x10 Home Automation - Control Lights, Irrigation, Appliances

Is Bamboo Flooring The Green, Environmentally Friendly Home Remodeling Option?

Bamboo flooring has a robust attractiveness that is catching the eye of many a home remodeling enthusiast. However, this is by far not the only use for this renewable resource. A vast range of household items are available to complement a bamboo floor, including clothing, towels and bedding. The material is gentle enough to be used for baby socks, yet sturdy enough to be utilized in bicycles!

Bamboo is a grass that ranges from being a ground cover to growing into monstrous plants of more than 70 feet. Although China has always been the main producer, plantations are now fairly commonly found in the USA, for example in the Oregon and Washington areas. However, local rainfall patterns will never match those of Asia, and the main areas of supply are therefore unlikely to change.

This extremely durable eco-friendly product is harder than many of the real woods, and comes at a fraction of the price of hardwood. It is easy to maintain and asks for minimal cleaning. The affordability is largely due to the rapid regrowth rates of the grass. It can be harvested repeatedly. Even though it usually needs to mature before being harvested, it still has a much faster growth cycle than a tree. The plant matures within 5 to 7 years, whereas it takes 50 years and longer to replace a tree.

The other vital environmentally friendly role this grass species plays, is in its release of high oxygen levels and the way in which the grass devours harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If you need regreening, this is the way to go.

There are of course also questions about the bamboo explosion. One of the main concerns is the use of vast amounts of chemicals in plantations. There are also worries that eventually commercial varieties may displace the natural sources on which animals such as Pandas rely for food. Another major factor is that forests are cleared to make room for this option, which is deemed to be more viable economically. This is an unacceptable practice and defeats the whole purpose of finding a sustainable wood substitute. There are also concerns about the working conditions and wages of the employees in this industry.

It is vital that every consumer who installs a bamboo floor checks that it has Forest Stewardship Council certification. This reassuring stamp means that the grass comes from a forest that is sustainably managed and cultivates a biologically diverse range of plants. Buyers should also opt for flooring manufactured with formaldehyde free glues and with the lowest possible volatile organic compounds or VOC emissions The best manufacturers use the moso variety that is at least six years old. This gives the most robust floor. Always ask for a line with an environmentally friendly, non-toxic finish.

After harvesting, the grass is sliced into strips. These are boiled in water that contains a preservative. The strips are then pressed flat, before being laminated in layers and kiln-dried. An engineered floor is also offered. In this case, a thin layer of bamboo is laminated over an unrelated base. Alternatively, a tongue and groove product is produced using the waste left over from floor manufacturing. Coloring varies from natural to amber. The darker hues are due to a pressure steaming process which deepens the color by carbonization.

As with laminates, a complete range of complementary products are on offer, from baseboards, to transition pieces, staircase pieces, and vent covers. The floors can be glued down or nailed down. The engineered bamboo flooring is also available in a floating design. The floor covering can be fitted over concrete or wood sub floors.

Many retail outlets now opt for bamboo in their designs. The material fits in superbly with an environmentally friendly approach. The Australian Crocs retail store recently brought in Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring. This means that they judged the product to be robust enough to cope with high traffic loads. They also see the flooring as eco-friendly and easy to install.

Fashion stores have also discovered the appeal of this plant. If a store owner is into organics, using this material for flooring, counters and furniture will create an eco-friendly ambience, as well as a warm atmosphere.

Bamboo flooring can be professionally refinished as many as eight times, meaning it can last a lifetime if handled with care

Provided that you support a reputable manufacturer, bamboo floors are known to be resistant to fading, molds, termites, fire and surface damage. It is also ideal if you are battling with allergies. It also sports remarkable moisture resistant characteristics.

Bamboo flooring allows you to make an affordable, lasting home improvement.

http://Awnings-and-Blinds.com - Also read Rika Susan's 15 Bamboo Flooring Installation And Maintenance Tips and many other flooring and window treatment articles at http://www.Awnings-and-Blinds.com

MORE ARTICLES:

SmartLabs Introduces HouseLinc 2 - INSTEON Desktop Software w/ USB Interface: Easy INSTEON and X10 Home Automation Control and Management from a PC
SmartLabs, Inc. announces the release of HouseLinc 2, the next generation of the award-winning the HouseLinc - INSTEON Desktop Software. Building on the original software designed for the management of INSTEON-compatible devices in the home, HouseLinc 2 includes new features like background link management, enhanced product support and an all new look. It is available as a kit for first time users or as a free upgrade kit for original HouseLinc owners. Each kit comes with a required HouseLinc 2-enabled INSTEON PowerLinc Modem.

