Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bamboo

Paint to go with Bamboo floor?

marlys27 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:50:24 -0800

Decor Filter : What colors of paint go with blond bamboo flooring? We just bought a house and are looking to paint before we move in. Presently the room with the bamboo floor
is a lovely light green that makes the room look sunny and large. We would like to keep the effect but have the room painted a more neutral color so as to be able to match more of the room's furniture etc. Concrete suggestions of actual paint colors would be appreciated. We are looking to use Benjamin Moore Aura Paint.

bamboo

ebesan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:50:39 -0800

Bamboo. I am in Merida, MX., with access to lots of long, tough bamboo, 1-3" thick. I would like to try working w/ thinner, and more flexible STRIPS of it, to weave or build furniture. Using the full, round pieces does not interest me; too heavy, bulky, rigid and looks bad. But when I ask about cutting or stripping it, i just get blank stares. Cut in 1/2, ok, but thinner, lighter, no. I have bamboo baskets from other parts of Mexico, so it is done here. Any ideas on getting more mileage from this cheap, abundant material?

Help me protect my new bamboo floors.

markblasco — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:29:13 -0800

Help me protect my new bamboo floors Just installed some engineered bamboo wood floors in the basement of our house. Installed with moisture barrier underneath, and the slab tested dry, so I am not worried about that. I would like to wax or somehow put some sort of additional layer of protection on the top, since we got a less expensive floor, which I know probably has a very thin finish layer. This is what we got:

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=6550

I have heard that certain products do not work well with prefinished floors, so I don't want to get anything that will cause damage to the finish.

My wife is pregnant, and we have several cats that live in that area, so anything toxic is out (I won't be putting on a poly finish or anything like that), but I am wondering if there is some sort of floor wax that will work well, and won't cause finish problems. I can keep the cats at bay from walking in that area for an afternoon or overnight if needed, but can't remove them from the area entirely.

I don't mind a little "wax on, wax off" elbow grease, but I just don't want to put something down that will cause the floors to look hazey or that will chemically react with the finish.

Any suggestions?

How to glue bamboo barrier

molybdenum — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:46:03 -0800

How do I glue (or otherwise connect) two pieces of plastic bamboo barrier? So I have a stand of bamboo in my yard (japonica), and it's broken through the barrier that the previous owners put in to contain it. I've dug out an area around the breach, and want to join another piece of this barrier to the old stuff. But I can't figure out how to bond two pieces of this plastic together. I can't tell what kind of plastic it is, so I'm not sure what kind of glue is appropriate, but it's a thick, black, glossy, flexible plastic (vinyl?), and I've seen it used for containing bamboo before. Here's a picture of some of the stuff, if that helps.

I've tried PVC cement and a two-part epoxy (Loctite). Neither worked. After waiting 24 hours, the two pieces pulled apart with a weak tug: it's like the adhesive never bonded to the plastic surface. I've considered heavy-duty staples or something, but I'm afraid if I puncture the barrier, bamboo rhizomes will wriggle through the hole.

I've found a few ideas on the Internet, but none of them sound that great (wrap it in lots of duct tape; use double-sided tape; overlap the barrier, put a 2x4 on each side, bolt them together). Surely some mefite has an elegant solution to this!

Large decorative plants that will survive in a container on a Seattle deck

matildaben — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:24:55 -0800

What plants are suitable for putting on our deck in Seattle? There's no yard/soil, so they must live in containers. The deck is quite large so I was thinking about large decorative plants like small trees or some form of bamboo. Climate-wise, we have the typical PNW weather of moist winters that only fall below freezing a few days out of the year. Also, we are completely ignorant of gardening and would rather have something that can survive with a minimum of attention.

Japanese knotweed nightmare

CFMartin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:36:36 -0800

Japanese knotweed is extremely difficult to kill with herbicides such as round up and the like, does anyone have any other ideas or herbicides in mind? I have a commercial property that has a bad case of this stuff that I can't get control of. I have at least 1000 square feet of this invasive plant and it keeps spreading. I useually run over it with a skid steer loader and knock it down and crush it but it comes right back. Round up does not seem to do anything and I look ridiculous with a little spray bottle of Round Up up against a towering wall of this weed. Any help?

flooded half whiskey barrel

beatgenxer — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:06:38 -0800

I have two half whiskey barrels in my backyard, which I'm trying to grow bamboo in. One of them is VERY prone to flooding. What can I do to stop it from turning into soil soup?

Food Safe Wood Treatment

RandlePatrickMcMurphy — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:33:34 -0800

I'm planning to use bamboo plywood for a section of kitchen countertop. How should I treat it to make it both water and stain resistant and food-safe? I like the look of this, - its a fairly subtle poly, not the thick built up layers kind.

But would it be safe to use on a surface that might have occasional contact with food? I'm not planning to use it as a cutting surface, just a surface for cutting boards, plates etc.

