Bamboo Flooring History

China has a 5,000-year history including the earliest history of bamboo use in the world. Archaeologists have unearthed bambooweaving relics 5,000 years old at the ruins of Banpo village in Xian, Shanxi province. In ancient China, bamboo was used for making arrows, books, palace buildings, paper and many other items. Research into bamboo started in the Jin Dynasty. A special book "bamboo" was written in AD265-316, in which 61 species/varieties of bamboo were recorded in detail, including descriptions of biological characteristic and cultivation techniques. However this was only the beginning of bamboo research, in the 1920's and 1930's further significant research was carried out and China's bamboo industry has been developing continuously since then.

Bamboo is technically a grass, not a wood product found in both tropical and sub-tropical climates throughout the world, grown in Asia, Africa the Caribbean and Latin America. China is one of the key natural homes and is the largest source of Bamboo in the world. China currently accounts for more than 500 Bamboo species covering over 7 million hectares under growth. Bamboo is an excellent renewable resource which can be harvested every 5 years. As a result, no forests are destroyed to make bamboo products i.e. flooring, ceiling systems, furniture board, furnishings etc. Like most other grasses, Bamboo has strong resistance to diseases, insects and climatic injuries. Growing bamboo also requires minimal labour effort. Bamboo is a naturally beautiful and durable alternative to our limited global supply of hardwood, and like traditional timber is a natural organic substance. The qualities of Bamboo create a product that has a strong value offering for commercial, residential or general purpose applications. Bamboo resources have been widely used in construction, paper making, food, furniture, packing, transportation, medical care and tourism.

Bamboo has regrowth potential many times that of hardwood, putting out several full length, full diameter, naturally pre-finished, ready-to-use culms ("stems") each year. A single Bamboo clump can produce up to 15 kilometres of usable pole (up to 30 cm in diameter) in its lifetime.Within a few months of growth, a Bamboo tree can attain its full height (10 - 20m tall and 10 - 15cm in diameter) and five years later establishes full hardness.A twenty metre tree cut for market takes approximately 60 years to replace. A twenty metre Bamboo cut for market takes five years to replace.

Once the Bamboo is harvested and processed it is more stable in its resistance to movement caused by moisture and harder than most old-growth forest hardwoods. Recent CSIRO testing results show high hardness values when compared with many solid Australian hardwoods of similar density. The equilibrium moisture content in non air conditioned residential applications is usually assumed to be approximately 12%. It is somewhat lower, at about 10% in air conditioned applications. There may therefore be some slight expansion in the product in some applications. If provision for expansion is made, this should generally not cause problems. With a tensile strength superior to mild steel (it withstands up to 3655kg/sqcm) and a weight-to-strength ratio surpassing that of graphite, Bamboo is regarded as the strongest growing wood plant on earth.

Current research points to bamboo's potential in a number of medical uses. Secretion from bamboo is used internally to treat asthma, coughs, and can be used as an aphrodisiac. Ingredients from the root help treat kidney disease. Roots and leaves have also been used to treat venereal disease and cancer. Sap is said to reduce fever, and ash will cure prickly heat.