What is Natural Bamboo?

Natural Bamboo grows in many regions of the world especially in warm climates where the earth is kept moist with frequent monsoons. Throughout Asia, from India to China, from the Philippines to Japan, Natural Bamboo thrives in natural forestlands. Twenty percent of the world's Natural Bamboo grows in China, much of that in the wild. Today, due to increasing demand, it is being cultivated more and more in managed forests. In this region, Natural Bamboo is emerging as an important agricultural crop of increasing significance to struggling economies.

Natural Bamboo is a member of the grass family. This fact goes a long way toward explaining several of Natural Bamboo's unique characteristics. We are familiar with grass as a rapidly growing invasive plant, as is Natural Bamboo. Maturing to a height of 20 meters or more in a mere four years, Natural Bamboo is ready to harvest. And, like grass, cutting Natural Bamboo does not kill the plant. An extensive root system remains intact, allowing for rapid regeneration. This quality makes Natural Bamboo an ideal plant for areas threatened with the potentially devastating ecological effects of soil erosion.

There are many species of Natural Bamboo. Tall and straight, Moso Natural Bamboo is the species of choice for flooring fabrication. Natural Bamboo uses only exclusive and proprietary Moso6® Premium 6 Year Moso Bamboo with 6 years of maturity, selecting the base of the stalk for its superior strength and hardness. The remainder of these stalks become consumer goods such as chopsticks, plywood sheeting, furniture, window blinds, and even pulp for paper products. Nothing is wasted in processing Moso6® Natural Bamboo. When it comes to the environment, cork and Natural Bamboo are a perfect combination. Both are renewable, are harvested with no harm to their natural habitat, and produce materials that promote a healthy human environment.

Manufacturing Process

After harvesting, Natural Bamboo is cut into strips. These strips go through a sterilization process before being placed in large drying ovens to hasten their curing time. A stringent selection process ensures only premium strips will be used for Natural Bamboo. Selected strips are stacked in layers and glued with an environmentally safe adhesive prior to being put through a 1250 ton press to form panels from which flooring planks are milled. For convenience and durability Natural Bamboo flooring is pre-finished. Our aluminum oxide finish is unsurpassed in the industry, and with 6 coats applied to the flooring surface offers superior wear resistance.

Features of Natural Bamboo Flooring

Eco Friendly: Natural Bamboo is environmentally correct. Renewable, recyclable and biodegradable, cork and Natural Bamboo are recognized as true gems in modern sustainable architecture.

Healthy Alternative: People are becoming increasingly aware of the influence our built environment has over health. Natural Bamboo is being specified more and more often in response to rising concerns about indoor air quality, allergens, off-gassing, and the presence of PVC's often associated with traditional building materials.

Durable: In comparison to wood species, Natural Bamboo is 27% harder than oak and 13% harder than maple. Natural Bamboo is composed of complex fibers that do not absorb moisture as easily as wood. Natural Bamboo flooring is guaranteed to not cup under customary and normal use. The 3-ply horizontal and vertical construction provides assurance that our Natural Bamboo planks will not delaminate. A technically advanced aluminum oxide coating, outlasts traditional finishes 3 to 4 times over. These features combine to make Natural Bamboo an exceptionally stable flooring material.

Natural Beauty: Natural Bamboo flooring boasts a unique appearance that is complimentary to many decors. Exotic and elegant, the beauty of Natural Bamboo will enhance your interior while remaining true to its natural origins. Just like with any other natural product, differences in tone and appearance are to be expected. These variations establish the singular character that is your Natural Bamboo floor.

Premium Quality: The name Natural Bamboo has always been associated with the highest standards of quality in the flooring industry. With the introduction of Premium quality Natural Bamboo flooring and accessories we continue our commitment to supplying superior products. The best bamboo flooring produced today is Natural Bamboo.

It is recommended that cork underlayment be installed with your Natural Bamboo flooring. Natural Cork underlayment will provide both acoustic and thermal insulation while maintaining the highest environmental standards.

Green Building with Natural Bamboo

Natural Bamboo floors contribute to satisfying LEED credits for Rapidly Renewable Resources and Low Emitting Materials under the LEED Rating System. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings as administered by U.S. Green Building Council. USFloors is a member of the USGBC.

Leed Credits Natural Bamboo® Flooring

USFloors is a manufacturer of quality surfacing materials composed of environmentally correct sustainable resources. USFloors is the only foreign member of the Anji Bamboo Flooring Association in Anji, China's Zhejiang province, where Natural Bamboo resources are harvested and where the largest concentration of bamboo can be found.

Teragren is a member of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). We follow the principles of The Natural Step program that focuses on applying basic concepts of sustainability. Every effort is made to reduce, reuse and recycle what we can. For example, we sell unused portions of each bamboo culm to manufacturers to make other bamboo products and we use shavings from our own milling process as fuel in other parts of our factories.

Materials & Resources

Intent: Reduce the use and depletion of finite raw, and long-cycle renewable materials by replacing them with rapidly renewable materials.

Requirement:: Adhesives and coatings must meet or exceed specific VOC limits.

Contribution: Natural Bamboo uses adhesives and coatings that meet E1 standards for VOC content in the production of its bamboo flooring.

Indoor Environmental Quality

Intent: : Reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous or potentially irritating to provide installer and occupant health and comfort.

Requirement: Specify rapidly renewable building materials for 5% of total building materials.

Contribution: Bamboo is in fact form the grass family and like grass, cutting bamboo does not kill the plant. An extensive root system remains intact, allowing for rapid regeneration. In order to be used as flooring material bamboo is harvested every 5 to 6 years to insure stability and hardness.

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