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Bamboo - the environmentally friendly choice for wood floors

Whether you’re designing a home from scratch or just making some changes to one you already live in, bamboo flooring is worthy of consideration. It’s a bit strange to think about bamboo flooring at first, because it conjures images of loosely woven branches, but this is not the kind of bamboo that is used.

Bamboo is actually a very robust wood, which makes it an excellent choice for a floor. It is as tough as maple and harder than red oak, so shoes and pets shouldn’t have too much of an impact.

Bamboo is also less susceptible to the buckling which occasionally affects a wood floor. Buckling comes about when the wood absorbs moisture and expands. Similarly, when moisture is lost, the wood may shrink, potentially leaving gaps between boards. Bamboo is less affected by moisture than other woods which goes some way towards combating this.

The other great advantage of bamboo is that it is more environmentally friendly than many other woods. It is fast growing, meaning trees can be replaced more quickly. The harvesting of bamboo can take place as frequently as every five years, which means there is less environment impact in selecting it for your floor.