around. Businesses that make their customers happy have staying power. If you find a great deal online, check the shipping costs. Some dealers will try to deceive consumers by posting cheap deals and then charging almost double the required shipping costs, therefore canceling out any discount.

Bamboo Flooring Info provides detailed information about bamboo laminate flooring, discount bamboo flooring, installation, suppliers, and more. Bamboo Flooring Info is the sister site of Hardwood Floors Web.

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