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Bamboo Glossary of Terms
3-Ply construction
A type of construction comprised of three laminated layers for a horizontal cut panel or floor board
Aluminum oxide
A chemical compound in the finish which is known as alumina. This is particles of aluminum oxide are added to a urethane finish on the flooring boards for increased abrasion resistance.
ASTM International
ASTM International is one of the largest voluntary standards developing organizations in the world for all types of products. ASTM is a not-for-profit organization that provides a venue for the development and publication of voluntary standards for materials, products, systems, and services. ASTM's members are representing producers, users, consumers, government, and academia from over 100 countries and developing technical documents that are a basis for manufacturing, management, procurement, codes, and regulations.
ASTM D1037
ASTM1037-99 Standard Test Methods for Evaluating the Properties of Wood-Based Fiber and Particle Panel Materials.
Auto-clave
Essentially a pressure cooker; a strong, pressurized, steam-heated vessel where bamboo slats are carbonized or browned.
Bamboo Blank
Bamboo slats laminated into a large block or beam from which Higuera Hardwoods bamboo products are produced.
Carbonizing
The process of pressure heating bamboo slats to "brown" the sugar compounds naturally present in the plant, yielding the warm, carbonizing coloring without use of any stains or dyes.
Cross-Laminated or Cross-Ply
A method of bamboo products construction in which a bamboo core is placed perpendicular to solid-bamboo top and bottom layers for extra stability. This process is used in Higuera Hardwoods high quality Bamboo wide plank engineered flooring and our Bamboo Plywood.
Culm
The main stem or stalk of the bamboo plant that is seen above the ground. Also referred to as a "pole." The main stem or root that grows below ground is the "rhizome."
Horizontal grain
Type of construction in which bamboo slats are laminated face up to form a three-ply solid bamboo plank with no internal voids. The look is one of long slats subtly broken by a pattern of nodes that are about 1' wide
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
A non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests lands. The FSC has identified bamboo products as "Non-Timber Forest Products" and considers these products outside its scope of interest. Therefore, no bamboo product receives FSC certification.
Formaldehyde
The chemical formaldehyde is a volatile organic compound (VOC) that is naturally present at low levels indoors and out, usually at less than 0.03 ppm (parts per million). Used in many common household products and building materials, it helps make manufacturing adhesives durable. Formaldehyde can cause some irritation to humans and at very high levels of exposure has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals.
Green Building Rating System™
LEED's
IEQ
Indoor environmental quality, encompassing air quality, ventilation, thermal comfort, lighting and noise. Also IAQ, Indoor Air Quality.
IEQ Credit 4.4
The indoor air quality credit that is part of the LEED® Green Building Rating System™. IEQ Credit 4.4 covers low-emitting materials, including formaldehyde. Currently, this credit provides acceptable levels of formaldehyde emissions, but also qualifies as to type of formaldehyde. For example, urea formaldehyde does not qualify, but phenol formaldehyde does qualify.
Janka Ball Hardness Test
A standardized test used to indicate hardness of wood flooring by measuring the force required to embed in the wood a .444-inch steel ball to a depth of half the ball's diameter.
The knuckles of the bamboo plant between the hollow sections of the stalk. See node.
Lamination
The bonding of the wood slats together with adhesives. All of Higuera Hardwoods products this means to bond together several layers of bamboo slats under extreme pressure with the best durable, environmentally safe adhesive to form hardwood "blanks" from which flooring, stair parts, trim, panels, veneer are constructed, milled and/or bonded together layers of "raw blank" material with cores and/or substrates.
LEED®
LEED Green Building Rating System™ or LEED credits
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, is the national standard by which green building is judged. Buildings are awarded LEED certification by earning credits for performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Low emitting an/or low off-gassing
Describes materials which are like volatile organic compounds that emit give off or off gas chemicals at lower-than-normal levels.
Milling
Cutting and shaping manufactured products.
MR Credit 6
LEED MR Credit 6: Rapidly Renewable Materials is a credit that can be earned toward LEED certification within the Green Building Rating System of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Natural Color
The Higuera Hardwoods natural color of bamboo-a light blond.
Node
The joint between hollow sections of a bamboo culm. Comprised of a rigid membrane that spans the culm where branches and buds are found, the nodes reinforce the stalk without adding weight so the culm remains flexible and strong.
Off-gas and/or off-gassing
The process by which chemical compounds such as (VOCs) such as formaldehyde vaporize and enter the atmosphere.
Phenol formaldehyde
A thermosetting resin used to make molded products and is also a coatings and adhesives product. This material does not break down as easily as urea-based adhesives, so it releases less formaldehyde. Under the LEED Green Building Rating System, products made with phenol formaldehyde manufacturing adhesives can qualify for IEQ Credit 4.4: Low-Emitting Materials.
Phyllostachys pubescens
The botanical name used for Moso bamboo.
Rapidly renewable resource
Describes a natural grown resource that rejuvenates itself by natural processes very rapidly. The bamboo plant is considered rapidly renewable because when harvested sustainably the plant re-grows from the same root stalk, maturing in just a few years. In comparison oak trees or cherry trees take decades or even century's to grow and can be harvested only once.
Rhizome
This is the woody jointed stem or root of the bamboo plant that grows underground. Rhizomes of hardy "running" bamboo grow just below the surface of the soil and spread quickly. The tip of a running rhizome grows alternatively with shooting, often more than 30 feet in a single year.
Slat or Strips
The long, thin, narrow section of bamboo that is cut from the culm and milled to appropriate dimensions. They are then laminated into "blanks" that are used to construct bamboo flooring, plywood/panels, veneer and mouldings.
Solid Strip
The solid piece which is cut from the bamboo culm that are then laminated to form blanks from which flooring, mouldings and plywood/panels are made.
Sustainability, sustainable
A process is sustainable if it can be repeated again and again without negative environmental impact. For an industry like bamboo, it means harvesting materials so as to ensure the health of the plant for the future. For bamboo growers this also means being treated fairly and paid prices that sustain their families properly. Issues of sustainability impact every aspect of a business from raw materials to manufacturing and shipping to proximity of labor force to factories.
Tongue-and-Groove
A method of assembling flooring together edge to edge. Each piece has a slot (groove) cut all along one edge and a thin deep ridge (tongue) on the opposite edge so the pieces fit together properly.
Urea formaldehyde
Urea formaldehyde is a clear, thermosetting resin made from urea and formaldehyde which is then heated in the presence of a mild base material such as ammonia. When is applied in adhesives, urea formaldehyde has high tensile strength, flexibility, low water absorption and a much higher surface hardness. Urea formaldehyde is used in interior plywood. Urea-formaldehyde manufacturing adhesives, even those that off-gas at levels far below national and international standards, do not qualify for IEQ 4.4: Low-Emitting Materials under the LEED Green Building Rating System.
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
A coalition of building-industry leaders working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible and profitable, as well as being healthy places to live and work. USGBC's purpose is to improve the quality of life by transforming the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated with regard to environmental and social responsibility, healthfulness and prosperity.
Vertical grain
Type of construction in which the bamboo strips are laminated Vertically with edges exposed as the wear surface to form a solid bamboo plank with no internal voids. Vertical grain bamboo has minimal pattern, with no visible nodes and tends to be slightly harder the horizontal cut.
VOC or VOCs
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemical compounds that under normal conditions significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere. Organic chemicals are widely used as ingredients in household products. Some of these chemicals have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently much higher indoors than outdoors.
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