Bamboo is a grass, but it looks and behaves similar to a hardwood so offers a great alternative flooring product. Bamboo is approximately as hard as red oak and hard maple and comes in a natural blond tone as well as a carmelized darker shade. The stalks are glued together either horizontally or vertically and offer two completely different appearances. It reaches maturity in 3 to 7 years and when harvested, generally stimulates new growth rather than killing the plants. The bamboo used in our flooring is not a food source or habitat for panda bears, which generally inhabit higher elevation forests. Despite the long-distance transport of the product to the United States, the durability, hardness, and short regeneration time of bamboo provide justification for specifying bamboo flooring instead of wood. The primary drawback of bamboo flooring is the fact that the product is glued-up with urea-formaldehyde binders.

The flooring is available as prefinished or unfinished product and is sold in all six foot lengths or a mixture of 2,3,4, and 6 foot lengths. The finish is five coats of polyurethane with aluminum oxide. The top two layers contain no aluminum oxide since it offers such impressive scratch resistance that it is difficult to sand when recoating is necessary.

Bamboo prices range from approximately $5 to $6.25 per square foot.