Bamboo Floor

The importance of trees is increasing day by day as global warming increases and is on the verge of taking us to an ecological crisis. But, trees are still cut for various uses and take years together to grow again. Hence, there is a need to look out for other options and bamboo seems to fit the list of requirements quite well.

Bamboo is a grass and grows very rapidly and can easily be cultivated. It has tensile properties similar to wood but is weak in compression and shear. But, it can be used in the form of laminates with mortar that makes up for this weakness.

A major area where bamboo has almost replaced wood is floors. A bamboo floor is visually appealing because of its excellent texture and it feels just like wood when installed. The price of a bamboo floor is considerably less than wood floor. The only issue that prevented large scale utilization of bamboo floor was the lack of durability of the material but, with the advent of laminated forms, even this hurdle has been removed. Now, bamboo floor is being used in place of wooden floors wherever possible.

Bamboo floor, if installed properly gives a superior feel as compared to wooden floor. There are various methods of installation on the floor.

• Stapling – The bamboo floor may be stapled to the wooden sub-floor.
• Nailing – The bamboo floor may be nailed to the wooden sub-floor.
• Gluing - The bamboo floor may be glued to the wooden sub-floor.
• Snap lock – This is a new method in which snap locks are used to fix the floor.

Bamboo floor should be installed properly or else it squeaks and might loosen up with use. Bamboo floor can be finished up to desirable degree of smoothness. Natural bamboo floor is a little rough and it needs to be rubbed with sand paper to smoothen it. The smoothness can be varied by rubbing it with required pressure and for required time. This is an attractive feature of bamboo but care should be taken that smooth floor can cause accidents.

It is also necessary to note that proper care should be taken of the bamboo floor after installation. Moisture is an important factor that can affect the life of the floor. The floor should be kept clean and any liquids falling on it should be cleaned immediately. Also regular cleaning with a particular cloth suitable to this material is required. The maintenance is moderate for bamboo floor but, the results are worth the effort. Well maintained bamboo floor has very good life and the texture and feel is maintained for quite a long time, thus giving it a long life.