How should bamboo in containers be drip irrigated?

tarthur — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:36:29 -0800

How best can I drip irrigate containers of bamboo in Southern California? [Photos and detailed information provided] Photos of the containers are here: containers and current system
I have installed a solar irrigation system but I don't think the plants are getting enough water. This is the model: Solar Irrigation System

How much water does bamboo of this type require? I don't have a hose connection on the patio/loft area but I am considering stringing up a hose connected drip irrigation tube and getting drippers with more throughput.

Any ideas or experience? Thanks!

Help me grow the indoor bamboo garden of my dreams

agent99 — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:07:23 -0800

I'd like to grow bamboo in a container indoors (I have a sunny south-facing window that it can live in front of). Any advice about the best varieties, how to get it to grow tall, and where to get a plant (I'm in NYC) would be much appreciated. (NB: I am NOT looking for info on "lucky bamboo" plants, I want the real thing)

Can bamboo penetrate fibreglass?

figment — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:27:19 -0800

Can Bamboo (rhizomatous) damage a fibreglass swimming pool? Our neighbours have a smallish patch of bamboo against their back boundary. We are about to put a fibreglass pool in our backyard that will be about 2 meters from the boundary fence. Currently, the bamboo shoots emerge on our side of the fence and I cut and poison them as necessary. We are intending to get the bamboo removed as soon as possible but are curious as to whether it could in fact damage our pool. Having neighbours control the bamboo on their side is likely to be a constant battle.

How do I make a planter for a sloped driveway?

The corpse in the library — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 20:00:07 -0800

How do I make a planter box for a sloped driveway? My driveway has a slight slope. I want to make a planter box that will run a few yards along the driveway. This planter would be filled with bamboo, to block out the neighbors (lovely people, but I don't need to see them that often). Nothing fancy -- if it weren't for the slope, I would just find some reclaimed railway ties or such and bang it together out of that. I still might do that, if making a level planter turns out to be a big ol' pain. My carpentry skills are minimal, but so are my expectations.

How do I figure out just what the slope is, and plan accordingly? Any suggestions for making the planter?

I need a bamboo forest in my apartment or my brain won't let me sleep at night.

kookywon — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 14:37:47 -0800

I would like to paint my wall so it looks like a bamboo forest, but I'm left-brained and would like some help. So I got all jazzed up by this coolhunter article. I already have a wall mural of a sunset and I wanted to balance my apt with a soothing light green bamboo forest in the living room. The wall is 14' x 8' so I have a lot of room to work with.

I was thinking about getting a stencil and projecting it on the wall, outlining and painting it in, but that seems like a lot of work partly because I can't find enough bamboo stencil patterns that are different but in the same style.

Now I'm thinking of getting a photo (or two), grayscaling it and turning it into a stencil that I can project onto the wall.

Is there a better way of doing this? I'm fairly lazy, but once I get a good idea I seize on it like a dog with a rope toy. Please help me come up with a good idea on how to make this happen and I promise that I'll post an article on instructables (or another one of those "make it" sites).

bamboo floors

TheLibrarian — Sun, 27 May 2007 21:28:49 -0800

bamboo flooring...its been discussed in the past but was wondering if anyone had new advice or anecdotes.. we have 2 large dogs (50lbs and 75lbs), 2 cats . I have heard it is soft and will scratch/show dents. someone in the previous linked post felt that the blonder bamboo was harder than the darker variety...doesn't seem likely since the color is a function of the stain not the bamboo I would think.
anyone know anything about that?
anyone out there with 120lbs of dog and bamboo floors that is happy with their flooring decision? if this is the case--how much per sq ft? what brand? or what about your bamboo floor do you think has made it more resilient or scratch resistant?
also our realtor said bamboo was "so over" [my paraphrasing]---would bamboo floors discourage future buyers?

Where can I find Bamboo like the stuff they use for scaffolding?

Chamunks — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:02:50 -0800

Where can I find Bamboo like the stuff they use for scaffolding? Im trying to build some furniture out of this stuff, no i don't have some obsession with asian/indian culture or anything. I'm just looking to make a cool looking bed frame or desk or both and some other stuff thats durable and looks half decent.

I'm not a huge fan of ordering online, but i live in southwestern Ontario, Canada and basically the only wood i can find locally is softwood lumber. If anyone has any links or anything all i can find in Ontario locally is stuff for crafts and hobbyists.

What's wrong with my lucky bamboo?

donajo — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:17:58 -0800

My lucky bamboo has developed bumps along the underside of the stalks. Does anyone know what is causing them, and if they are harmful to the plant? I've done some googling, which has led me to discover that it's not actually bamboo, it's dracaena sanderiana. I can't find anything to explain the bumps, though. I hope the plant isn't sick. It's the only green thing in my office and I get a ton of complements on it.

