Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Advantages Of Using Bamboo Wood Flooring

By Tariq Khan

Bamboo flooring provides an excellent alternative to traditional hardwood flooring. Growing in popularity as an alternative, Bamboo flooring has many attractive features that make it a viable option for modern homeowners. Although harvested mostly in China, bamboo flooring can now be found easily in both European and North American markets. Many of those that adopted bamboo flooring early on point out its environmental friendliness. The bamboo plant regrows within a few seasons and can be harvested repeatedly without permanent damage. In fact, the bamboo plant is considered a grass, as it grows much quicker than any tree. When done responsibly, bamboo plant harvesting can be accomplished in a environmentally friendly manner.

How does bamboo flooring compare with traditional hardwoods? High quality bamboo flooring provides a tougher surface than even the rarest and most expensive hardwoods. Moisture does not affect bamboo in the way that hardwood suffers from water damage. Where traditional hardwood may buckle and crack because of water exposure, bamboo flooring can absorb the moisture without a problem. Bamboo flooring is processed as a laminate and treated under extremely high pressure with a high quality adhesive. This makes bamboo flooring very resistant to abrasions and scratches, where less treated hardwood floors may show scratches after a while. Bamboo flooring has become significantly more affordable in the past few years as well.

Best of all, bamboo flooring can typically be installed at home without any professional assistance. Like many of the newer hardwoods, bamboo flooring is produced with a tongue and groove construction, making them considerably easier to install. Before installing a bamboo floor, let the planks to adjust to their new environment for no less than 72 hours. Although bamboo flooring does not suffer from water damage like hardwood, they do need some time to adjust to the new environment before installation.

What should be done to maintain a bamboo floor? Maintenance requirements are fairly easy for Bamboo wood flooring. Be sure to clean the floor after installing it, using a mop with only a little bit of water. Regular dusting and sweeping should be done after installation. This will prevent dust and dirt from collecting on the finish. A mat used at the entrance way will keep out a great deal of dust and dirt. Dirt and small rocks will end up damaging the finish, and a mat can go a long way in preventing this problem. - 15252

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