What you really need to know before buying bamboo

Who is doing the company’s buying?
It is important to determine if a company you are looking at is an importer or a manufacturer. An importer will buy from any factory or broker that has the best price that day. The results of the first way of operating is there are no two shipments of products that are alike, and you may never no where to find them again when you have a problem. Some company’s exist only on the internet and have no showroom or account ability, they may offer ‘amazing prices and may be “here today/gone tomorrow”. It is relatively easy to enter the bamboo flooring market. There are many of small or new companies that operate with offshore addresses and are shipping all sorts of products to the U.S. through “trading houses” in Asia. However, the quality and consistency in harvesting, milling, business practices and color will vary widely from company to company and shipment to shipment!!

Higuera Hardwoods does not operate this way.

Bamboo Grading or Rating System
There is no official U.S. or international grading system for bamboo flooring like traditional hardwoods since it is not a hardwood. Other woods will use a known system such as (#1 Common, Select, etc.) so it’s difficult to know what one is really buying. Bamboo flooring and other products may “all look alike” but their products and the companies providing them may not be what you think. Pricing in the market varies from $1.99 to $8.99 per square foot. Why?

There are several key factors other than price to consider when choosing bamboo flooring:

Hardness and softness problems?
Bamboo flooring can be as soft as fir and harder than maple depending on when it is harvested and what specie; there are over 1500 species of bamboo. For instance, our bamboo products average more then 25% harder than red oak and 12% harder than North American maple. The hardness levels are due to our consistent requirements of requiring Moso bamboo species to be harvested only at maturity between 5-1/2 to 6 years. When bamboo is younger or less mature bamboo and it is harvested at 3 years or less it is much less expensive, softer and less stable and we will not touch it!!

What kind of finish is used on the products?
There many varying quality levels of finish coats on bamboo flooring most will only offer from 3 to 6 layers. Most companies will use a polyurethane-only finish which is cheaper and as well as less durable then a finish coating containing aluminum oxide. Higuera Hardwoods finish is a 7-coats aluminum oxide/polyurethane finish from Klumpp Coatings with a 20-year residential finish warranty and 5-year commercial finish warranty.]

What is the Formaldehyde issue about?
What is the formaldehyde level of the adhesive used to laminate the bamboo strips together to form the solid flooring planks? High formaldehyde levels will always remove the bamboo products environmental advantages. Formaldehyde is a well as known as a Cancer causing carcinogen. Higher-formaldehyde adhesives are less expensive than those with lower levels, Higuera Hardwoods bamboo products have formaldehyde levels which are much lower than OSHA USA standards allow and meet or exceed the EU standards. (European Union)

Does all bamboo flooring qualify for LEED® credits?
Not unless the company can provide documentation on the bamboo itself and the binding adhesive used in the manufacturing process. We are currently in the process of obtaining this certification.

How readily available is it?
Many bamboo flooring companies do not maintain inventory in the U.S. and lead times can be anywhere from 3 — 18 weeks. Higuera Hardwoods stocks supplemental inventory our main Washington state distribution facility to be certain our distributor network to be able to fulfill orders in a timely manner.

What coordinating bamboo accessories products are available?
Most retailers often attempt to match products with disappointing results from several different bamboo flooring companies because very few offer complete product lines. Higuera Hardwoods offers not only bamboo flooring but full array of coordinating products, flooring, stair parts, moldings, vents, plywood panels, and veneer.