Engineered bamboo flooring remains a relatively new type of flooring. It is made differently than traditional flooring. It generally has more versatility than traditional bamboo, due to the way it is made. Engineered flooring is different than horizontal, vertical or stranded bamboo flooring and is generally cheaper, more resistant to shape change, and more adaptable to different environments.
Horizontal and vertical bamboo flooring is made in a similar way in that they are pressed together tightly and laminated. What makes them horizontal or vertical is the way the wood is pressed together. Horizontal lies flat, one on top of the other, where as vertical stands on the side and stacks one on top of the other. To avoid confusion about the way these two varieties of flooring are made. Both horizontal and vertical are durable, but both expand in humid climates, making then shrink when it becomes dryer. The expansion and shrinking causes warping and disfigured flooring.
Stranded bamboo is made from strands of shredded bamboo. They are glued and pressed together. This flooring is extremely hard and durable, but it too shrinks and expands in different climates. Due to the density of this type it is also the hardest to install.
The only flooring that resists shape change and warping is engineered flooring. Engineered bamboo floors are different than the other three varieties of flooring, in that it is not constructed of one hundred percent bamboo. It is bamboo on the outside and a composite of some other type of wood, like teak or oak on the inside. This different type of wood on the inside makes it more versatile. It does not shrink and expand like other flooring made of bamboo. It thrives in humid climates where traditional bamboo flooring begins to suffer. The lack of shrinking and expanding make it more durable.
When you look at the bamboo flooring pros and cons engineered bamboo floor can provides more choices. It can look like either horizontal or vertical pressed bamboo, depending upon tastes. It generally costs less, resists warping and shape change, is durable and can be installed in virtually any environment. Installation is similar to other types of bamboo. It can be nailed or glued to concrete or wood subsurface floors or floated. Engineered bamboo can be installed in places that traditional types of bamboo cannot.
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