Lots About Countertops

COUNTERTOPS FROM BAMBOO

Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

The Bamboo Counter Top is Friendly to the Environment

Regrettably, the world’s supply of hardwood is very depleted. Bamboo, on the other hand, is a beautiful wood, is remarkably durable, and is a viable countertop alternative. Factually speaking, Bamboo isn’t a wood at all; its actually a form of grass. Installing a bamboo counter top provides a tropical look and an exotic character to your kitchen. Beyond the fact that its exotic and attractive decor, the wood is practical, very hard, strong and a stable building material.

How Strong is Bamboo?

The principle foundation underlying bamboo’s strength is the perfectly straight strand of the grain. It is the only growth on the planet that is absolutely straight. Bamboo grows without any branches and therefore developes no knots. Bamboo is a very light material, but its make-up is very stable. Unlike wood, bamboo does not expand or contract nearly as much.

Anyone can make a kitchen countertop out of green Bamboo plankings or, as another option, you can use unfinished bamboo flooring planks. Not only is bamboo a beautiful addition to your home, its great to work with and provides a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

You Can Build it!

When you construct the bamboo counter top, make it about two inches think. In contrast, the older bamboo planks with nosing edges were used prior to present time and not thought to be as attractive. The available colors are natural (a shade of green) and the more familiar caramel shade that most of us are familiar with. With this material you can make the countertop at your home, including sanding and finishing, these are fairly straight forward tasks. Whether you prefer normal urethane or epoxy resin products, each will do the job just as well.

Bamboo is hands down a great material for a durable countertop surface. Believe it or not, its even harder than maple. The bamboo sheets are think and stable. They also provide the added benefit of being beautiful, and best of all, are a green option to avoid further depletion of a vital resource. Countertops don’t have to be made from wood and they dont have to break the bank! A word of caution: if you are going to be cutting on a bamboo counter top, you will want to plan ahead to insert a separate cutting board into your design plan.

Several of Bamboo Countertops Available

Styles of bamboo counter tops abound. Generally speaking, the sheets are usually provided in two-inch thickness. The basic construction sheet is made as a laminate, that is to say sheets of bamboo are glued together with their grain running at 90 degree angles from the one underneath. This method is perhaps the best for strength and practicality. Constructing the plank in this manner is both strong and flexible, keeping the plank flat, and reducing warping.

So, a bamboo counter top can then be made from solid vertical bamboo “plywood.” The edges are doubled up to make a more attractive and uniform appearance. Use a water based acrylic to coat the surface. In this instance the bamboo plywood is used as the building material because it is environmentally friendly and has a real wood appearance.

When contemplating a bamboo counter top, give due consideration to the grain as the look of the natural is a departure from that of the parquet: know what you like best. The process of making the sheets is done with a non-toxic adhesive. To finish the wood, walnut or mineral oil is used. The wood sealant used can be bee’s wax. This promotes the beauty of the natural wood. The flat grain and vertical grains can be found in the smaller sizes, and the caramelized parquet end grain is found in the larger sizes.

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