The use of Bamboo for flooring predates any type of hardwood flooring by centuries. Bamboo has been cultivated for more than 4,000 years in China.
Bamboo flooring is stronger and harder than any other type of wood flooring. Bamboo is actually used as rebar for reinforced concrete beams, due to the fact that it has a tensile strength of 28,000 lbs per square inch compared to 23,000 for steel.
As a building material, bamboo is incredibly resistant to destruction. Bamboo survived the Hiroshima atomic blast closer to ground zero than any other life form. In Limon, Costa Rica, only the bamboo houses from the National Bamboo Project stood after their violent earthquake in 1992.
China has more than 1.6 million square miles of bamboo under cultivation and is considered a great natural resource. This species of bamboo grass grows to 40 feet and is a major CO2 converter that has no known enemies. Even man cannot, at least so far, get ahead of the bamboo forests’ growth cycle.
Bamboo is the fastest growing wood type plant on this planet. It grows one third faster than the fastest growing tree. Some species can grow up to 3 feet per day. One can almost “watch it grow”. This growth pattern makes it easily accessible in a minimal amount of time. Depending upon the species, of which there are about 1,000, size ranges from miniatures to towering culms over 159 feet tall.
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.
Bamboo is a critical element of the economy for much of the world. Bamboo and its related industries already provide economic benefits in the form of income, food and housing to over 2.2 billion people worldwide.
Bamboo is a viable replacement for wood. In the tropics is it possible to plant and grow your own bamboo home. In a square plot of land 65 feet by 65 feet (approximately one-tenth of an acre), in the course of 5 years, two 500 square foot homes can be constructed from the harvest. Each year after that, the yield is one additional house per plot.
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.
Bamboo is a fascinating material and is extremely eco-friendly. Bamboo flooring is an excellent choice for your home or office.