Bamboo Flooring: A Smart Alternative For Great Looking
Green Homes
It grows faster than any other wood product, yet it's as durable as the finest hardwoods when used as flooring. The way designers, builders, remodeling contractors, and architects are talking, you'd think it was the latest thing, but bamboo has been used in housing situations for millennia. Bamboo floors are strikingly unique and both wear and termite resistant, and every day more people are finding out about its seemingly endless advantages. This is especially true when you stop to consider that bamboo is also environmentally friendly.
When given several coats of polyurethane and UV cured, bamboo is even up to the stress of high traffic areas in commercial situations. It's tolerant of temperature and humidity changes, and holds up well to water when used in any area of the home.
New advances in technology and bamboo's light weight have also made installing a bamboo floor an easy do-it-yourself remodeling project for homeowners. Its unique texture and grain can refresh the look of any room, and it has an added advantage of being able to be laid right over the top of existing floor tiles without the need for excessive sanding and scraping.
Since it grows quickly, huge amounts of bamboo can be grown in a relatively small area, compared to most hardwoods, which is good for the environment--but even with all those advantages, it's the amazing look of a bamboo floor that makes it stand out from the competition. Bamboo floors can be breathtaking, giving a room a feeling of warmth and quality that's unequaled. Even with the barest of decorating, a bamboo floor can make a room come to life like never before.
If you don't like the look of bamboo, you can still be environmentally conscious and use a wider plank that has been stained darker than the pale bamboo. This flooring looks like regular hardwood, at half the price!
By Jeanette J. Fisher
