What are the chances of bamboo in a showdown with composite wood and hardwood?
How does bamboo decking to composite and hardwood?
First, let’s talk about the short and sweet six-footer!
Bamboo is only six feet long and has grooves on the end of the boards, which means it works great on the jobsite!
All you have to do is spread the planks out quickly and put them up one by one like building blocks, because the wood is strong enough to fit securely between the joists at both ends. This way, you waste much less material! And it saves a lot of time planning board layouts and cutting!
Without all the messy lengths, you’ll avoid wasting materials and money!
Hardwoods, on the other hand, come in different lengths, so you’ll have to work hard to organize them. And this guy is heavy and difficult to use, it really gives people a headache. As for the laminate, although the length of uniform, but also heavyweight players.
With hardwood and laminate flooring, you’re always wasting 10-15% of the material. The cost of materials per foot naturally goes up. That’s something to keep in mind!
Let’s compare costs again!
Quality outer layer bamboo is about the same as Ipe, but is usually that much cheaper than 5/4 inch fluted Ipe, costing roughly $4.40 to $4.90 per foot. So, you can buy some bamboo for around $4.50, or even $3.99 per foot if you buy in bulk!
Of course, the actual cost may vary, depending on how much material is wasted!
When sizing your deck, you’ll want to plan to maximize material utilization to better match the standard lengths of hardwoods or composites that come in different lengths.
All of these methods are quite practical, except that they require more time and effort to be put into careful scheduling in order to minimize waste.
However, when you can go up with bamboo planks piece by piece, no matter where the joists are, the amount of wasted material is greatly reduced. This is because the end of the board that is cut off can still come in handy as a starting point for the next round of boards, thus minimizing the waste of material.
So, what are the climatic conditions like in your area?
You’d have to seal the edges of each piece with wax, for example, and brush the surface of the bamboo with a protective coating, while leaving enough ventilation space under each bamboo to keep the deck boards functioning properly.
I’ve heard that this stuff is doing quite well in places like Michigan and Ontario, so let’s hope time proves it’s all true!
Honestly, this thing does look pretty eye catching.
Fusing bamboo has become a new and trendy option these days.
This is brand new stuff ……
I remember when I first started writing this article, there was only one business in North America that supplied long strand bamboo. Unfortunately, they seem to have disappeared now. That said, you can definitely tell that I was both reserved and excited about bamboo as a potential decorative material.
Well, now I’ve finally found someone who can bring bamboo back to North America. At first glance, the idea sounds pretty good.
This new type of bamboo is called fused bamboo and is composed primarily of nearly 90% bamboo and the remaining 10% is a phenolic bonding resin. With a thickness of 3/4 inch, a width of 5-3/8 inches, a length of 6 feet, and matching mortise and tenon grooves on the ends that allow them to be tightly joined together in a way that is both beautiful and strong, it really looks like it’s worth looking into a little deeper.
I have a couple other things to add about the bamboo:
First, this thing has a very modern look, yet still maintains 100% natural properties and is exceptionally eco-friendly – it just hasn’t been fully proven yet.
Second, it’s important to remember that each board is made of long solid strands or tiny braided parts held together by a mixture of chemical glues and adhesives.
Finally, the overall stability of the board is dependent on the quality of the glue – it is required to never deteriorate, never fail, and to be able to withstand all kinds of harsh weather and stay with us year after year. Without knowing the history, I personally think it’s a good idea to think of it as an emerging experimental material.
If you decide to use it, it is advisable to seal all six sides with wax every once in a while, perhaps once a year. You can also oil it to keep it pliable and healthy, and then youcan use it with confidence!
