Home & Garden

There are several different methods available for installing bamboo wood flooring. Bamboo floors can be installed by either the nail down, staple down, glue down, or free floating method. The type of bamboo flooring installation one chooses will depend on the type of sub-flooring one has, as well as on whether or not one wishes to hire a professional installer or to install the floor oneself. Free floating installations are the preferred method for do-it-yourself installers, and bamboo floors in particular are well-suited to this method.

Most bamboo floor boards are pre-finished on all six sides, which means they require no finish work at all after installation. Unlike most hardwood floors, bamboo needs no sanding–new bamboo floor owners can skip the lengthy and unpleasant dust phase of installation. And since bamboo floor boards are already varnished and ready to go, there is no protracted drying time (and no need to worry about toxic fumes in the house).

Easy Bamboo Flooring Installation
People who want an easy-to-install, low-maintenance hardwood floor with a tropical flavor are likely to find that bamboo is the answer. Free floating bamboo installations are so easy that just about anyone can do them. The term free floating means that a floor is not anchored to the sub-flooring with nails, staples, or glue.

A free floating floor rests on a bed of foam (or foam and plastic) and the boards themselves are glued to each other, not the sub-flooring. With a nail down, staple down, or glue down installation, each bamboo floor board is individually attached to the structures sub-flooring. With free floating installations, the boards are all attached to each other–almost as if they were a raft. This eliminates the gaps and warps that can occur when individual hardwood boards are attached to the sub-flooring instead of each other.

Bamboo is one of the newest and most durable types of discount hardwood flooring. Unlike other hardwoods, bamboo plants are part of the grass family, not the tree family. That means that they have a much shorter renewal time and are ecologically friendly. Grass plants take only four to five years to come to maturity, whereas trees can take 10 to 20 years or longer to mature.

There are many online businesses that sell discount bamboo flooring. Because it is easy to install, bamboo is a big seller on the Internet. Customers can order pre-finished, precisely cut bamboo floor boards and, using the free floating method, install their own hardwood floors with very little fuss. There are even online bamboo suppliers that include detailed installation instructions on their websites for customers who are into do-it-yourself home improvement.

Saving Time with Discount Bamboo Flooring
Because they require no sanding or varnishing, bamboo floors have a greatly reduced installation time. With other types of hardwood floors there is always a messy sanding phase that fills ones house with dust. And when the sanding is completed and the chemical finish is applied to the floor, toxic fumes are a big concern (not to mention a fairly lengthy drying time). Most bamboo floor boards come ready-to-install–one can walk on the floors the same day the boards are laid down.

Natural bamboo comes in a soft blond color, but online suppliers usually offer up to 30 different shades of this tropical wood. One can browse at an online bamboo supply site from the comfort of ones own home, and avoid the stress of long lines and pushy sales people that are often found at regular retail outlets. As a versatile, ecologically friendly hardwood, bamboo makes the perfect material for budget conscious home owners who are looking to add an elegant, tropical flavor to their home.

For anyone who is interested in do-it-yourself home improvement projects, online bamboo flooring suppliers can provide a wealth of helpful tips and information. Many suppliers are small mom-and-pop organizations–people who began as bamboo enthusiasts and subsequently branched out into bamboo supply and installation. Because it is one of the less expensive hardwoods, bamboo is easy for smaller online suppliers to purchase and resell at competitive prices.

Bamboos tropical beauty, superior hardness, and resistance to moisture make it the preferred wood for do-it-yourself installations. As any good online supplier will tell its clients, most bamboo floor boards come pre-finished. That means that each board is uniform in size, pre-treated to resist moisture and insect infestation, and pre-varnished. Since the boards need no finishing, they are easy to install with the free-floating method. This method is described in helpful detail on many online bamboo supply sites.

Variety is the Spice of Life
The best online bamboo flooring suppliers offer their stock in up to 30 different colors. The natural shade of bamboo is a golden blond color, but it can be varnished in a wide variety of shades. A good supplier will provide pictures of each shade it offers so that clients can find the perfect match for their home decor. Personally I have found that the natural blond color of bamboo complements just about any interior design, but for those who want more variety there are plenty of shades from which to choose.

