Bamboo Benefits Part One: Convenience

Natural Bamboo is quickly becoming one of the most popular flooring options on the market today, and it’s easy to see why. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing wood species on the planet. It is incredibly durable and boasts a tensile strength greater than steel. Bamboo provides a gorgeous natural wood look, with complex graining and warm natural hues. Best of all, bamboo is the most environmentally friendly wood flooring option available today. In part one of this two part series, we’ll take a look at some of the aspects of bamboo that make it a convenient choice. In the second part, we’ll examine the environmental factors that make bamboo so appealing.

Mohawk Bamboo Flooring

So, why is bamboo flooring such a convenient choice? First, bamboo floors are easy to install. One popular install option is the revolutionary new “floating floor” technique. This adhesive-free installation method is essentially like assembling a puzzle where the pieces are mitered sections of plank flooring. Each plank features interlocking edges to simplify the process. This means the average homeowner can install a large section of flooring, by themselves, in a weekend.

For some hardwood materials, like mahogany or oak, handling and cutting can prove to be a chore in itself. This isn’t the case for bamboo. General hand tools, cross cut saws, compound miter saws and dovetail saws are all ideal for shaping bamboo planks. There is no need to use hardwood saws. Despite its strength, bamboo is relatively easy to cut, and is available in shorter sections to more easily maneuver around the work site. Most major manufactures, such as  Teragren, Hawa, and Mohawk also offer longer sections of bamboo for a more linear look.

Teragren Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo is also easy to maintain. While no flooring surface is completely maintenance free, some are better than others, and bamboo has a better resiliency than softer floors like pine or vinyl. Bamboo, despite its rapid growth, proves to be extremely strong when cured and can handle both the elements and the abuse of high traffic areas. As a result, bamboo floors need to be refinished less frequently than other popular flooring surfaces.

Plus, bamboo is durable enough to last for generations. Many people assume that tile or stone are the longest lasting flooring materials, but remarkably, bamboo weighs in with the top contenders. Over time, bamboo will gain a nice patina, and if well cared for, will start to warm and meld into a variety of tones and hues that add a lot of charm to a room.

Teragren Bamboo Flooring

Another important factor that makes bamboo a convenient choice is the cost. While the price of bamboo flooring can vary greatly depending on grade, finish, and material percentage, the entire spectrum of cost is well represented. From the highest grade solid bamboo planks, to the veneered floating floors available at home improvement stores, there is a bamboo option that will meet any budget. Since self-installation is an easy option with many bamboo flooring styles, homeowners can save a bundle on labor.  

Bamboo floors have been widely used throughout Asia and the Pacific region for years. The American market has known bamboo’s benefits in the form of furniture and home accessories, so the transition to using bamboo as a flooring material is really quite natural. Bamboo is easy to install, easy to maintain, it’s durable, and cost effective. These factors make bamboo a very convenient flooring choice. But that’s not all bamboo has to offer! Check back tomorrow for part two of the series to learn more about bamboo’s superior sustainability status.