Bamboo
Bamboo flooring can be a great choice for environmentally conscious consumers. When handled properly, the flooring is sustainable and environmentally friendly. The processing of bamboo leaves little waste while creating an attractive wood floor. While there are some concerns for the chemicals used in treating some plants, choosing high quality flooring from reputable manufacturers is the best way to ensure the flooring has been made in a way that is as good for the environment as it is for the consumer.
Harvesting Bamboo
Unlike most hardwood, trees that take decades to be harvestable, bamboo can be harvested in as little as three years, but ideally in four to six years. Harvesting the bamboo does not damage the grass; rather it remains healthy and continues to produce an abundant crop for future harvests. Ideally, bamboo harvests begin in the fall or winter, as this is when the moisture level is lower. Summer harvests can cause the bamboo to fracture during the curing process.
After the Harvest
Once harvested, the difficult work of transforming the bamboo from grass to flooring begins. The green outer hull of the bamboo is removed and the stalk is cut into long strips called fillets. At this point, the bamboo strips retain the natural curve of the plant. Milling the bamboo along the outer sides creates a flat strip more suitable for future flooring. The strips are then dried and boiled to remove moisture as well as natural sugars and starches. There are two benefits of boiling the bamboo. The first is that it makes the finished product less desirable to insects such as termites that often infest other wooden products. This termite resistance makes bamboo flooring even more desirable in areas with high termite populations. Secondly, boiling the bamboo makes it less likely to suffer expansion and contraction than hardwood floors in humid climates.
After the boiling and drying are completed it is then possible to darken the bamboo through a process of carbonization, if a color more similar to hardwood flooring is required. Carbonization relies on steam and pressure to darken the bamboo. Colors range from a deep coffee to a light amber. Increasingly, however, consumers are choosing bamboo flooring that has the natural coloring, either stained to retain its natural color or stained to the color of their choice.
Once the initial refinements are completed, the bamboo is then inspected.Inspectors grade the bamboo as either A or B.
