Q. Is “carbonized” bamboo flooring stained?
A. No. Carbonized bamboo is darker in color because it has
undergone a change, not a stain. During the manufacturing of the
product, the strips of bamboo are boiled and change color (becoming
browner in tone).
Q. Is strand-woven bamboo the same product as traditional
bamboo flooring?
A. No. Strand-woven bamboo is manufactured differently than traditional
bamboo flooring. In the strand-woven process, strips of bamboo
are coated with resins and then compressed with heat to form timbers.
These timbers are then milled into flooring. This process produces
bamboo flooring that is twice as hard as traditional bamboo flooring.
Q. What is the difference between bamboo flooring and hardwood
flooring?
A. There are several advantages to using bamboo flooring compared
to hardwood flooring. First, bamboo flooring is an environmentally
friendly product. It takes only a few years for a bamboo plant
to grow to maturity, while it takes decades for hardwood trees.
And when bamboo is harvested, the root continues to live and produces
new stock. Each year, one “mother plant” generates several
new bamboo stems that grow to full length in a few months, and to mature hardness
in about five years. Bamboo plants are therefore quickly replenished following
a harvest. Second, bamboo is actually harder than hardwood so it makes a more
durable flooring. Third, in most cases bamboo is less expensive than hardwood
while installation costs are the same. Hardwood installers and contractors need
no additional training to install bamboo flooring. Bamboo can be installed using
exactly the same tools and methods as are used for installing hardwood. |
Otter Creek 
