Comparing Bamboo Flooring to Hardwood Flooring

Gleaming hardwood strip floors may be one of the traditional standards in top-quality home flooring, but bamboo flooring is quickly becoming an often-picked environmentally responsible alternative.

Beautiful, elegant and durable, hardwood flooring is typically made of wood such as maple, oak, or cherry. Modern hardwood floors are rarely solid wood. Rather, less expensive hardwood veneers glued and pressed onto plywood type substrate for stability and strength are more often used. Different kinds of hardwood are ‘harder’ than others. For example, Brazilian cherry carries a hardness rating nearly twice that of red oak or yellow birch.

While hardwood trees are a renewable resource, it can take more than half a century for a tree suitable for use as hardwood to reach maturity, so planned planting and responsible harvesting is essential for a continued supply.

Bamboo floors, on the other hand, are manufactured from the fast-growing (five to six years to maturity) ‘Moso’ bamboo plant (not tree) common in China and other areas of Asia. Unlike hardwood, with can be pre-engineered as a veneer, or plain- or quarter-sawed as a solid, bamboo floors are created by splitting and mashing the bamboo fiber, and then gluing it together under high pressure (a process similar to making plywood). The result is a durable, warp- insect- and moisture-resistant product that looks like wood. It is ideal for use in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms and basements. Bamboo is available in a number of shades and stains, and can be installed in a dizzying array of patterns for maximum impact.

Both hardwood and bamboo flooring are easy to clean and are great for homeowners who suffer from allergies or who prefer the less dust and moisture than carpet accumulates. Both are natural products that will add beauty and richness for years to come, and both are excellent flooring options.

 

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