The History of Bamboo Flooring

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.



 

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