We've all seen patio furniture, South Seas-inspired home furnishings, and even privacy screens made of bamboo. Like many other flooring products, Plyboo is sold in 3x72-inch strips. It's installed just like traditional hardwood flooring, can be stained or dyed, is twice as stable, and nearly as hard as red oak. Not only is bamboo flooring beautiful, it's also nearly as tough as red oak. Grown in China, Plyboo's bamboo crop reaches a height of 40 feet and a diameter of 6 inches in only four years.
Harvesting is done by hand and impact on the environmental is minimal.
While bamboo is a standard building material in Asia and Latin America, it's been slow to gain acceptance in the United States, beyond the ubiquitous funky furniture and occasional decorative finishes. But with the debut of innovative products like Plyboo, that should quickly change. Except on trash day, of course. They're functional, helpful, and make getting things from deep recesses easy. But you usually have to pull them out manually.