Bamboo building products

[Smithson]

I've just been looking around net and see that there's heaps of bamboo building products being made. There's even whole houses being built out of the stuff!

Some ppl are touting it as the building product of the 21st due to it's strength and enviro friendliness. Apparently it's stronger than concrete and can be harvested in 3-4 years.

There's lots of nice stuff made out of bamboo over here, but it all starts to detoriate after a few years. In Vietnam it's common for bamboo houses to last 60 years.

Of course the obvious problem is termites and other insects eating it, but with today's technologies I'd think these could be overcome.

Has anybody done any research or even thought about the possibilities for bamboo?

[forreachingme]

I talked about bamboo in one farming thread, here page 7 :

(Does anybody do some farming ??)https://teakdoor.com/farming-and-gardening-in-thailand/20296-does-anybody-do-some-farming-7.html


Very interesting material, said to have a promising future as many new conservation materials are available...

2 big projects just concluded, schools in Sri Lanka and in Indonesia... quite large school buildings...

Bamboo Living Homes - Bamboo Technologies of Maui is good to see

and Bamboo Technologies | Bamboo Living Homes

many infos on the web...

plenty of different things you can do with this stuff...

[Smithson]

Glad to hear someone doesn't think I'm crazy! Going through the info on the web, farming bamboo seemed an idea to me. The variety from Sth America Guadua is widely used.

How about the varieties here? I've got a heap on my block and was looking to build cheaply with it, then I came across all the info. Steel is expensive, timber out of the question and concrete traps too much heat, so I'd be interested in learning more about the possibilities for bamboo, even to just use it in some places.

For Indonesia info this is a good site Environmental Bamboo Foundation, Bali

[Marmite the Dog]

You can get bamboo flooring here quite easily (HomePro). I looked into exporting it once.

[Carnwadrick]

^Maybe to Europe but too late for the US market..but I'm glad it's available in LOS I was thinking about using it for my house when I build, any idea on cost

[Timber]

I've already got bamboo in my room, I want to add cheap accents with it...anywhere in particular to look in bkk?

[Marmite the Dog]

There's a street which specialises in timber products. I think they do bamboo stuff there too. I think they've got it a JJ market as well.

[flash]

You can get bamboo flooring here quite easily (HomePro). I looked into exporting it once.

I have seen that flooring here(B&Q) looks pretty good but says its not good with moisture. do you know much about it?

[BugginOut]

I was reading about a process they are now using in Brazil(?) where they bake/smoke these very large poles of bamboo. What this does is causes the resins to seep out and weatherproof them while making them extremely hard. The heat process also kills any pests inside that would damage them in the future.


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[BugginOut]

Just one more nonsense post...

[BugginOut]

And now the links:

Check these out:

Bamboo Technologies | Bamboo Living Homes
Bamboo Living Homes - Bamboo Homes

And possibly more than you would ever want to know about the largest grass in the world:
Natural Building Colloquium

Have fun!

[Marmite the Dog]

Although bamboo is a grass, it's very similar to wood. You need to seal it like you would a softwood if you are prone to spilling water everywhere. My mate had sheets of split & planed bamboo put into aluminium frames about 1m square for his floor. There's a shop on Silom that did it, but it isn't cheap this way.

There's loads of stuff to be found on Google.

Just remember that if you deal with a Chinese company direct, they'll probably fuck you over as they have no morals. Maybe try on Alibaba.com?

[forreachingme]

in Korat, you can buy one 6 meter pole for 30 thb !

For cheap this material is cheap ! but there are plenty of varieties, to be used for the different uses...

I like as well when my inlaws boil a rice in the green one... adds on taste, and use a Banana leaf as a plate, the spoon is a chip of the bamboo and the drink is a coconut, can't be more natural some times...

[Carnwadrick]

I have seen that flooring here(B&Q) looks pretty good but says its not good with moisture. do you know much about it?

I have seen bamboo flooring in high end homes here in California..sadly my own experience is limited to my bamboo cutting board that I've had for years, takes a good scrubbing and soaking without warping .

[jizzybloke]

My mate had sheets of split & planed bamboo put into aluminium frames about 1m square for his floor.

That sounds interesting, any chance of getting a picture marmite?

[Smithson]

Bamboo can be easily treated with Tim-bor a mixture of borax and boric acid. It's quite simple, there's a manual here EBF-index1

I have a heap of Bamboo growing on our land, so I think I'll give some of this treatment a try. Bamboo trusses are interesting. I will probably make a sala and if that works I'll consider a carport.

Joinery seems to be a bit tricky, although they're should be locals who could figure it out.

[El Gibbon]

Joinery seems to be a bit tricky, although they're should be locals who could figure it out.

15 inch piece of nylon rope and a stick to twist it with. Never fails and can be tightened if you use 'green' bamboo. Scaffolders use it all the time up to many stories.

If you cut green bamboo lay it on the ground, staked straight every two feet or so on alternate sides, in direct sunlight. Couple of weeks and your good to go.

E. G.

[good2bhappy]

1500 bht per ton is the price of construction bamboo

[Smithson]

Joinery seems to be a bit tricky, although they're should be locals who could figure it out.

15 inch piece of nylon rope and a stick to twist it with. Never fails and can be tightened if you use 'green' bamboo. Scaffolders use it all the time up to many stories.

If you cut green bamboo lay it on the ground, staked straight every two feet or so on alternate sides, in direct sunlight. Couple of weeks and your good to go.

E. G.

What about if you don't use green bamboo? I'm asking because the bamboo would be treated against termites and other bugs.

[Carnwadrick]

Can you buy Bamboo flooring like this in Thailand www.ambientbp.com

[Smithson]

Can you buy Bamboo flooring like this in Thailand www.ambientbp.com

I haven't seen any available, but would be interested to see. Similar to other timbers, bamboo can scratch and be damaged easily, especially by high heels. Although this should be too much of a problem here as nobody where's shoes inside.

[Carnwadrick]

The bamboo floors that I've seen don't scratch as much as other hardwood flloors

[Marmite the Dog]

This is the stuff at my mate's house.

[good2bhappy]

bamboo is a form of grass

[Propagator]

Dont tell DTW