Bamboo Flooring is a recent addition to the Hardwood Flooring market. Coveted as an environmentally friendly choice to solid wood flooring. Bamboo is actually a grass with a tensile strength comparable to steel. It is a fast growing easily replaceable resource, typically reaching harvesting age with 5-6 years, instead of 50-60 years required with hardwood trees. Harvesting bamboo involves cutting the growing stalks and then removing the internal knots and peeling the outer surface. These stalks are then boiled in water treated with preservatives to remove any insects and grime on the stalks. The bamboo stalks are then laid out to air dry and later kiln dried to a 8-14% moisture level to ensure strength and durability. The bamboo stalks are then laid and laminated together to form a giant bamboo board. How these stalks are laid determines what type of bamboo flooring you are seeing - vertical or horizontal. This board is then cut into planks and finished resulting in the bamboo flooring you see in the store.

Carbonized bamboo is created by steaming the bamboo and allowing the natural sugars int he product to darken - the longer it is steamed, the darker to color. Carbonization results in a raw product that has natural color variations due to the natural development of coloration. However, carbonization reduces the overall strength of the bamboo by 10-30%. Alternatives to carbonizing the bamboo include bleaching, painting and staining. Strand Bamboo is another option. To create strand bamboo shredded fibers from the bamboo plant are woven together and pressed under extreme heat and pressure with adhesives. This creates a marbled grain that is beautiful and unique. It is available in both natural and carbonized varieties. This creates a very strong, dense material. A protective layer is then applied to the top layer of the product, providing durability and scratch resistance.

Do you think Bamboo Flooring might be for you? Visit any of our 6 Long Island and speak with any of our experienced sales staff to see all that Bamboo Flooring has to offer.