Nowadays, we are all looking for ways that we can help out the environment and do our bit. But with carpets being a lot more difficult to look after and keep clean, we often resort to laminate, despite the fact that deforestation is causing numerous problems for the world.

So, what alternative do we have? Well, grasses take a quarter of the time to mature than a tree (timber) does and Bamboo is a solid and sturdy grass that can be used to provide an alternative to hardwood. It is both strong and flexible so is an ideal replacement of wood, for flooring.

Not only that, but it looks unique and very stylish and is usually cheaper than solid wood flooring. It brings character to the room and feels warm but still bright. Buying furniture and accessories to compliment the bamboo flooring can also help make the most of your unique decor. Items such as sea-grass baskets, wooden arm chairs and a bamboo and glass coffee table are all good investments. As are curtains which have a bamboo type leaf print on them and are very popular and easy to locate right now.

Bamboo has been used in the East for many years, but it is the Eco-friendly lifestyle and global warming epidemic that has brought us in the West to consider it.

It is important that we take a few factors into account and try to research them as best we can before going ahead and purchasing this alternative flooring.

The two main factors are:
1. Urea Formaldehyde: This is a resin, or plastic that provides strength to all sorts of textiles and wood. The use of it in the past (before regulations formed) could result in toxic vapors being emitted. The use of this in bamboo floor manufacturing is inevitable. Almost all of the products that will be for sale will be regulated properly, but it is important that you check out that it definitely complies with the strict standards which are set for our safety.
2. Check that the type of bamboo your flooring is made from, is not limited and that it came from non-harmful harvesting.

Fitting.
· To create a floating bamboo floor effect with the tongue and groove type panels, you need to lay a good quality underlay and (optional) waterproof membrane. Then quite simply glue the joints together.
· You can also glue bamboo panels straight onto a sub-floor if desired.
· Or alternatively, you can nail the floor down onto wooden floorboards beneath.

Bamboo Flooring is a modern day alternative to using up our precious resources, while giving you a great looking, easy to care for floor, at the same time.

Bamboo Flooring Review is a post from: Cheap Bamboo Flooring

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1. Morning Star Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo flooring such as Morning Star Bamboo Flooring is rapidly becoming one of the most popular flooring choices across the globe. There are two main reasons for this rapidly growing popularity, both in remodels and new house construction.

Cost, is of course one of the main reasons. In today’s global recession, economical is a key word when linked with a product. The other reason is the ‘greenness’ of bamboo flooring. Trees which have been harvested for hardwood flooring, may take ten, twenty, or even one hundred years to regrow. In a very noticeable contrast, bamboo matures in only four to five years, and does not even have to be replanted as the hardwood forests do.

When considering the purchase of a bamboo floor, the buyer should evaluate and compare several suppliers and the products of each. Only after careful consideration and study should a supplier be selected. Morning Star Bamboo Flooring should be included in this study, as they are one of the oldest and most reputable bamboo flooring suppliers today. This company has attained a high level of excellence in their reputation for supplying a high quality product as well as maintaining a high rate of customer satisfaction.

After growing the bamboo, the first step in the actual production of bamboo flooring is the harvest of the bamboo plants. Morning Star Bamboo Flooring is manufactured using only mature bamboo stalks which are four years old or older. The use of mature plants ensures the product will be a high quality floor that will resist warping.

Morning Star colors their bamboo naturally without using any artificial or processed stains. Variations in the natural bamboo color are attained by heating the bamboo until the natural sugar contained in the bamboo caramelizes, resulting in different colored shades.

The addition of aluminum oxide as the pre-finish material is also an important step in Morning Stars production of bamboo flooring. This addition of aluminum oxide to the bamboo greatly increases its durability, thus making it last and last. At the same time this process reduces maintenance time, so the floor can be kept looking beautiful with less work than other brands.

Morning Star Bamboo Flooring is a post from: Cheap Bamboo Flooring

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1. Bamboo Flooring Review
2. Yanchi Bamboo Flooring

Teragren are the leading production company for bamboo flooring, their manufacturing process is trustworthy and flooring of superb standard and beauty.

You will be able to find suppliers of Teragren bamboo floors in a number of places and as the company grows, so will the availability of their products. Read on for a little more information on why Teragren are great suppliers and manufacturers.

Excellent customer service is an important key in finding a good manufacturer and distributor – Teragren cannot be beaten in this field. Their advisors and other staff members are ready to consult and advise you when buying your new flooring. From color finishes, to matching products and ensuring that you buy the right amount, they are there to help.

Their passion for delivering a high standard of flooring is second to none. Not only do they consider the manufacturing process and keeping everything safe, but they care about where the bamboo comes from and monitor the harvesting themselves.

Teragren carefully selected what type of bamboo to use and make sure that all of their products are made from a sustainable resource in order to keep their company known for being environmentally friendly.

Teragren only use, what they have designated as, Optimum 5.5 Moso bamboo. This is a strong kind of bamboo and is only harvested once it reaches maturity at 5-6 years – so you wont be buying an immature product which is not strong enough to last through the daily pounds of a floor within a living space but instead a durable and reliable floor which will continue to look beautiful for many, many years.

Once they’ve harvested the best bamboo for the job, Teragren then manufacture the bamboo in an environmentally-friendly way and are aware what processes and procedures are best for minimal impact on the surrounding environment.

