The flooring industry in North America is a big one, and flooring contractors are needed for construction projects and home remodeling alike. These contractors may take part in building a home or office, for example, and provide the much-needed flooring with their expertise. In other cases, flooring experts will be called upon when a homeowner is launching a home remodeling project, when various surfaces and hardware are being replaced and updated. This can certainly include the floor, which may be made of hardwood planks, tiles, linoleum, and more. And today, those hardwood floors have a rival: bamboo flooring. Bamboo wood flooring is often cost effective, and if one wonders “how to install bamboo flooring?”, they may be relieved to know that it may differs little from installing regular hardwood planks. Putting different types of bamboo flooring can be fairly intuitive, and engineered bamboo is designed for such work. As for how to install bamboo flooring, flooring contractors may easily instruct their newer members on how to set it up. “how to install bamboo flooring?” may not be something to worry about for long.
Flooring As an Industry Today
Today’s construction and remodeling industries in the United States and Canada are quite large, and a part of them involves flooring contractors. After all, everyone needs floors to walk on, whether in a small suburban home or a large office building, and all sorts of materials are used. What is more, this industry is not only robust, but it is growing. A recent survey was launched for many flooring industry contractors, sales experts, distributors, and more, and these professionals widely agreed that the flooring industry may see growth close to 3% in the coming years. What is more, about one in three such professionals expected even more generous growth rates, closer to 8% or so.
How are these contractors getting the job done? In many American and Canadian homes, hardwood species such as oak and cherry, native to North America, are the norm. Ever since the colonial period in the 1600s, these species have proven popular and effective for many types of construction, from a house’s walls and floor to building furniture. However, modern logging faces some criticism from environmental protection agendas, and some argue that today’s logging rates are leading to unacceptable levels of deforestation. The modern need for wood is too great to simply stop all logging, however, so some substitutes for hardwood have been developed to satisfy that need. Bamboo flooring and similar species can augment hardwood’s presence in the flooring industry, and this can ease logging pressure on hardwood forests while keeping the flooring industry running smoothly. How to install bamboo flooring? And why is bamboo so effective?
What Bamboo Can Do
An American or Canadian homeowner who needs new floors may not consider bamboo when they want new flooring put down, but this exotic plant may get the job done all the same. Bamboo isn’t even a tree; it is a woody grass, and it is known for its rapid growth. Bamboo grows slowly when first planted, but once it reaches maturity, it can regrow with notorious speed even after repeated harvesting. This makes bamboo eco-friendly and renewable. But raw bamboo stalks can’t be made into floors; the stalks are sliced and shredded, then the fibers are fused into planks with heat, pressure, and adhesives. Many Asian factories are already exporting generous cargo loads of such planks to North American wholesale consumers.
Once bamboo flooring is put down, it can compete with hardwood in many aspects. Bamboo planks are often as tough as hardwood, if not more so, and bamboo flooring can compete with hardwood in prices on the market as well. Bamboo flooring, once installed, is also easy and convenient to maintain. It can be mopped to stay clean, and any scratches can be sanded down and refinished to make the bamboo look like new. Bamboo can also be carbonized to darken it, expanding its color range.
However, some consumers aren’t happy with bamboo’s narrow range of colors (including carbonized bamboo), and this material is sensitive to humidity extremes. Very dry climates cause it to shrink and crack, and very humid areas may cause it to twist and warp. Temperate climates are best for this particular flooring material.