When shopping for hardwood flooring, you are likely to see a whole selection of different woods available for sale, with everything from oak and maple to hickory and ash lining the shelves. You will almost always see bamboo represented as well, but placing it under a hardwood setting is something of a misnomer when you consider that bamboo is in fact a type of grass, albeit one that is sturdier and more durable than most of the popular hardwoods.
Benefits Of Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring
Strand woven bamboo flooring is not only sturdier than hardwood, it’s also a lot more versatile as its planks can be placed vertically or horizontally, and with three installation methods to choose from, you’ll find that it is far easier to work with than the other traditional hardwoods. Woven bamboo flooring comes in many different shades and hues, but before getting to that, it might be interesting to understand how the bamboo gets from its natural stalk state to the stranded flooring finish we all know.
The process of transformation from stalk to strand bamboo flooring takes place in 4 steps; moso bamboo is used to make the flooring and it is first cut and then boiled in order to remove sugars from the stalks. They are then left to dry before being put together and pressure flattened, with an adhesive added during this final step. The finished result is a large plank that very much resembles regular timber until it is cut into planks and prepared for flooring use by being milled on all sides so that they will be tongue and groove, which makes the installation process far easier.
Once the strand woven bamboo flooring is installed you will see that it has a beautiful natural grain and with many different colors and styles to choose from, it really shouldn’t be a problem to find a look that matches the existing design of your room. The colors range from the lighter natural tone all the way up to a tiger stripe, as well as a carbonized version that leaves the bamboo with a much darker brown color. That darker shade is achieved by treating the woven bamboo flooring with a combination of heat and steam which melts any sugar still trapped inside, which in turn darkens the flooring to a warm, dark brown.
While not for everyone, strand woven bamboo flooring may especially appeal to those with a concern for the environment as bamboo crops can be harvested and returned to full maturity in less than 6 years, whereas the hardwood equivalent can take a century or more to replace the trees used to make their flooring. If it’s a long lasting, sturdy floor you want for your home, then strand woven bamboo is the perfect choice, and can actually be bought at a fraction of the cost of many of the more popular hardwood options.