Is Bamboo Flooring A Good Alternative to Timber?
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.
You also won’t have to deal with the hollow sound that many timber floors make when you walk on them, or the easy scratching. Bamboo flooring is solid sounding, easy to clean, and resistant to scratches and dings.
The lack of movement between the pieces of flooring also means that if your bamboo floor needs to be refinished, you’ll have a much better surface to work with than you would on solid timber. Veneered timber flooring cannot be refinished, since the wood surface is so thin.
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.
Those who are worried about the environment will probably choose bamboo over timber. Both are natural, renewable resources, but timber takes a long time to replace itself. Veneered timber flooring uses less hardwood, but other woods are still used, and composite fillers often involve toxic 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’re interested in finding out how hardwood flooring and bamboo compare, an online search will quickly tell you. You’ll be able to view a wide range of products and see what all your options are. Bamboo could be the right floor for your home.