Home Flooring Guide

There may be no more misunderstood type of flooring among the many options you have to choose from than bamboo.  When you begin to get an introduction to bamboo flooring ,  it can be an eye opener that bamboo is more than just an exotic wood that is used in Caribbean lounges and restaurants.  It is an extremely flexible and durable flooring can look just as good as hardwood at a lower cost.

When we start to do that research and let experts guide us into a greater understanding about bamboo flooring and floating bamboo flooring in particular, they can help answer a lot of questions.  And when those questions begin to get answered, the advice bamboo experts would provide can help you most closer to selecting floating bamboo as the flooring that is the perfect choice for your next remodeling project.

Understand How Floating Bamboo Flooring Works

The concept of a floating flooring installation is not unique to bamboo flooring.  A flooring installation is "floating" when the floor is assembled above the sub floor but not secured to the sub floor with nails or adhesive of any kind.  The flooring doesn’t literally float which would imply movement.  The weight of the flooring and the way it is constructed makes a floating installation just as permanent and safe as the traditional installation method.  The difference installation is quicker and less expensive and the flooring actually has a longer life span is because it is able to shift and react to atmospheric and other kinds of changes without pulling against the adhesive or nails that hold flooring down.

Ways Bamboo is Better

Sometimes it takes experts to be able to step back and point out ways that a floating bamboo floor is not as good as some of the more traditional flooring options.  It isn’t as good because in some ways it is better because…

·    The floating installation methodology is in many ways more stable than an installation where the flooring is sealed down to the sub floor.  The flooring can move and breathe with changes in the room and the atmosphere which means it lasts longer as well.

·    Bamboo is not even a wood.  It is a grass and it grows in great abundance all around the world.  The reason that makes bamboo a flooring material of choice is that it is considerably less expensive than other hardwood flooring materials.

·    Bamboo can be used to create just about any style of hardwood flooring that can be accomplished with genuine hardwoods.  If you can accomplish a look and feel in the room of your dreams with redwood, oak or ash,  you can probably get that same feel with bamboo.

·    Bamboo is environmentally friendly.   When bamboo is harvested, the plant is not destroyed.  Bamboo is a grass so the cutting process is similar to when you cut your grass.  The plant thrives from the cutting.  In addition the bamboo plant grows back to maturity in 6-7 years so we are not harming the rain forests using bamboo instead of traditional hardwood floors.

Get Clean, Get Fussy

Experts would leave us with one word of caution.  Bamboo is an amazing and environmentally safe alternative to hardwood flooring.  But once you install your bamboo flooring, it should be treated with the same tender loving care as you would the most expensive hardwood flooring you might possess.  That means that you should take care to control the activity on a bamboo flooring installation as the flooring can be scratched or gouged which would lead to a repair process.

Cleaning bamboo should be approached cautiously as commercial floor cleaners might harm the flooring.  Too much use of water or other fluids can get down into the flooring and cause it to warp or crack.  To be safe, seek out flooring cleaners that are specifically designed for your bamboo flooring and follow the advice about how to clean your bamboo floor religiously.  If you take good care of your bamboo floor, it will  last for years and years and make your home beautiful and elegant each day you enjoy your new floor.