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What’s the History of Bamboo Flooring?
The actual production of bamboo flooring has a history of about 10 years. Export of bamboo flooring to European countries and North America began three years later. Over the course of these 10 years, it went through three generations. The initial is best understood as “cottage style production”; many of these small producers are now closed due to a weak market and managerial and other issues. Following the learning experiences of these initial businesses came the second generation. At this stage, most manufacturers used Taiwanese-made equipment and finishes. The average capacity of monthly production was from 4,500 to 10,500 square feet. Based on the experience and success of this generation, and with the capital accumulated from their profits, manufacturers began to expand their production by purchasing even more advanced equipment, better finishes and stronger and the lowest formaldehyde glue from Germany, Sweden and Norway. In this current stage, the capacity of production is from 105,000 to 150,000 square feet monthly. There are now over 100 bamboo flooring mills in the southern part of China. The capacity and quality varies greatly among these manufacturers. Most of them are cottage style manufacturing with a monthly production capacity of 17,000 square feet. There are no more than 20 mills that have the above mentioned capacity, and about 10 of these are reliable.
Although bamboo flooring has about 10 years of production history, it is a new product, and many of its features are currently being studied and researched. In the United States, many people, including architects, homebuilders, contractors, think that bamboo floorings are all the same. This is not true. The following factors should be understood:
A.– Bamboo grows from the ground to as tall as 40 to 50 feet within 3 to 6 months. It then stops growing. But, it still needs about 5 years to grow internally for maturity. Therefore, 3 or 4 old bamboo is not recommended for bamboo floorings.
B.– China has about 8 provinces that grow bamboo. Each province has its own controlling policy, some of which result in the random cut of bamboo no matter how young it is. Therefore, buyers need to understand this clearly, as some bamboo floorings are made from this mixed-age bamboo.
C.– Bamboo contains high protein and sugar. Due to the hot and humid climate, bamboo will easily develop mold if it is not treated in a timely manner. Once mold develops, it can never be removed, and bamboo floorings made from this bamboo will always look dull or lifeless. Therefore, all bamboo to be used for bamboo floorings should be treated within 3 days, ideally, and, certainly no later than 5 days from the time it is cut and delivered to the factory.
D.– Bamboo grows in the areas that have high humidity. Even after being kiln dried the moisture content remains at about 8%. However, during the processing and milling, moisture will re-absorb back into the bamboo flooring, and by the time the flooring is ready for packing, it will regain a moisture content from 10 to 15%. Without exception, regardless of the distributor or manufacturer or where they are located (East Coast or West Coast) the moisture content of all bamboo flooring will be between 10 and 15%.
Therefore, installers must realize that two weeks for acclimatization on the job site after the flooring is removed from the carton may not be long enough. Installers must test the moisture content with the moisture tester in different areas of a plank. Installation over radiant heat requires additional special attention.
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