The
harvested bamboo stalk is hollow with a hard outer wall. Long rectangular
strips are cut from the wall and are boiled to remove sugars and kill any
insects. The strips that pass a final visual quality control inspection will
be used to construct bamboo flooring or paneling. Our manufacturer harvests
from selected areas that provide the best quality bamboo strips.
The quality of strips is of the utmost importance since bamboo flooring is
an assembled product consisting of approximately 15 strips for the
horizontal construction and about 19 strips for the vertical construction.
This is one of bamboo’s major differences from solid wood flooring.
These bamboo strips are obtained from plants located in the bamboo forests
of Fujian province, China. There, the bamboo log is split into the rough
strips and then processed into semi-finished strips or rough boards. Quality
control methods are used at these plants to deliver strips meeting stringent
requirements.
Strips are initially inspected for quality and separated into class A or
class B strips. Only class A strips are used for our flooring. B quality
strips are sold at a discount to less demanding manufacturers. A major
reason for the lower prices offered by some manufacturers and/or importers
is their use of B quality strips.
Some of the strips are immediately steamed under pressure. This process,
known as carbonization, changes the color throughout the strip from a
blonde, yellow color to a brown, coffee color. Typically, carbonization
occurs further down the production process.
All strips not carbonized at this point must be boiled in treated water to
remove the sugar and kill any pests. This process should be completed within
10 days of stripping the log’s outer skin. If this is not completed within
10 days, the strips will begin to rot.
The boiling process weakens the strips by approximately 8%. After boiling or
carbonizing, the strips are milled to a uniform size then kiln dried for
three days. This reduces the moisture content of the strips 8-10%. The
strips are now milled to a final width and thickness to prepare them for
assembly into the finished boards.
The final phase of bamboo flooring production begins with the gluing
process. Most Chinese made glue is high in formaldehyde. Even thought if the
Chinese Domestic glue does meet the E-1 Standard but most of the time its
lifetime is shorter and strength is less than European (E-1) glue. However,
our manufacturers require the use of a high quality, European (E-1) glue
that exceeds most indoor air quality requirements for formaldehyde emission.
Our bamboo, when tested in a climate chamber according to ENV 717-1, 1998,
Part 1, Annex A3, emits only 0.0127 parts per million of formaldehyde.
Therefore stock is a formaldehyde-free, PREMIUM quality product in addition
to low formaldehyde bamboo flooring.
During the production process, glued strips are assembled face up for
horizontal flooring and side by side for the vertical construction. This is
followed by hot pressing, where heat and pressure of up to 1,200 tons PSI
binds the strips together.
A major quality consideration is the molding operation where the side and
end tongue and grooves are milled to exacting tolerances that assures
uniform straight edges. The multi-step German molding machine is unique to
our manufacturer and performs all milling functions in one pass. The
diamond-tipped cutting tools assure close tolerance over long production
runs. Tolerances are guaranteed as follows:
Width: +/- 0.1 mm, Length: +/- 1mm, Thickness: +/- 0.1 mm
Supplies include both
square edged, unfinished flooring and micro-beveled, prefinished flooring.
Our manufacturer has two fully equipped finishing lines that apply 6 coats
of Treffert’s High Performance Coating (HPC). This finish consists of micro-
or nano-particle modified acrylate urethane resins that combine extreme
hardness with high mechanical resistance to scratch, impact and abrasion.
The boards are finely sanded during the finishing process with a high
precision sanding machine. The sanding eliminates air pockets or pinholes
from the final product and also guarantees the high adhesiveness of the
urethane. Treffert, an internationally known European finish manufacturer,
guarantees the finish for 15 years in a residential setting and 5 years for
commercial use. These planks can be easily re-finished as the anti-abrasion
alumina oxide particles are only added in the 2nd step of the finishing
process. |
