Interest grows in distinctive look, environmental friendliness

Customers are finding they like the natural product.

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

FRESNO, Calif. — Four years ago, when Cheryl Kwok and her husband, Jimmy, built their home in north Clovis, Calif., she wanted a floor that would be durable and contemporary in style but also have a touch of Asian in the formal living room, dining room and home office. Having seen bamboo flooring in home magazines, she decided to give it a try.

“We wanted more of an Asian influence, and it fit perfectly, more than, like, oak,” says Kwok, a pharmacist. Despite having four huskies indoors, the flooring has held up well, she says.

“You see a few scratches, but they’re more from moving furniture,” she says. “They’re not husky damage.”

One thing Kwok remembers at the time was the difficulty in finding the product locally, she says: “I was probably one of the first in the area to look into bamboo flooring. It wasn’t really available four years ago when we built the house.” She had to bring in the material from out of town.

The market has changed since then, at least in terms of bamboo. Interest in bamboo flooring has increased, several flooring businesses say. People are attracted to bamboo’s distinctive look and its environmentally friendly aspects.

A GRASS FLOOR

Unlike oak, hickory or maple flooring, bamboo isn’t a wood; it’s a grass. But like wood flooring, it’s a natural product.

Bamboo flooring can come in solid and engineered planks. An engineered bamboo plank is made of several layers of wood and a top bamboo veneer. The planks have tongue-and-groove joints that allow them to click and lock into place. They’re often prefinished, meaning they’re ready to be installed.

They can be glued or nailed down or floated on top, depending upon your subflooring. With concrete slabs, moisture barriers — such as a vinyl sheet or polyethylene plastic — typically need to be put down first to prevent the flooring material from absorbing any moisture from the slabs.

Like wood flooring, bamboo planks also need time to acclimate to their new surroundings. Let the planks sit for about two to three days in the home before they’re installed, flooring experts say.

Bamboo planks have two basic styles: horizontal, where the growth rings, or “knuckles,” of the bamboo are quite visible; and vertical, where the bamboo looks like thin strips and the rings are much smaller. There also is a third option called strand-woven, which is made from cut-up bamboo pieces that are woven together. Bamboo flooring often comes in shades from yellow to caramel.

“It’s a linear look,” says Lee Horwitz, owner of A&M Flooring America. “Having said that, they’ve been able to dye it and make patterns that are unbelievable and unique. ... People who put in bamboo, they tend to want their friends to know this is bamboo.”

He has seen interest in the material grow recently. “It does have a very unique look,” he says

CONTEMPORARY APPEAL

Bamboo flooring often is used in homes that are contemporary in design or decor, says Todd Hiester of Todd’s Hardwood Flooring Co.

“It’s not for every home,” Hiester says. “You’re limited to the more contemporary styles of design. It wouldn’t look right in a more traditional-style home.”

Another part of bamboo that appeals to some is the use of a material that, unlike trees, will grow back quickly once it’s cut.

“Distress, or the older floor look, is still popular,” says Harry Mestjian, vice president of Quality Carpets Design Center. “But as the ‘green’ movement goes forth, [customers] are looking at bamboo.”

As a resource, bamboo can be harvested sooner — about every three years, compared to 125 years for oak, Hiester says. “So, it’s renewable,” he says.

But just because a flooring product is made out of bamboo doesn’t necessarily make it environmentally friendly, Horwitz says. The way the flooring material is made and the amount of chemicals used — such as formaldehyde, which is used to bind the bamboo together — also are important.

“Any product may have green elements, but if it’s not manufactured in a country with controls and standards, then there’s going to be a problem,” he says. “It does no good that’s it’s renewable if it uses chemicals that are problems.”

Research bamboo manufacturers online, and ask questions when you visit retailers, several flooring experts say.

“The people working with them should be trained and knowledgeable,” Horwitz says. “It might be quite possible they don’t know all the answers, but they should be responsible and try to find out. We will not portray something greener than it is.”

That’s what Anne Heedt did when she decided to go with bamboo almost three years ago — she researched.

“I did a lot of stuff online,” says Heedt, who decided to be more environmentally conscious after buying a Toyota Prius shortly before redoing her flooring. “At that time, there were a couple [of bamboo manufacturers she could get locally]; now there are even more options. I always look into stuff before I buy.”

She wanted bamboo for a couple of reasons.

“Part of it was that bamboo was just pretty,” she says. “Also, it’s a renewable resource and easily available. Also, if it’s sustainably farmed, you’re not hurting the environment.”

Heedt worked with Hiester, who installed the bamboo flooring, to find materials and glues that would be more environmentally friendly. “People have more choices than I did three years ago,” she says. “When I started, people looked at you cross-eyed when you asked for something nontoxic.”

While bamboo is durable, it’s also susceptible to dents. “It’s soft,” Hiester says. “It’s like a pine, maybe a little bit more durable.”

Mestjian also suggests any furniture that moves around on the floor should have protectors or pads. Women wearing high heels also can leave indentations.

As for the cost of bamboo flooring, it ranges between $4 and $8 a square foot, not including installation or moisture barriers.

“We’ve been able to go back and restore bamboo” flooring,” Hiester says. “If it’s taken care of properly, it can last the lifetime of the home.”