Bamboo flooring designs

Archive for the ‘Bamboo’ Category

Most manufacturers of bamboo flooring are environmentally conscious, and voluntarily limit their use of formaldehyde based glues and finishes.

Bamboo flooring is rapidly becoming one of the more popular alternatives to hardwood floors, but some critics routinely raise the issue of the formaldehyde that is used in the glues and finishes in bamboo flooring. Back in the early 1970s, formaldehyde fumes came to national attention as a health hazard associated with urea formaldehyde foam insulation. Urea formaldehyde is used in the manufacture of bamboo flooring, and the specter of the 1970s concerns about ‘sick building syndrome’ occasionally raises its head with concern to bamboo floors.

Why Formaldehyde is a Concern

Formaldehyde is a volatile organic compound – which, in plain language, means that it becomes a gas at room temperature. Products that are made using urea formaldehyde give off fumes for a long time after installation. Those fumes can cause watery eyes, burning in the nose, throat and eyes, nausea, headaches, wheezing, skin rashes and other allergic reactions. People vary in their reactions to formaldehyde – the level of formaldehyde that may cause a severe allergic reaction in one person may not affect others at all.

Formaldehyde is normally present in the air at levels of approximately .03 parts per million (ppm). Many household and construction products use formaldehyde in processing or finishing. These products include flooring, wood used for subfloors, shelving and other particleboard products, furniture, carpeting and draperies. These products release small amounts of formaldehyde into the air as they age and dry.

The amount of formaldehyde released into the air varies with the temperature and humidity of a room, and decreases as the product ages.

Bamboo Floors and Formaldehyde Concerns

Because many bamboo floors are made with glues and finishes containing formaldehyde, some critics of bamboo flooring’s ‘green’ reputation charge that they pose a potential health hazard. Most manufacturers of bamboo flooring are environmentally conscious, and voluntarily limit their use of formaldehyde based glues and finishes. To be on the safe side, look for bamboo floor that is certified as either formaldehyde free, or that emits less than .03 ppm formaldehyde. In addition, you can lessen the possibility of formaldehyde being emitted by choosing a laminated bamboo floor, and choosing non-formaldehyde based glues and finishes for your new floors.

Although bamboo has been used in products for almost 5000 years, it was only in the Ming Dynasty that bamboo was used for flooring.

The use of bamboo for products generally made of wood dates back almost 5000 years in China mainly due to the lack of available hardwood trees in the country. But it wasn’t until the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD) that bamboo was used for bedding and flooring.

Bamboo is a renewable resource that reproduces easily every year and offers a product yield 25 times that of hardwoods. Typically it takes 5 years for the bamboo to mature for use whereas hardwoods can take up to 50 years before being a viable resource. Bamboo is 25% harder than Red Oak which is the most commonly installed type of flooring.

The industry of Bamboo flooring did not arrive on U.S. shores until 1990, so it is a relatively new product for the flooring market. At first the idea was not well received considering the initial reaction to “bamboo” being used and the connotation of using fishing poles on your floor. However the Bamboo used in flooring products is not like the native plants in the U.S.; typically the Maso variety of bamboo is used which is much denser and stronger than the U.S. plants.

The manufacture of Bamboo flooring consists of harvesting poles with a maturity of 5 years, splitting them length-wise, boiling and shaping them, kiln-frying, grouping according to color and finally laminating them all together. There are two types of Bamboo flooring planks: 1) solid – which are constructed only of bamboo including the core and backing; and 2) engineered – in which only the surface layer is bamboo, the core and backing are made from another wood such as pine.

When purchasing bamboo flooring for your home, make sure the manufacturers warranty stipulates at least 10 years – this way you are ensuring the bamboo used was matured to at least 5 years. The use of younger bamboo was at one time very prevalent throughout the industry and was distinguishable by having very short warranty periods for the flooring. Purchase your bamboo flooring from a reputable dealer with a solid warranty to back up the quality of the product.