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How fast does a bamboo plant grow?
How can a flat bamboo product be made from the round and hollow bamboo stem?
Are bamboo forests cut down for the production of bamboo products?
Is the panda bear threatened by the production of bamboo products?
Is bamboo flooring just as hard and durable as other kinds of flooring?
Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth. The MOSO bamboo species needs 5 years to grow to adult height and to be hard enough to be processed. Within a few months new shoots will have already grown to a height of 12 to 15 metres!
In short, the stems are split into various strips that are skinned and planed to acquire rectangular straight strips. These strips can be processed in various ways for different colours and are then pressed together to make a bamboo flooring board.
Actually, the cutting of the bamboo is the most important ecological argument that makes bamboo so unique. Every single year the mother plant develops many new bamboo stems that grow to their full length up to 20 meters in only a few months. From there it takes the stem about 5 years to gain the required hardness for use in durable products. In a well-managed, mature bamboo plantation the 5 year old stems can therefore be harvested every year, while keeping the size of the forest intact. For more information about the eco-friendliness of MOSO® bamboo products please go to the sustainability section of this site.
Not at all. One should understand that the panda bears (both the small panda and the giant panda) live in the mountainous areas in the centre of China where they mainly use the lower species of bamboo as the main food source. Thus they live far away from the areas where the giant Moso bamboo species, used to produce bamboo products, grows. Furthermore, the Moso bamboo species is not even recognised as food by the panda bears. So the production of MOSO® bamboo products offers absolutely no danger to the panda!
Absolutely. Regular plain pressed or side pressed bamboo flooring is even a bit harder than Oak, so the floor will last a very long time. The compressed High Density® version is even harder than the hardest tropical hardwood species and is therefore even applied in high traffic areas in commercial projects. Furthermore, all MOSO® bamboo flooring has a very thick top layer, which means that if wanted the floor may be sanded several times over time.
Strand woven bamboo is a special type of bamboo technology in which rough bamboo strips are compressed under high pressure to create a product with a hardness superior to tropical hardwood species. Strand woven bamboo products have an elegant random line pattern which is appreciated by many customers. MOSO® uses the term “High Density®” for its strand woven bamboo products.
In essence, all commonly used wood treatment products can also be used for bamboo. The choice for a certain finish (oil, lacquer, wax, etc) for a bamboo product is mainly determined by the demands that consumers have with respect of hardness, gloss, colour and maintenance.
