Should You Choose Timber Flooring Or Bamboo Flooring?
Timber flooring has been around for a long time, in the form of solid wood or veneered (floating timber) floors. It’s the first choice for people who want their homes to include the warm look of wood, or who just don’t like carpet. There haven’t been a lot of other options.
However, that has changed in recent years. Bamboo flooring is an environmentally friendly, strong, lasting alternative to using timber flooring. Here’s some information about bamboo and how it performs against floating and solid timber.
Floating timber floors are most popular because they’re inexpensive. Unlike solid timber, they’re made up of wood veneer just a few millimeters in thickness. This veneer is laminated onto less expensive wood, or onto a wood composite. Bamboo floors, on the other hand, can be made of solid bamboo. That means that they’re more durable, and may be less expensive than a solid timber floor. As a plus, bamboo is harder to damage and much stronger than most woods.
Unlike floating timber floors, bamboo is attached to the surface it sits on. This means that your bamboo floor will be a lot more stable than a floating timber floor. There’s no room for the joints between pieces to open up or move around.
Unlike many timber floors, both solid and floating, bamboo doesn’t make that hollow sound when you walk on it. Bamboo flooring is also more resistant to scratching and easier to clean than many hardwood floor types.
Since there’s little to no movement between pieces of bamboo flooring, you can easily refinish your floor. Bamboo provides a better surface than solid timber, and veneered timber can’t be resurfaced at all!
Instead, the damaged portion of the timber floor needs to be replaced. Bamboo can be resurfaced many more times than other types of floor, and could last another five to ten years longer because of it.
If you’re concerned about sustainability and the environment, bamboo is the better choice. While both timber and bamboo are renewable natural resources, it takes a long time for timber to renew. Veneered timber requires less hardwood to produce, but it still uses softwoods, composite woods, and even toxic and environmentally damaging glues.
You’ll find these kinds of practices mostly in China and other countries where regulation is minimally enforced. Fortunately, it takes only a little research to tell you if you’re getting some of the large percentage of products made from sustainably produced bamboo.
Compared to hardwood, bamboo will last a lot longer, and stand up better to daily wear. For those who are still concerned about the life of their bamboo floor, warranties are available. Remember that you get what you pay for – buy a product that’s made to last, rather than a bargain.
Where contraction and expansion are issues, you’ll find that bamboo offers a favorable performance. Unlike hardwood veneer floorings, bamboo will hold up to a number of resurfacings, and there’s no treatment or waxing required. To make sure you get a product that’s non toxic and fully sustainable, look for flooring that uses glues that won’t off gas and don’t contain toxic chemicals.
If you’ve been considering bamboo flooring, or just want to find out more, take a look online. There are lots of stores offering bamboo flooring that’ll last for years, feel a lot like hardwood, and be kind to the world around you.