Wood Flooring Vs Bamboo Flooring

Ideal flooring is the one that not only mesmerizes its viewers with its stunning appearance, but is also tough enough to cope with the battering in terms of high foot traffic and high heals it receives on a daily basis. There are different types of floor available on the market, each type having its own set of properties and unique features. The aim of this article is to facilitate a renovator or owner of a new home so that he or she can easily compare two types of popular flooring at one time for a variety of factors such as fashion, strength, durability, eco-friendliness, wear, noise, cost, fashion, style and warmth.

Wood Flooring:

In Australia, the timber flooring gained a great popularity especially in the last decade. In fact, Australia is a home to many species of timber with a wide range of hardness. Those Australian timbers also offer a wide range of grain patterns and colors. Although most of the timbers are known for their hardness, some timbers are relatively soft and one needs to do a careful research before purchasing a timber floor. 

A hardwood floor such as “Blackbutt” has a Janka scale reading of 9.1, whilst “Tasmanian Oak” is considered as a soft timber with a Janka scale reading of 4.9. Therefore, the latter type of timber is nearly half of the strength of Jarrah which has a value of 8.5. A Janka test measures the hardness of a wood- the higher the number, the stronger and denser the timber.

Over the years, the frequent deforestation has totally changed the look of various timbers, as harder timbers are totally vanished from the large geographical areas, thus leaving behind weaker timber varieties.

Another factor which one needs to take into account before buying a wood flooring is that it is not a “Green” flooring choice because it can’t be genuinely re-cycled.

Wood Bamboo Flooring:

Bamboo flooring gives an exotic feel as well as organic glow to your home, which can’t be matched by timber flooring. The wonderful blonde color, hard solid surface and distinctive grain pattern of a bamboo floor grab the attention of every person who visits your home. Bamboo flooring exhibits a unique quality to match any type of interior décor due to its traditional look, thus complementing the lifestyles of many homeowners. The beautiful look and warm feel of bamboo flooring outsmart those of conventional timber flooring.

As far as hardness, durability and strength of a bamboo floor is concerned, it is 70% harder than jarrah and makes an idea choice to install in the high traffic areas of both residential buildings as well as commercial centers.

Another reason of preferring bamboo flooring over timber flooring is that bamboo is naturally resistant to moisture and is not susceptible to the attacks of fungi and molds. Moreover, the manufacturing process of bamboo flooring destroys the starch contents of bamboo, thus making it a less attractive choice for insects especially termites, ants and bugs.

Bamboo flooring is easy to maintain and its stunning look can be brought back by sanding and polishing. A damaged bamboo plank is easy to replace and one can perform it on one’s own. The grit, dust and dirt can easily be cleaned from the floor surface with the help of a mop, broom or steam mop.

The biggest advantage of installing a bamboo floor in your home is that it makes a “Green” flooring choice. As compared to timbers which take 50-60 years to hit maturity, bamboo has a short life cycle and gains maturity in just 3-5 years. Therefore, the short life cycle of bamboo ensures that there is a constant supply of hardwood to fulfill the ever-growing demands of wood for flooring as well as construction projects. As soon as bamboo crop is harvested from one particular geographical area, it starts growing on the very day due to its extensive root system. Therefore, selection of a bamboo floor discourages the cutting of rain forests on a large commercial scale.