Carbonization is a process by which natural variations in color are brought out in bamboo. As opposed to the natural blond color of unfinished bamboo, carbonized bamboo flooring takes on a honey brown color without the use of dyes or finishes. This simple treatment is just one of the many possibilities offered by a dedicated online bamboo flooring supplier.

Thanks in large part to its eco-friendly rejuvenation rate and tropical beauty, bamboo has found a loyal following among interior designers and do-it-yourself home improvement enthusiasts. Most bamboo suppliers sell pre-finished boards, but it is possible to find unfinished bamboo flooring materials at a quality online supply site. Both finished and unfinished bamboo floor boards are easy to install and maintain, due to their hardness and resistance to moisture.

Being a tropical grass plant, bamboo is naturally less prone to warping and swelling from moisture than most hardwoods. During rainy seasons, most hardwoods absorb the moisture in the air, causing their size to swell. When the air dries out, the boards shrink up again. Over time this can cause gapping and warping in a hardwood floor. Finished and unfinished bamboo flooring absorbs less moisture and is therefore capable of maintaining the size and shape it has at the time of installation.

Why Unfinished Bamboo Flooring?
Bamboo flooring is available in over 30 different colors at quality online supply sites. The finish one chooses is largely a matter of personal taste rather than finding a perfect match for ones decor. In other words: no matter what the finish, bamboo pretty much goes with anything. But there are those who want to try different stains and finishes in person rather than choosing one from a color photo online. For these home improvement enthusiasts unfinished bamboo flooring provides an opportunity to control every last detail of ones flooring installation.

There is a good chance that an online supplier of unfinished bamboo flooring will also provide its clients with detailed information about do-it-yourself installations. There is something about bamboo that inspires its devotees to sing its praises to any interested parties. A friend of mine bought a house with bamboo trees in the back yard, and by the third year that he lived there he had built an outdoor terrace, some furniture, and a fence–all out of bamboo. Once he discovered its hardness and versatility, he could not stop using it. The same seems to be true of many of the Internets bamboo suppliers.

Bamboo flooring is quickly becoming one of the most popular materials in interior design circles. Bamboo is environmentally friendly–renewing itself in the wild every four to five years. Its also one of the hardest woods and, being a tropical plant, one of the most resistant to moisture and insect infestation. Its natural beauty needs no staining or varnishing, although bamboo is available in up to 30 different colors. For those who want the lowest possible maintenance on their hardwood floors, bamboo flooring even comes in a variety of laminates and finishes.

Laminates refer to thin layers of paper-like material that are either pressed or bonded to the surface of floorboards. The purpose of a laminate is to make a floorboard or panel easy to clean, resistant to scratches and scrapes, and more durable than its non-laminated counterpart. Natural bamboo floorboards are pretty easy to maintain even without a protective laminate layer. They can be cleaned with the usual dry mop or light vinegar and water mixture. Bamboo laminate flooring just takes easy maintenance to the next level, providing busy people with a floor that looks great and requires very little upkeep.

Easy to Install Bamboo Laminates
Unlike other types of hardwood floors, bamboo laminates are easy for the average home owner to install via the do-it-yourself method. In fact, many of the best online bamboo laminate flooring suppliers include detailed self-installation instructions on their websites. Most bamboo laminates come in ready-to-install panels, which makes them extremely simple to lay down. Actual step-by-step instructions are available online, but for anyone who is considering installing his or her own bamboo laminate flooring, the process isnt much more complicated than snapping the pre-finished panels together and laying them down.

Bamboo laminates are an excellent choice in flooring for families with small children. Any home that has young children in it is subject to a lot of wear and tear on its interior. Many families choose to go with tile or linoleum flooring when their offspring are very young, because those types of floors are easy to clean and maintain. Hardwoods are by nature more susceptible to damage than tile or linoleum, but with a good laminate treatment a family can enjoy the beauty of bamboo without worrying about scratches, scrapes, or water damage.