Timber Floor or just plain Grass – Bamboo Flooring- what’s all the hype about?

Carpet Call has noticed a great deal of hype building around Bamboo flooring but we are not buying into it. Carpet Calls timber team was staggered with number of complaints from homeowners who installed Bamboo flooring they found whilst researching on the internet. Our timber expert at Carpet Call HQ consistently reminds us that Bamboo is a grass not a timber.

Simply put, Bamboo flooring is manufactured by harvesting Bamboo grass and using glues to bind it together. Carpet Call found whilst researching that glues can make up to 20% of any Bamboo flooring plank. Further research revealed that despite Bamboo rapid growth, it requires up to seven years to reach full maturity yet most manufacturers harvest after only 6 months growth resulting in a less durable product requiring higher levels of glue. At this stage our team were concerned with the lack of governing regulations such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) ensuring safe product quality and sound environmental standards.

Even if we were to over- look the manufacturing process, our team at Carpet Call are not comfortable with information regarding the performance of Bamboo flooring once installed. Carpet Call’s solid timber range and engineered timber range can be refinished a number of times. Unfortunately, bamboo flooring if damaged must be replaced at a cost to you.

One of the most disturbing complaints about Bamboo flooring that Carpet Call found whilst researching on the internet was linked to the use of glues. The website bambooflooringtruth.com/  reported that heavy use of glues to bind the bamboo grass together resulted in many health concerns from installers. Claims were made that high levels of formaldehyde in the glues were released during installation or repair stages of bamboo flooring.

One of our Carpet Call team pulled out the Janka Test ratings for timber as she had read on a website that Bamboo was a hard durable timber. Carpet Call relies on the Janka Test as an accredited method of measuring the hardness of timbers. Our Carpet Call timber expert was keen to find out the truth about Bamboo Flooring. He noted that Bamboo returned three very different ratings. Horizontal Bamboo was a low 5.87, Vertical Bamboo was 6.58 and Strand Bamboo was 16.10. Our team found it very difficult to confirm which style is used by most manufacturers.

Carpet Call always investigates the performance of products before introducing into our product range. Once the advancements in Bamboo match the advancements made in laminate flooring we will then reconsider.