Bamboo Flooring Types : Solid vs Strand Woven

If you are already into this bamboo flooring, then you might have came across words like "Solid Bamboo Flooring" and "Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring". We will discuss them here so that you have a clear picture about bamboo floorings.

Solid Bamboo Flooring: When bamboo is harvested at perfect time, it is quite hard naturally without even applying any artificial process but, itis also brittle and they cannot be used in flooring applications. So the positive benefits of this bamboo is retained by processing the material in a very unique way. To make solid bamboo floors first the bamboo grass is sliced in to very thin pieces and then from the material the skin is removed. This is boiled in boric acid so that all the germs and bacteria are killed and this also removes the starch from it if it contains any. Every slice undergoes this process and every single one of them are coated with adhesives. Then using heat and pressure they are bonded together and the result you get is the solid bamboo floors. They can be used anywhere if proper precautions are taken except bathrooms. The advantage of solid bamboo floors are that they give you the best natural look you can get and also the patterns you get in the end are very interesting. If there comes any scratches or dents on the floor then you can easily refinish it and make it look like all new again. When it comes to hardness and durability it is pretty much hard and durable compared to most other types of floorings but less than strand woven which is much more harder and durable than it.

Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring: As you all know already that bamboo floorings are not made out of wood but of grass. And grass is highly fibrous. Normally the manufacturing process to produce bamboo floors involves lamination of these fibers one over another. But in strand woven method, the fibers are woven in an adhesive base which forms a very strong material and hence the name.

As we discussed above it's manufacturing process begins with slicing the bamboo grass into thin pieces or strips and then from them the skin is removed. After this step, they are boiled to remove any germs and bacteria and also to remove starch if they contain any. After this, the material which we get is shredded and processed so that it is converted into a thick pulp. At this point an adhesive is added to the thick pulp and then they are poured down in molds. Using heat and pressure they are converted into solid bar shape. After the adhesive has dried up then the solid bar shape are sliced into planks which can be used in flooring applications. Because of this adhesive the floorings may emit some harmful organic chemicals. They are very hard and durable and can be used anywhere with proper precautions except bathrooms. Over the years if any scratches or dents have come on the floorings then it can be easily be refinished.

Conclusion: Solid bamboo flooring is very popular among people and provides a great natural look. It has an environmental advantage over strand woven bamboo flooring. Whereas strand woven flooring is more durable and harder than solid bamboo flooring. They look extremely rich and exotic. If you can spend more money and want some great look go for strand woven bamboo floorings. They are more suitable for posh and rich areas but can be used in finest homes.