Recommended Flooring for Home Decoration: Bamboo Flooring

Manufacturing Process and Classification

The manufacturing process for bamboo flooring is different from traditional bamboo products. It uses medium to high-grade bamboo, which undergoes more than twenty rigorous steps including selection, preparation, bleaching, sulfuration, dehydration, insect control, and anti-corrosion treatment to remove the natural bamboo sap. It is then hot-pressed with adhesive under high temperature and pressure, coated with multiple layers of paint, and finally infrared dried.

Classification by Structure

Bamboo flooring can be classified by its structure: solid horizontal-press bamboo, solid vertical-press bamboo, and strand-woven bamboo . The main difference lies in the arrangement of the raw bamboo materials inside the plank. Generally, strand-woven bamboo offers superior overall performance compared to the first two types.

Recently, a new type similar to engineered wood flooring, called bamboo-wood composite flooring, has emerged. This type of bamboo flooring has excellent dimensional stability and cleverly solves common deformation issues like cracking and excessive swelling seen in traditional solid wood floors.

Classification by Surface Treatment

By surface treatment, it can be categorized into natural-colored bamboo flooring and carbonized bamboo flooring.

Natural-colored planks are coated with clear varnish, preserving the bamboo's original color.

Carbonized planks undergo high-temperature and high-pressure carbonization, which deepens the color of the bamboo strips and makes the color uniform.

Both types have distinct looks, and neither is inherently better than the other.

Features of Bamboo Flooring

1. Aesthetics and Texture:Bamboo flooring has a natural, fresh appearance, fine and smooth grain, and is resilient and elastic. Its surface hardness is comparable to popular wood species like cherry or beech.

2. Minimal Color Variation:Since bamboo's growth radius is much smaller than that of trees and is less affected by sunlight variations, it doesn't have significant "sun/shade" differences. Consequently, bamboo flooring features rich bamboo grain and uniform color.

3. Durability and Stability:Due to its structure of plant coarse fibers, bamboo has a natural hardness that is more than double that of most woods, and it's less prone to warping. Furthermore, in terms of stability, its shrinkage and expansion are smaller than those of solid wood flooring.

4. Comfort and Sound:Bamboo-wood composite flooring, with a wood core, offers excellent stability and is strong and durable. It also provides a comfortable underfoot feel, harmonious style, and good sound insulation.

5. Temperature Regulation:The material's nature makes it cool in summer and warm in winter, making it especially suitable for indoor home

6. Health Benefits:The bamboo texture on the surface has the function of absorbing ultraviolet rays, and its color is elegant and soft, which is beneficial for vision. It automatically regulates and maintains temperature, and long-term use may help reduce the incidence of rheumatism, arthritis, and heart disease in the elderly.

7. Cost-Effectiveness:Generally, bamboo flooring is often more affordable than solid wood flooring. High-grade bamboo flooring may only cost as much as mid-to-low-grade wood flooring, typically ranging from 200 to 400 Chinese Yuan per square meter.

8. Easy Installation:Installation is relatively simple and direct; it does not require on-site varnishing, saving labor, time, and reducing indoor pollution. Additionally, it may not require joists (keel) and can be laid directly, effectively preserving indoor space.

9. Simple Maintenance:Maintenance is straightforward, requiring only wiping with a wrung-out damp cloth or mop. It's easy to dust and maintain.

In summary, bamboo flooring is a very suitable option for home decoration.