Bamboo is actually a hollow grass rather than wood from a tree. Bamboo grows fast. MOSO bamboo can grow about 4 feet in under 24 hours. It takes several years for it to become hard enough for use in flooring. At 5 to 7 years, the bamboo is at optimum levels for flooring. MOSO bamboo is one of the cheapest renewable sources of building material available to mankind. MOSO bamboo is one of the fastest growing components of forests, and thus plays an important role in the development of animal habitats. MOSO bamboo is the only living thing that survived the Hiroshima atomic blast. It also provided the initial re- greening of that place. Bamboo purifies both the atmosphere and the soil. Bamboo is a critical element in the essential balance of oxygen/carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Bamboo is the fastest growing canopy for the re-greening of degraded areas and generates more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees. It lowers light intensity and protects against ultraviolet rays, creating the perfect environment for myriads of other forms of life under its canopy. With a tensile strength superior to steel and a weight-to-strength ratio surpassing that of graphite, bamboo is the strongest growing woody plant on earth. Bamboo releases 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands of trees. Bamboo tolerates extremes of precipitation, from 30-250 inches of annual rainfall. In 1882, Thomas Edison used bamboo filaments in the world’s first light bulb manufacturing. Also, the needle in Alexander Graham Bell’s first phonograph was made of bamboo.

What is Carbonized Bamboo Flooring?

Carbonized Bamboo is not a stain. The Bamboo is treated by hot water without the use of oxygen. It takes 100 minutes to carbonize bamboo with water temperature 130-150º centigrade. The bamboo is placed in the carbonized tank with high temperature, high humidity, and high pressure. The carbonization process involves pressure heating, which heats the sugar in the wood and results in a dark, amber color. After carbonization, the organics of bamboo has been totally decomposed, no place for fungus to survive. After carbonization, bamboo or wood fiber holes are highly integrated. This eliminates the stress of wood, so bamboo is very stable, no thermal expansion and shrinkage. This process that changes the bamboo to the beautiful carbonized color also softens the product approximately 20-30 %.

HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL BAMBOO FLOORING

During the gluing process, the bamboo can either be bound with the narrow edges facing up, which results in a thin, channel pattern in the bamboo flooring known as Vertical Bamboo, or so that the broader surface of the bamboo is bound facing upward known as Horizontal Bamboo. There are visual benefits for each one, depending on your personal taste, but both remain to be decorative choices. The horizontal style is striking for its “knuckle” or “node” patterns, that is, the pattern naturally occurring in the bamboo that are the equivalent of “growth rings” in many hardwood species. The vertical style is a unique surface that remains unmatched by any other natural flooring material, characterized by decorative, narrow channels caused by the binding of the bamboo strips.

The hardness of bamboo ranges using the Janka hardness test.

Horizontal Carbonized – 1180 psi (avg.)

Horizontal Natural – 1380 psi (avg.)

Strand Woven Natural – 3335 psi (avg.)

Strand Woven Carbonized – 2977 psi (avg.)

Because of the hardness of the Strand Woven Bamboo, it is necessary to use an 18 gauge Cleat Nailer, like the Powernail 50P for nail down installations.

Special Thanks to JJ Haines for the Article!