Bamboo Countertops - An Eco-Friendly Choice
by David W Lambert
If you are shopping around for a number of notable eco-friendly countertops, you ought to consider going green with bamboo countertops. There are many great aspects associated with bamboo and we will review them here.
What Makes Bamboo Countertops Green? For several reasons, bamboo has emerged as a fantastic green product. As well as bedding and clothing fabrics, bamboo has been used in the building industry to produce countertops, cabinets, flooring and furniture, among other things.
It's green as it is extremely renewable. Some varieties used for building products, grow up to a foot every day! There is no tree that comes anywhere close to that, and because of this, it is much more eco-friendly to use than traditional wood products.
Durability Characteristics of Bamboo: Contrary to what many people believe, bamboo is a extremely long-lasting material. It is equal to the durability of many hardwoods and is even harder than some other hardwoods.
With these strength characteristics, you can expect that your bamboo countertops will have a very long life cycle. Products that last longer are far more eco-friendly than those that need to be replaced within a few years.
Recyclable Characteristics of Bamboo: Another eco-friendly attribute of bamboo is that it is recyclable. Products that are recycled and prevented from being thrown into the landfills, such as bamboo, are considered much greener than other materials.
The Construction of Bamboo Countertops: Countertops created from bamboo are manufactured in a few distinctive ways. Which one you will ultimately decide on will depend predominately on your personal preference.
Bamboo countertops manufactured from bamboo laminate is the initial type you can select. About the most common manufacturer of this type of bamboo countertop is All Totally Bamboo. Multilam cross-brand laminates are used to create this eco-friendly product.
Planks are made up of small strips of bamboo that are glued together. Upon completion of these planks, non-toxic adhesive is used to assemble the product to produce the final laminate. Most often these countertops are delivered to the job-site in an unfinished state and will need a finish sealer applied as the final step. Be sure to keep your bamboo countertops eco-friendly by utilizing a low VOC sealer.
End Grain Bamboo Countertops: You may also be interested in end-grain bamboo countertops. As with the plank method above, they are glued together. The countertops are produced from rectangular pieces of end-grain bamboo. After these pieces of bamboo are glued together, there is a sealer applied to finish the countertop.
Bamboo Countertop Cost: The cost of bamboo is relatively inexpensive when compared to that of granite or solid surface countertops. The plank-type counters start at about $35 psf uninstalled, and the end-grain types of counters cost right around $22 psf, again uninstalled. This is a job for the professional countertop installer and you ought to only attempt this job if you are extremely handy. Because specialized cuts need to be made, it's a job that's commonly left to professionals.
Care of Bamboo Countertops: Care of Bamboo is remarkably simple. To clean them, just use a mixture of mild soap in warm water. Be careful not to place hot items on the counters as this will harm the finish on the bamboo countertops. Because bamboo is basically a wood product, you should avoid cutting directly on the counter surface. Both the finish and the counter surface can be damage with knives.
Because of it's green properties bamboo is an easy product to love and the reasonable cost makes it even more attractive as a countertop option. Bamboo is a beautiful and a cost-effective substitute to traditional wood and the more expensive composite counters.
LEED Certification: Bamboo Countertops Can Qualify For LEED Credits. Bamboo Countertops can contribute to certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Rating System MR Credit 6: Rapidly Renewable Materials. They additionally may qualify under LEED EQ Credit 4.4.
If you wish to learn more about Bamboo Countertops, visit our article Bamboo Countertops. You can get even more information at the site Susatainable Bamboo Countertops.
If you are shopping around for a number of notable eco-friendly countertops, you ought to consider going green with bamboo countertops. There are many great aspects associated with bamboo and we will review them here.
What Makes Bamboo Countertops Green? For several reasons, bamboo has emerged as a fantastic green product. As well as bedding and clothing fabrics, bamboo has been used in the building industry to produce countertops, cabinets, flooring and furniture, among other things.
It's green as it is extremely renewable. Some varieties used for building products, grow up to a foot every day! There is no tree that comes anywhere close to that, and because of this, it is much more eco-friendly to use than traditional wood products.
Durability Characteristics of Bamboo: Contrary to what many people believe, bamboo is a extremely long-lasting material. It is equal to the durability of many hardwoods and is even harder than some other hardwoods.
With these strength characteristics, you can expect that your bamboo countertops will have a very long life cycle. Products that last longer are far more eco-friendly than those that need to be replaced within a few years.
Recyclable Characteristics of Bamboo: Another eco-friendly attribute of bamboo is that it is recyclable. Products that are recycled and prevented from being thrown into the landfills, such as bamboo, are considered much greener than other materials.
The Construction of Bamboo Countertops: Countertops created from bamboo are manufactured in a few distinctive ways. Which one you will ultimately decide on will depend predominately on your personal preference.
Bamboo countertops manufactured from bamboo laminate is the initial type you can select. About the most common manufacturer of this type of bamboo countertop is All Totally Bamboo. Multilam cross-brand laminates are used to create this eco-friendly product.
Planks are made up of small strips of bamboo that are glued together. Upon completion of these planks, non-toxic adhesive is used to assemble the product to produce the final laminate. Most often these countertops are delivered to the job-site in an unfinished state and will need a finish sealer applied as the final step. Be sure to keep your bamboo countertops eco-friendly by utilizing a low VOC sealer.
End Grain Bamboo Countertops: You may also be interested in end-grain bamboo countertops. As with the plank method above, they are glued together. The countertops are produced from rectangular pieces of end-grain bamboo. After these pieces of bamboo are glued together, there is a sealer applied to finish the countertop.
Bamboo Countertop Cost: The cost of bamboo is relatively inexpensive when compared to that of granite or solid surface countertops. The plank-type counters start at about $35 psf uninstalled, and the end-grain types of counters cost right around $22 psf, again uninstalled. This is a job for the professional countertop installer and you ought to only attempt this job if you are extremely handy. Because specialized cuts need to be made, it's a job that's commonly left to professionals.
Care of Bamboo Countertops: Care of Bamboo is remarkably simple. To clean them, just use a mixture of mild soap in warm water. Be careful not to place hot items on the counters as this will harm the finish on the bamboo countertops. Because bamboo is basically a wood product, you should avoid cutting directly on the counter surface. Both the finish and the counter surface can be damage with knives.
Because of it's green properties bamboo is an easy product to love and the reasonable cost makes it even more attractive as a countertop option. Bamboo is a beautiful and a cost-effective substitute to traditional wood and the more expensive composite counters.
LEED Certification: Bamboo Countertops Can Qualify For LEED Credits. Bamboo Countertops can contribute to certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Rating System MR Credit 6: Rapidly Renewable Materials. They additionally may qualify under LEED EQ Credit 4.4.
If you wish to learn more about Bamboo Countertops, visit our article Bamboo Countertops. You can get even more information at the site Susatainable Bamboo Countertops.