Bamboo Hardwood Floors

Maple and oak hardwood floors are beautiful and hard, but are also expensive. If you were looking for maple and oak hardwood floor substitutes, consider bamboo hardwood floors as a possible option. 

Bamboo floors are made from natural bamboo plant cut either horizontally or vertically. You may get them in natural or carbonized finishes. Natural finishes look yellowish, like a freshly cut wood, while carbonized bamboo floors have a darker, caramel-like finish, resembling that of a Black Walnut. Between the two finishes, however, carbonized bamboo floors are softer compared to the natural ones. The reason is that carbonization is done by pressure heating or steaming of the bamboos. This process darkens bamboo's color, but softens it, too.

If you value look over hardness, you may buy the carbonized finished. But if you value hardness, there is a quick fix solution to darken a natural finished bamboo floors: stain them. Buy a Maple, Oak, or Blackwood colored lacquer. Use a cloth when applying lacquer on bamboo floors so that the wood will absorb the stain better. When staining is done, brush over a glossy, clear colored varnish to protect the stain from fading and to shield the wood from scratch.

Bamboo hardwood floors are versatile. They are easy to install and can be attached to any types of floors. They may be glued, nailed, stapled, or floated onto a concrete slab, subfloors or any other types of floor covering.  

You will be surprised at how inexpensive bamboo hardwood floors are. They are cheaper by almost half the price of maple and oak hardwood floors. They are the best alternative to maple and oak hardwood floors in terms of look and hardness. As to maintenance, scratch onto the surface may be lessened by simply doing a yearly or twice a year staining and varnishing.