Bamboo Parquet Flooring

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Bamboo parquet flooring has become more popular as more people move toward "green" and sustainable building materials. Learn about bamboo parquet flooring and how it stands up against wood.


It is important to shop carefully and do your research before deciding on bamboo parquet flooring. If you are looking for flooring for high-traffic areas or areas in your home with high moisture content such as bathrooms, you may want to look at other flooring options.


However, bamboo parquet flooring is as beautiful as any wood floor, and with the proper care can be just as durable.


The Advantages of Bamboo Parquet Flooring

  • It costs 25 to 50 percent less than wood flooring in general
  • It comes in many shades to fit any dcor
  • It is easy to clean
  • Can be easily installed over nearly any type of (smooth, flat) sub-flooring
  • Is easily renewable
  • Is fire-resistant
  • Is helpful for allergy sufferers, as it does not harbor dust mites


The Disadvantages of Bamboo Parquet Flooring

  • More care must be taken with bamboo parquet flooring as it will scratch or dent more easily than wood flooring
  • Swells more with excessive moisture than wood flooring
  • Can be bleached by the sun
  • Tends to magnify sound more than wood flooring
  • The darker the bamboo (which is heated to create the darker color), the softer the product; can become up to 30% softer than the lighter versions
  • Will stain easily if not properly sealed


Types of Bamboo Parquet Flooring

There are four types of bamboo flooring: horizontal, vertical, engineered and stranded. Since bamboo is a thin-walled hollow plant, strips of bamboo are laminated together to form flooring products (horizontal and vertical). Engineered bamboo is not 100 percent bamboo. Stranded bamboo is made of pulverized fibers that are soaked in adhesive and heat-pressed together. Stranded bamboo is the most durable of the four, but it contains a higher adhesive content.


How "green" is bamboo parquet flooring?

If you are looking for an environmentally friendly flooring product, bamboo is a mixed bag. In terms of sustainability, it takes three to five years to harvest bamboo for flooring, as opposed to 100 years for hardwoods. Bamboo, being a grass, also replants itself. But the other side of the coin is the growing popularity of bamboo as a flooring product has led to deforestation, erosion and the heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers. Wood products can and are certified as sustainable. Very few bamboo products have been certified. Also, many bamboo flooring products are manufactured with high contents of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the adhesives that form the product.


Bamboo Parquet Flooring Maintenance

Avoid allowing the flooring prolonged contact with water and do not use harsh chemicals for cleaning. Do not use any type of abrasives when cleaning. Warm water mixed with a little vinegar is often recommended. It's also a good idea to lay floor mats or rugs in high-traffic areas. Some bamboo parquet flooring comes with 10 or 25-year warranties. Essentially, the longer the warranty, the more coats of laminate have been applied. Lastly, if you decide to lay the flooring yourself, allow the flooring to acclimate to the room it will be laid for at least 72 hours.


Since bamboo parquet flooring is still relatively new on the market, not all of the kinks have been worked out yet. But so far, it appears to be an environmentally friendly option - or at least more so than hardwood floors.

If you're not settled on bamboo parquet flooring, consider other options like hardwood, cork or tile.

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