At a basic level, building housing is inherently not beneficial to the environment. We dig up raw land disrupting the natural environment, change the established drainage patterns, use concrete- the manufacture of which creates tons of greenhouse gasses, use foam created from petroleum and toxic chemicals, wood which may be sustainably harvested or not (by petroleum using machinery made from steel which is made from minerals which are unsustainably mined and turned into steel in a process which uses enormous amounts of energy).... And thats just for the framing. Maybe straw bale houses built on unmortared rock foundations with tamped earth floors can truly be called "green", but for 99.9% of buildings we build there are compromises. The big advantage of bamboo flooring is that its made from grass, but to that grass we add chemicals, just as we do to most of the other flooring we use.

I decided a few years ago that to me, the "green" movement meant building houses that are far more comfortable and use far less fuel than what I and most other builders have been building. More foam, more cellulose, thicker SIPS and better air sealing. Arguments over whether bamboo or ceramic tile or Marmoleum are "greener" than oak or pine simply add confusion and distraction to the discussion, AND they will be replaced long before the insulation is upgraded. Pay attention to the envelope; that wil make a far bigger impact on the planet than the surface you are walking on.
Bob Irving

Bob Irving,
Three cheers for a little common sense.

Bob, I dont think it adds confusion or distration if you know what the goals are. Its one tiny step amonst thousands but they add up.

Jonr, think locally milled hardwood in relation to the buildsite, I'm sorry I don't have any data for that, but I think you should be fine to leave it at that.

Posted By jonr on 23 Feb 2010 08:25 AM
Do you have data for that (as compared to other flooring)?

when you need to replace the bamboo flooring shipped from china twice,  its' going to leave a big carbon footprint that is only eclipsed by the ulcer it left  me

Chris,
What is that half round built-in in your pictures?

Greentree;

That is a Danish made EPA approoved wood burning fireplace, it has a curved glass door that slides up, when down, it is gasketed and relies on outside air for combustion, the owner heats his whole 3000 sq. ft. house with it

What's interesting about Chris's experience is the comment that it probably had little or nothing to do with the bamboo flooring and would have occurred with wood flooring. Ie, bad installation.

This theory is easy to test.

Chris,

I think you the proverbial nail on the head with the revelation about the glue.  Absolutely!  That's the source of the moisture.  Consider if they used a 1/4" X 1/4" notched trowel.  Spread smooth that would be 1/8" layer.  If the glue is 50% water that's a 1/16" layer of water under the entire floor!  That's a bunch of water!! and the membrane will keep it from going anywhere else but up into the bamboo..  A non-waterbased glue would have been far better.

 

I'd want flooring installers who understand autoclaved aerated concrete and its cellular structure. According to Xella USA, the North American arm of AAC global leader Hebel, blocks and planks come out of the autoclave (pressurized steam oven) with a 30 percent moisture content, dry quickly to 18 percent but continue to dry for up a year to a stable level of 4 percent to 8 percent. Xella recommends running dehumidifiers initially in super tight houses, using furring strips to add wallboard or paneling and avoidng vapor barriers, even vinyl wallpaper. It points builders to approved suppliers of mortar, stucco, plaster, waterproofing and floor coatings. http://www.xella-usa.com/downloads/us/manual/Section_4_-_Architectural_Design_Web.pdf

On the plus side, buffs claim AAC improves comfort by buffering humidity as well as heat.

LarryT;

Yes it is a lot of water by guess is that a different adhesive would have worked, or a flooring that was sealed on the back side so that the moisture would dry out thru joints

I'm not sure I'd trust even a floating wood floor (bamboo has been picked on enough :-)) over a waterproof surface. When a water spill occurs, you can mop and dry up the top surface, but the water soaking the bottom half will sit there for a long time.

This is really what i was looking for, i am going to renovate my home and looking for some ideas, i hope these advantages will be good for me, i am going to try them.

Chris, do you know if the bamboo flooring was laminated (usually 3 distinct layers) or solid? I've seen both and I could imagine that the former could cause worse cupping if the bamboo layers weren't exactly matched.

I did a test - I kept the bottom half of 3 flooring samples wet for a couple days. Results so far -

solid bamboo - no change
3 layer laminated bamboo - cupped
laminated wood flooring, hardwood top layer - ruined (surface bubbled)

from previous experience, solid oak flooring discolors severely when it gets wet.

So I'd lean towards solid bamboo being the best "wood" flooring if it might get damp (ok, other than solid ipe, teak, etc).

I agree - the sample that I called "solid bamboo" is labeled strand woven solid bamboo.

Good to know. And the specifications seem to back up the claims that that type is harder than regular wood flooring This type just moved to the top of my list. The style where they mix natural (light) and caramelized (dark) have a rather striking appearance.

I let the samples dry and did finally get some cupping of the solid bamboo. No surprise though that wood or bamboo aren't good choices for really wet areas.

That sounds like it was an absolute nightmare for you cmkavala! I'm wondering if they screwed up somehow in the installation of it because Bamboo flooring seems to work fine for most people. If you look at this site that sells bamboo flooring it looks absolutely beautiful and I don't believe that they are ripping out these people's floors three days after the pictures where taken. I don't know what happened in your case but maybe you were sold an inferior product. Sorry for you ordeal though!