Thursday, September 28, 2006
Aw Nuts!
Hardwood Floors Take a Tropical Twist
The search for sustainable alternatives to traditional hardwood flooring has brought us bamboo and mesquite, a tree formerly regarded as a “pest” species by ranchers but now allowed to thrive for commercial harvest.
Now comes the coconut palm. Grown in plantations, these trees produce nuts for up to 80 years, after which they are cut down and replaced. The roots are left to fertilize the soil while the wood is milled to produce vibrant, durable and exotically beautiful flooring.
Palmwood is dense with a stunning grain pattern and deep, rich color. At 1600 on the hardness scale, palm is much harder than red oak (1290). Planks are made by slicing the timber, then drying and laminating it into a sandwich of multiple layers, a process similar to that used for bamboo flooring. Manufacturers like Smith & Fong use non-toxic adhesives to maintain ecological soundness. Palmwood can be sanded like an oak floor using the same techniques and sanding patterns.
Because there are more than 250 species and sub-species of palm, the wood is available in a wide range of natural colors. It can also be dyed or stained for even greater variety and can be ordered unfinished or prefinished.
Posted by admin at 02:50 PM under architecture & construction • flooring, tile & stone