Smarthome Hires TigerDirect Executive to Lead Home Automation Category: Bruce Matthews Joins Smarthome as Vice President of Marketing to
Smarthome, www.smarthome.com (http://www.smarthome.com), a SmartLabs, Inc., www.smartlabsinc.com (http://www.smartlabsinc.com), company and the world's leading provider of home automation products, has hired Bruce Matthews as vice president of marketing. Matthews joins SmartLabs from TigerDirect, www.tigerdirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com), where he was vice president of business development.

Windows Macro - Create Macros To Automate Common Tasks
Want to automate and record mouse clicks and keystrokes? Want a program that records macros on Windows OS?

Skylink, Leader in Wireless Automation Products, Announces INSTEON Motion Sensor
Skylink unveils the release of the Skylink INSTEON Wireless Motion Sensor, a battery powered motion detection module for indoor and outdoor applications. It reliably communicates via INSTEON radio frequency (RF) to turn INSTEON compatible devices or scenes on and off. Skylink has assigned Smarthome (www.smarthome.com) as Master Distributor.

Tomorrow Incorporated Lights Up the Holidays with Motion-Sensing Britepack(TM) Apparel
New consumer products company ushers in next craze in technology-forward and trend-setting school accessories.

Automated Forex software review
For the time being automated trading in forex is the buzzword.

Autonomic Controls Announces Touch Panel Software For Home Theater and Whole-House Audio
Autonomic Controls, the leading provider of media integration software for AMX, Crestron and HAI systems has announced a new product that enables remote access to digital music and video media using UMPC's and touch panels.

Automate Your Work Using Macro System Module
Every webstore owner should take online store solutions for updating hundreds and thousands of products. They has to be edited quite often, thus making your store flexible and up-to-date. Large and medium stores have a lot of products with similar descriptions, however you have to go over each product separately and edit every piece of text manually. This is how it used to be. Now, you may automate this time-consuming operation using Macro System by MagneticOne. This module allows you to change similar parts of text in product descriptions just with one click. It is especially useful if you are the owner of a large store with lots of products: the module will help you to change parts of multiple product descriptions at once.

Cyber-Rain Expands Distribution Network, Now Available Through Home Automation Retailer Smarthome
Award-winning sprinkler control system saves users 30-70% on watering bills.

Comcast Selects Approva to Automate Controls Monitoring for Oracle E-Business Suite
Approva® Corporation, the leader in continuous controls monitoring, today announced that Comcast Corporation has licensed Approva?s BizRights® CCM Platform and Enterprise Controls Suite to monitor both general computing and user access controls across its enterprise-wide deployment of the Oracle E-Business Suite.

Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) and Thornberry Ltd Announce Automated Interface between Healthcare Software Programs
Web interface enables SHP clinician-level analysis of NDoc® clinical point of care patient data. New automated web interface speeds the transfer of data from the NDoc clinical system to Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) software. Web services technology transfers OASIS assessments with clinician-level detail from NDoc to the SHP database.

Outdoor Motion Detectors & Motion Sensor Lights
Who goes there? In this day and age, it might not be feasible for you to hire a 24-hour watchman to guard your house or property, but we can provide you with the next best thing

SmartLabs Introduces NetLinc - INSTEON Central Controller: Turns iPhone into a Home Automation Touch Screen
SmartLabs, Inc. announces the release of NetLinc, a plug-in web server that puts the power of controlling an INSTEON home automation network in the palm of your hand. This revolutionary new product allows communication from an iPhone, iPod touch, the internet or any mobile Wi-Fi / web-enabled PDA or cell phone to remotely control and set timers for INSTEON devices.

Ebay Auction Software: Automated Gold Mining For Auctions On Ebay And Elsewhere Using Software
You may already know how to grab great bargains on eBay and other auction websites because the titles are misspelled. In fact, you may spend a great deal of time hunting around for them, one by one. You may even know of a website or two that offers you a free list of these misspelt auction listings. Do you ever wonder if you're missing out on a bunch of them, just because it's too tedious to plow through them all by hand?

Review Of Forex Killer - Automated Forex Trading Killer Review
We are all feeling the pinch today The word is out, the economy stinks and our "leaders' don't seem to have a clue