I’m writing a new book on flooring, which is plodding along at glacial speed, and I recently installed a product I had never worked with before, or even ever seen for that matter: prefinished planks of solid bamboo flooring.

The 5/8” thick tongue-and-groove planks are about 3¾” wide x 6’ long, and are installed similarly to traditional hardwood strip floors; they can be glued, nailed or stapled down. For this installation, I glued and stapled the planks to the plywood subfloor.

The interesting thing about solid bamboo flooring is that while it is 100% bamboo, the planks aren’t milled from individual bamboo boards. Instead, each plank is composed of 15 thin bamboo strips laminated together. The result is a floor that’s very dimensionally stable, so it’s not likely to crack or splinter, and very hard.

In fact, tests have shown that bamboo is denser than oak or maple, which is pretty amazing when you consider that bamboo is a grass. And because bamboo is a grass, it grows incredibly fast and can be harvested in about four years. By comparison, hardwood trees reach maturity somewhere between 30 and 60 years.

More information about bamboo flooring is available at Sustainable Flooring: Bamboo and Cork.

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    Danny Lipford

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    Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.

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