The finishing of all Teragren Bamboo floors is often the reason why so many buyers choose this company. With much controversy about the use of solvents and toxic chemicals to finish a bamboo floor, Teragren lead again but only offering floors which are coated in a solvent free coating – Klumps of Germany. This coating is not only applied because it is known to be a safe form, and low in formaldehyde, but because it is renowned for it’s ability to protect and strengthen materials. Seven layers are carefully applied to Teragren’s bamboo flooring and this is plenty to resist scratches, inevitable if laid in a family home.

Teragren products are available all over the US.  They are also leading providers for bamboo countertops and table tops – with bamboo being a moisture resistant flooring, using it in the kitchen,with a matching countertop is becoming more and more popular.

Teragren Bamboo Flooring is a post from: Cheap Bamboo Flooring

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1. Yanchi Bamboo Flooring
2. Pros and Cons of Bamboo Flooring

Yanchi Bamboo Flooring is a well known name in the bamboo flooring product line.  Yanchi  is known both for producing a ‘green’ eco-friendly product, as well as also being known for the quality of its bamboo flooring.

Yanchi bamboo flooring is made from Mao Zhu bamboo species.   Mao Zhu can be translated to mean  ‘hairy bamboo’.

Panda lovers can breathe a sigh of relief here, because Mao Zhu is not the species of bamboo which is the main diet of the Panda.  Bamboo rejuvenates or regenerates very quickly.  It matures between four and six years of age, and actually rejuvenates itself, into another bamboo pole with no reseeding needed.  Production of bamboo is also environmentally friendly.  There is no waste during the processing of bamboo, as the entire plant is used in the production of bamboo flooring.

Yanchi Bamboo Flooring also complies with the strict European E1 standard which monitors formaldehyde emissions maintaining they are kept at safe levels.

To ensure stain and indentation resistant bamboo flooring, Yanchi  applys six coats of UV cured urethane including aluminum oxide to their flooring.

Yanchi also recommends a few easy to follow guidelines to maintain the beauty of their bamboo flooring product.

A soft, damp cloth or mop should be used to keep the bamboo flooring clean.

Large amounts of water or other liquids should not be used on bamboo flooring and any wet spills should be dried up immediately.

Continuous direct sunlight upon a bamboo floor should be avoided.  Drapes and/or mini-blinds should be used.

As with any type of flooring, preventative maintenance such as doormats and coasters for furniture legs should be used.

Yanchi bamboo flooring is available in two main colors.  Both colors are eco-friendly.  The first color which Yanchi Bamboo Flooring is available in is the natural bamboo color, which is called blonde.   The second Yanchi color is a darker brown color attained through caramelization.  To attain the darker brown color, the bamboo is heated so the natural sugar present in bamboo actually caramelizes, turning the bamboo itself a darker shade of brown than its original blonde color.

In the last few years, Yanchi bamboo flooring has acquired a reputation of producing bamboo flooring which is eco-friendly, beautiful, economical, easy to maintain, and durable.

Yanchi Bamboo Flooring is a post from: Cheap Bamboo Flooring

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1. Teragren Bamboo Flooring
2. Pros and Cons of Bamboo Flooring

A smart consumer will carefully evaluate a major purchase, before spending any money. This is just a short listing of bamboo flooring pros and cons, but it does show that the pros seem to far outweigh or outnumber the cons.

Bamboo flooring is extremely eco-friendly, perhaps one of the most eco-friendly products in existence. Why is bamboo flooring so eco-friendly? Because it is made out of bamboo poles which mature in just four to five years, and these poles actually replenish themselves. Wow! What a ‘pro’ for bamboo flooring.

Another eco-friendly ‘pro’ is the varying colors available in bamboo flooring are obtained through a process that darkens or lightens the bamboos natural color. There are no artificial or toxic stains used. There is, however, a ‘con’ side to this method of obtaining color in the flooring. If exposed to sunlight (through a window, day after day) the bamboo flooring will fade. A question needs to be asked here. What wouldn’t fade under direct sunlight day after day after day? The solution? Drapes or mini-blinds!

Bamboo flooring is hypo-allergenic. Bamboo flooring is mold resistant.

Durability seems to be questionable. The ‘con’ side being-some of the softer bamboo flooring systems aren’t very durable. Furniture indentations in the flooring become permanent, and high heel shoes can even press into the bamboo causing damage. The softer flooring systems are usually the cheaper systems on the market. The consumer must realize that in order for the cost to be very cheap, manufacturing must keep the processing costs extremely cheap. There is also a ‘pro’ side to the durability issue. When bamboo is processed into strand woven bamboo flooring, durability is outstanding! The newest type on the market, strand woven bamboo flooring has a Janka hardness rating of over two times the Janka hardness rating of oak flooring. (Janka hardness rating measures the pounds per inch density of a specified type of wood flooring).

Bamboo flooring pros and cons? It seems the pros far outweigh the few cons which have actually been found. In researching, it actually is difficult to find hardly any ‘cons’ against bamboo flooring. That would be another ‘pro’, wouldn’t it?

Pros and Cons of Bamboo Flooring is a post from: Cheap Bamboo Flooring

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1. Home Legend Bamboo Flooring
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