Bamboo Charactistics
Fibrestrandwoven Bamboo Flooring
Manufacturing Procedure: Long sections of mature Moso Bamboo (Philostachis Pubescens) are crushed and broken down into long strands, still half strung together whilst their parallel orientation is maintained. They are then coated with modern German Klumpp resin and pressed together with heat into a mould to form a block 1.9m long and 100mm wide and 150mm deep with a force of 5700 tonnes. These blocks are then sawn into boards, machined top and bottom and with tongue on one side and one end and groove on the other side and end. They are then coated and cured under UV light with 6 separate coats of special polyurethane which produces a quality finish far superior to one which can be achieved when a timber floor is sanded and coated with air-drying stains.
The difference in procedure between natural and carbonised Fibrestrandwoven Bamboo Flooring is that the carbonised blocks have had a higher and longer heat treatment. The carbonising effect is uniform throughout the profile of the board and is permanent. Interestingly, the carbonised, with a hardness of 15.5 kpa is slightly harder than the natural with a hardness of 14.5 Kpa because of the massive amount of pressure applied. In laminated bamboo flooring the carbonised is a little softer than the natural.
Laminated Bamboo Flooring
Manufacturing Procedure: The wall thickness of bamboo culms varies between species and also from the base to the top. Sections of a bamboo culm with a suitable wall thickness and a maturity of at least 4 years are split with a bladed hub machine into slats of even width, (about 25X5mm). These slats are then machined to perfectly rectangular sections. They are then coated with modern resins and pressed/ laminated together to form the boards. Once again, they are machined with a smooth surface on top and profile underneath and tongue and groove all round. The coating is similar to that for Fibrestrandwoven.
To produce the coffee (carbonised) colour the slats are exposed to heat in a kiln and the colour is, once again, uniform and permanent. Because the laminating process requires relatively little heat, laminated natural colour flooring is quite a bit lighter than natural Fibrestrandwoven flooring.
Horizontal and vertical refers to the orientation of the rectangular section laminates. In horizontal the slats are flat, in vertical they sit on their edge. Vertical is a bit harder than horizontal and they have a different grain appearance which is largely a matter of taste. In horizontal the bamboo internode grains are more visible.
Antique Bamboo Flooring
Manufacturing Procedure: Antique bamboo flooring is, in the first instance, horizontally laminated. The unique profile, giving it a look of bamboo with its internodes, is machined into the top of the boards to a depth of no more than 0.5mm just before the boards are ready for staining. The stain is then covered with the multiple polyurethane coatings, giving it the same lasting durability of the other bamboo floors.
Bamboo Tiles
Manufacturing Procedure: A 5mm hard bamboo veneer, very similar to Fibrestrandwoven, is laminated to the top of squares of stable marine grade bamboo ply. The tiles are chamfered all round on the under side and cut perfectly flat and square then sealed and cured for stability and permanence. The bamboo ply is made by laminating with high grade resin, several sheets of thin, machine woven, split bamboo mats in a heated press.
Some Relative Hardness Data
The Janka Test of hardness shows the force required to embed an 11.28mm (0.444 inch) diameter steel ball to half its diameter in wood. The higher the force required, the harder the material and therefore the better wearing characteristics.
