We get asked frequently if we install bamboo. The short answer is yes but please be somewhat intelligent about it when discussing it as a potential floor covering for your home.
The number one thing that gets under a craftsman’s skin is lumping bamboo in the same category as hardwood. Bamboo is a grass and not a wood. It has it’s very own unique issues when working with it and a person needs to be fully informed as to its performance as well as proper installation procedures.
To educate yourself more completely on the use of bamboo as a floor covering I recommend reading this article by Dan Harrington on bamboo. Dan is one of the leading experts in bamboo flooring.
Bamboo varies greatly in quality. You get what you pay for comes into play here. There is a lot of science and variables involved to produce a high quality bamboo product. If it is a product you would like to purchase I highly recommend staying away from “liquidator” or auction bought products. Purchase from a well known source that has been producing bamboo flooring for many years.
Be aware that most bamboo comes from China. The manufacture process uses more energy to produce a bamboo flooring product than it takes to manufacture a hardwood flooring product. Strand bamboo will be a harder product, as it is a composite, over natural or carbonized bamboo.
Let us know if you have bamboo and what your thoughts are on it as a floor covering.