Natural parquet is distinguished by nobleness, warmth, durability and high price. But there are among the floor coverings that are pleasing to the eye and are inexpensive. Among them is an exotic bamboo, the fibers of which are used in the manufacture of soft fabrics, trunks - for the production of furniture, wall panels, panels and mosaics.
Technologists and chemists have long learned to strengthen the necessary properties of plant materials: the necessary strength is given to loose cork and brittle bamboo. Now they are on an equal footing in a number of interior decoration materials.
The affordable cost of bamboo is due to the rapid growth, its prevalence in the tropics and subtropics. The plant is considered an environmentally friendly species: it naturally restores depleted soil reclamation, contributes to raising the level of groundwater.
The standard, adopted several years ago, states that bamboo grown on fertile lands not as a monoculture and without the use of pesticides is considered environmentally friendly.
The collection of trunks going to raw materials is not harmful to the whole organism. This is a grass of the cereal family, which easily and quickly replenishes the lost mass with the help of young shoots. Parquet from huge straws of bamboo is the result of strong bonding of individual fragments. They do not dry out, are not subject to swelling and are very durable.
Production Features
Bamboo flooring is made from the stems of mature plants, which are at least 5-6 years old. Then the raw materials are sorted, dried in an oven to achieve the desired moisture level. The preparatory step before gluing is grinding. So that the bamboo strips are firmly connected into a single board, they are subjected to the highest pressure.
Disputes about the environmental friendliness of flooring glued with synthetic resins are resolved by experts. An important indicator in the certification of finishing materials is their evaporation of toxic substances. A document admitting the product to the market confirms the permissible amount of evaporated phenols. It is issued only on a parquet board tested in the laboratory.
Characteristics of Bamboo Flooring
Being light and empty inside, bamboo is a good raw material for the production of parquet. This flooring has characteristics comparable to those of the best types of wood.
- Ecological cleanliness. Plants grow rapidly under natural conditions, without additional chemical treatment.
- High resistance to deformation: resistance across the fibers - 0.11–0.13%.
- Antistatic properties.
- Excellent qualities: density - 0.5 g / cm3, hardness according to the Brinnel scale - 4.7–4.9. This exceeds the performance of some species of wood.
- Beautiful view. The natural shade of bamboo flooring is golden straw. Shades with darker transverse sections. Toning enriches the color scheme.
- The production technology makes the coating elements unattractive to rodents and insects.
This gender also has weaknesses:
- Easily scratched with metal heels, legs of heavy furniture. The gloss is dulled by the constant presence on the surface of sand particles, solid street dust remaining on the soles of shoes.
- Parquet is not good enough soundproofing material.
- Exposure to direct sunlight leads to darkening of the color, sometimes uneven.
- From regular contact with moisture, it quickly deteriorates.
- To give the bamboo floor a dark color, the trunk of the plant is carbonized - carbonized. The result is beautiful, but fragile boards.
Ways of laying bamboo flooring
The appearance of the elements depends on the orientation of the fibers - horizontally or vertically. The horizontal pattern repeats the shades of the plant stem - smooth light areas and darker nodes. From this figure, you can accurately determine which material the parquet is made of.
Bamboo flooring is offered in the form of piece goods, boards, elements for mosaics and panels. Stack it on glue and in a floating manner. The size of a piece parquet board is 60x9x1.5 cm, its minimum parameters are 92x9x1.5 cm.
- As a result of laying in a floating way, a floor covering is obtained that is not associated with the floor and walls. Elements that are not fixed rigidly have the ability to expand under the influence of moisture and temperature. All loads are quenched. An important point of installation is to observe the gap between the walls and the parquet around the perimeter of the room.
- It is used less often, but the adhesive way of laying is still popular. The main condition for durability is an even foundation - cement screed, boards, plywood.
Watch the video on how to lay bamboo flooring on glue:
The final processing of the flooring is carried out with varnishes and oil-based products. It is not necessary if the items were purchased already varnished.
The bamboo floor has excellent technical characteristics, elegant clear structure, suitable for the embodiment of original design ideas, giving the interior a bright personality. The variety of types of parquet, its wide price range, improved performance makes this flooring increasingly popular.