After Moso, or Mao bamboo has matured for 5 to 7 years, the stalks
are harvested, and then transported to the manufacturing plant for processing. Once there, the stalks are cut into workable
lengths and then fed into machines that split, size and cut them into thin strips for bamboo flooring. To prevent any
potential mold, fungus or insect problems, these strips are boiled and then sent to a drying kiln to reduce moisture levels.
After drying, some strips are separated out for carbonization, a method of steaming
bamboo under pressure to change the color of the bamboo flooring. Depending on how long the bamboo is steamed, the resulting
color can range from light amber to a deep, rich coffee. The resulting carbonized bamboo floors are not as hard as natural
Making Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo flooring is found in three varieties: solid, engineered, and strand
woven. Solid and engineered floors begin as bamboo strips assembled into sheets. Solid bamboo sheets are
constructed in vertical or horizontal layers. Horizontal bamboo flooring is usually constructed by layering the sheets 3 or 4
high. In vertical bamboo flooring, bamboo strips are flipped on their side and glued together, exposing the
thin edge of the strip. Once prepared, the sheets are pressed together under high pressure.
To create engineered bamboo flooring, bamboo sheets are cut into thinner sheets that will serve as the
floor's veneer. This veneer layer is applied to the wooden core of the engineered flooring; usually a plywood of varying
plies and thickness, but can be solid strips of wood or high density floorboard. Adhesive is applied to the wooden core and
the bamboo sheet is placed on top and then sent to a hot or cold press depending on the manufacturer.
Strand woven bamboo flooring construction begins with the scraps created by stripping bamboo for planks.
These strands are boiled and dried out, with some of them carbonized. The strands are shredded into thinner pieces before
gluing and molding, during which they are mixed and bound together with special resins made to resist scratches, UV light,
and moisture. The sticky mixture of resin and bamboo strands is packed down into long rectangular steel molds, resulting in
a mixture containing about 30% more bamboo fibers than found in traditional bamboo flooring. Under tremendous heat and
pressure, the bamboo bales are pressed together, binding resin to bamboo strands. The result is dense, solid rectangular
bamboo timbers. These timbers are then milled into bamboo floor blanks.