Thursday, January 22, 2009

Discover The Keys To Wood Flooring

By Tariq Khan

Bamboo flooring provides an excellent alternative to traditional hardwood flooring. Growing in popularity as an alternative, Bamboo flooring has many attractive features that make it a viable option for modern homeowners. Although harvested mostly in China, bamboo flooring can now be found easily in both European and North American markets. Many of those that adopted bamboo flooring early on point out its environmental friendliness. The bamboo plant regrows within a few seasons and can be harvested repeatedly without permanent damage. In fact, the bamboo plant is considered a grass, as it grows much quicker than any tree. When done responsibly, bamboo plant harvesting can be accomplished in a environmentally friendly manner.

How does bamboo flooring compare with traditional hardwoods? High quality bamboo flooring provides a tougher surface than even the rarest and most expensive hardwoods. Moisture does not affect bamboo in the way that hardwood suffers from water damage. Where traditional hardwood may buckle and crack because of water exposure, bamboo flooring can absorb the moisture without a problem. Bamboo flooring is processed as a laminate and treated under extremely high pressure with a high quality adhesive. This makes bamboo flooring very resistant to abrasions and scratches, where less treated hardwood floors may show scratches after a while. Bamboo flooring has become significantly more affordable in the past few years as well.

Best of all, bamboo flooring is easy enough to lay down without any professional help. Like many of the newer hardwoods, bamboo flooring is made with a groove that allows the planks to interlock, making them considerably easier to install. Before installing a bamboo floor, let the planks sit in their new environment for no less than 72 hours. Although bamboo flooring does not suffer from water damage like hardwood, they do need some time to adjust to the new environment before installation.

What should be done to maintain a bamboo floor? Maintenance requirements are fairly simple for Bamboo wood flooring. Make certain to sweep and mop the floor after it is laid down. Regular dusting and sweeping should be done after installation. This will prevent dust and dirt from collecting on the finish. A mat should be placed at the entrance to prevent dust and dirt from coming into the room. Dirt and small rocks will end up damaging the finish, and a mat can go a long way in preventing this problem. - 14915

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