Teragren Synergy Bamboo Flooring

... Green Flooring with Substance and Style

There have been a lot of factors that have lead to bamboo becoming such a popular choice for flooring. Paramount among them is the fact that bamboo is a sustainable and green product. One misconception about environmentally sound products is that you have to give something up in the ways of design, style or quality. This couldn’t be any further from the truth than with Teragren Synergy bamboo flooring. It is a high quality green product which will instantly add value to your home once installed. But before I go into a more in-depth overview of Teragren’s high quality bamboo flooring, I want to take a look at some basic facts about bamboo.

Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world and is actually classified as a grass. It grows so quickly that it is usually ready to harvest in just three to six years. Bamboo’s maximal height is usually reached in one growing season and from there the culm of the plant—or the stem, undergoes a hardening process. This hardening process is important as it applies to hardwood flooring. You have to be careful to avoid low quality bamboo. Turning bamboo into flooring involves the use of adhesives which contain volatile organic compounds. VOCs reduce air quality and can prove to be a hazard to you and your family. Lower quality bamboo is usually harvested prematurely and before this hardening process can be completed. In order to try and make up for this lack of hardness an excessive amount of adhesives are used. The increased amount of adhesives doesn’t make up for harvesting the bamboo early however, but what it does do is make the bamboo more hazardous. Formaldehyde is the most common adhesive used in the production of bamboo flooring. It is a VOC that has time and again proved itself to be harmful to humans and the environment when utilized in large amounts. It is only supposed to be used in smaller, monitored amounts--especially whenever used indoors. High levels of formaldehyde can cause difficulties in breathing, headaches, eye irritation and the aggravation of existing breathing ailments. It has also been known to cause breathing illnesses and is considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only way in which bamboo can be used and sold without fulfilling its promise of being safe and eco-friendly.

As I mentioned earlier, bamboo is considered a green and renewable resource because of how fast it grows. But this does not mean that it cannot be over harvested. Bamboo is an important and crucial part of many animals’ habitats. This is especially true of Pandas who live on a diet primarily consisting of bamboo. You should only buy bamboo from companies that use ethical harvesting practices and gather their bamboo from regulated plantations so as to not disturb any habitats. The reason why I wanted to look at Teragren’s Synergy Bamboo flooring line is because they meet all of these ethical and health conscious standards, while at the same time producing amazing flooring.

Teragren's Synergy strand bamboo flooring is produced through a process which fuses bamboo fibers with an environmentally safe adhesive that emits low levels of formaldehyde. The process utilizes extreme pressure and produces sturdy, high-density sheets of bamboo. These sheets of bamboo are cut and formed into flooring planks. Their manufacturing process makes their bamboo flooring 154 percent harder than red oak. A lot of bamboo flooring is on the softer side as far as flooring goes, but Teragren’s Synergy strand bamboo is perfect for high traffic areas and can even be used in commercial settings. All of their floors qualify for LEED credits which is something that cannot be said by all bamboo floors. Due to their use of adhesives with lower levels of formaldehyde, their flooring also meets rigorous standards in regards to air quality—unlike the low quality bamboo floors which I discussed earlier. Also, adding to the flooring’s hardness is the fact that it is coated with aluminum oxide which is often used as a less expensive stand-in for industrial diamond. Teragren’s Synergy Bamboo flooring is available in four distinct and alluring colors. You can view this bamboo flooring line as well as other Teragren products in our bamboo flooring section.

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