A bamboo counter top leads to a tropical and Asian touch to your kitchen counter top design. It not only looks exotic, but is a hard wearing, strong and very effective to spills and knocks.

All about the Long Lasting Strength of Bamboo

Bamboo is very strong because it is different than other woods, due to it having every strand perfectly straight. It is the only tree, which grows absolutely straight. It has no knots like you would find in a normal tree. It is a very light material which does not shrink and expand as much as standard wood.

It is possible to make a solid green bamboo counter top with bamboo structural planks or even unfinished bamboo flooring planks. It is an enjoyable job which can create a quality exclusive design for your kitchen.

An Easy Job for Most Handymen

Make the counter at least 2 inches thick. It gives a strong and modern, long wearing look, design and feel, compared to the bamboo planks with nosing edges. These have been used in the past and have not been as durable.

Make the counter top on site and then do the small amount of sanding required. Due to the form of bamboo, these are easily completed tasks with only take a small amount of time. It can the be finished with regular urethane or epoxy resin.

Bamboo is a good choice for durable counter top surfaces, because it is harder than other hardwoods available and has a more distinctive finish.

The thick stable long lasting sheets of bamboo have a style all of there own and are a great alternative to standard design wood counter tops.

Bamboo Counters, which are hard wearing still should not be used as a cutting service as it will mark the outside of strong bands in the make up of the word. Bamboo cutting boards, (or even just your standard chopping boards) Should be put on the countertops, which use special food grade quality glues that wont taint the food.

Different Styles

There are various styles and grades available of the bamboo counter top.

1. The sheets - Most sheets used in this type of construction have a thickness of two inches. They have cross-band laminates and most companies find that this is the best way to glue bamboo.

This method the sheet is kept both flat and true and it reduces the tendency to twist or any changes in the wood.

2. Vertical solid amber bamboo plywood. This method uses a service, which is doubled up on the edges to make it up to 1 1/2 inches thick. For the top you can use a water based acrylic to coat the top.

The vertical solid bamboo plywood is used here because it resembles solid wood and is an environment friendly choice for counter tops.

The grain of the bamboo is important, and it can be standard or parquet. Parquetry is a geometric design of wood pieces used for decorative effect.

The unfinished sheets are spliced together with suitable glue for kitchen surfaces. The final covering would be best done with mineral or walnut oil and the sealing is done with bee's wax in order to maintain the bamboo counter top. Both the flat grain and the vertical grain are available in the smaller sizes, whereas the caramelized parquet end grain is available in larger sizes.

A Bamboo Counter Top can show your originality of design and style that no one else will have. It's a great way to build value into your home as well as being functionally and cool!