Go Green With Bamboo Countertops
The recent trend in homebuilding, which encourages eco-friendly designs, paved the way for green products like
bamboo to be integrated in various home fixtures and furniture.
You can find finished bamboo in the walls, floorings and cabinets in today’s homes. People are now using bamboo
beddings, place mats, and fabrics. It is also now gaining popularity as countertops. If you are a homeowner
who likes to go green and is tired of the traditional look of a stone or laminated countertop, you might want to
use bamboo as your environment-friendly alternative.
Although not as hard as the traditional granite, bamboo is equally tough. It is also durable like other
hardwoods and is even harder than some of them. This is one reason why you can use it for countertops and not worry
about their durability. One advantage of bamboo countertops is that you can re-sand and re-seal it
if it looks worn out, and it’s as if you installed a brand new countertop. Its grain is very attractive and it
blends well with other woods, stones and tiles. It will make your countertop stand out because of its unique
look.
On top of all of this, bamboo costs only around $30 to $40 per square foot. It is a very affordable resource
because of its rapid growth, making it a very good alternative to traditional wood products. We all know that trees
grow slowly, but bamboo can grow up to 60 feet in just three to five years. In addition, it doesn’t need
replanting because it has extensive root system that send up new shoots to replenish itself.
For bamboo countertops, there are two styles that you can choose from. Your preference will determine the type
of countertop that you will install. One type is actually in the form of laminate. These are bamboo planks made of
strips of bamboo that are glued together. The planks are then glued together with non-toxic adhesive. These planks
are cut into shape according to the countertop design. You need to seal the countertop after its installation to
protect its finish.
Another method of manufacturing bamboo countertops is the end-grain style. Like the plank method, the tops of
the rectangular pieces of the end-grain are glued together. After the desired measurement is achieved, all of these
pieces are glued together and the whole surface is sealed. The resulting countertop will have a very unique look
that is only possible because of the way bamboo looks.
You can easily maintain the striking appearance of the bamboo countertop by just using warm water and a mild
soap to clean it. Or you can mix one quart of vinegar and the same amount of warm water. Put the mixture into a
small sprayer and you can spray it daily to keep the bamboo surface clean. Like any surface made of wood, bamboo
can get scratched, burned and soaked by water. Therefore you need to be careful in setting hot pans on top of them,
so that the surface won’t get scorched. If you find scratches on the surface, just have it re-sanded and re-sealed
to restore its shiny finish.
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