Build a sauna from bamboo?

iurodivii — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 11:05:46 -0800

Can you help me build a "sauna?" In our backyard we have a stand of bamboo that grows to about 1 to 1.5" thick and up to 15' tall. I figure that we could use this instead of saplings and mimic the structure of a traditional Native American sweat lodge by substituting the saplings with our bamboo.

My wife and I have attended a traditional Sundance and have participated in traditional sweat Lodges before. WE ARE NOT INTENDING ON CREATING A SWEAT LODGE, just utilizing the structure of a lodge to make our own backyard. Building one with wood seems more labor intensive...

Some of our more specific quandries would be...should we cut the bamboo immediately before using, or let it dry for a few days; where can we find the large granite rocks used for heating; what material should we tie the frame together with (ie. will thin rope disintegrate in a heated environment); etc.

Thanks!

What can I do with a ton of cut bamboo?

dunstanorchard — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 13:56:34 -0800

One of my neighbors has been 'pruning' his 30ft-high bamboo forest recently, and being a bit of a scavenger I've been taking the 5ft lengths he's chopped and storing them in my shed. It seems such a waste to have them shredded. Having grabbed all this lovely bamboo, I'm now at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it. I've made a couple of little holders for odds-and-ends (like my toothbrush), but I'm wondering if there's a great resource out there that would give me some more ambitious ideas. What would you do with a shed full of bamboo? (Diameters of the bamboo range from twigs up to 5 inches thick.)

A maze of twisty bamboo floorboards, all different

spacewrench — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 12:14:36 -0800

Have you ever seen a warped, damaged engineered hardwood floor? I'm considering putting an engineered (multi-ply) bamboo floor over radiant heat in the kitchen of my house. There's a wide price range for this flooring, from about $2.79/sf to $10/sf (materials only). The purveyors of expensive material warn that cheap floorboards aren't dried properly and will warp soon after installation -- particularly if I put them over radiant heat. However, I haven't actually encountered any complaints or stories from people whose floors warped, so I'm wondering if this isn't just a story the expensive players tell to sell their stuff. (It looks like most/all of the bamboo flooring comes from factories in China, and I haven't even seen any convincing evidence that it's not all from the same factory.)

So: if you installed an engineered hardwood floor (particularly a bamboo floor) and it warped, please tell me:

Where did you get the flooring?

How did you install it? (Nail, glue, float, etc.)

Was it installed over radiant heat?

How long did it take to warp?

How badly did it warp?

Are there any unusual conditions that might have contributed to the problem?

Thanks!

Is there a way to keep bamboo out?

saucy — Mon, 15 May 2006 04:57:15 -0800

Help us keep bamboo from invading our yard. We just got our first house, and we love it. There's only one major problem: the people who live behind us (our backyards back up to each other) have a massive forest of bamboo in their backyard--we cannot even see their house, the bamboo is so thick.

The bamboo is TALL--it is brushing all of the overhead lines, except the highest (the power lines) and there is a six foot wooden fence separating our yards. Much of the bamboo is already hanging over the fence, and new sprouts are coming up in our backyard in various places. We've been cutting them down as we can, but they are coming right back, and bringing friends.

We are anxious to keep this bamboo from taking over our yard, but obviously there isn't anything we can do about the existing bamboo--as it isn't on our property.

Has anyone had any success with containing bamboo and keeping it from invading your yard?

Becoming a Bamboo Farmer

kingfisher, his musclebound cat — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 14:27:18 -0800

Is it possible to make a living as a bamboo farmer? How would I go about this? Leaving NYC might be a first step. After that, other than scaring off the pandas, I am stumped. Where should I go? How much space would I need? What do I do once it gets grown? How can I learn more? And why is this suddenly so fascinating to me?

Bamboo Flooring?

vers — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 12:50:29 -0800

Does anyone here have experience with buying and installing bamboo flooring? I am a newbie homeowner, but the wall-to-wall has to go. Bamboo floors please me, and I appreciate that they are ecologically a good choice. I am looking for quality economical sources, brands to buy vs. brands to avoid, and installation tips. The subfloor here is C/D plywood. If there are other sustainably-harvested trpical hardwoods I should consider as well, I would be interested in hearing about them. Thanks!

Question re: "House of Flying Daggers"

bshort — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 21:50:39 -0800

So I recently saw House of Flying Daggers and I have a general question. [MI with a spoiler-free scenic question] So what's with the fighting scenes in the tops of bamboo forests?

In both Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers there are fighting scenes set among the tops of bamboo forests.

Is fighting in bamboo some sort of Chinese cinema trope?
Does it connote something deeper that I'm just not aware of (other than the fact that they're incredible, transcendent badasses)?
Is it just something that's included because it looks cool?

Bamboo Stalks Went Pale and Developed Brown Spot - Help!

christie — Sun, 01 Aug 2004 15:31:13 -0800

Need help diagnosing bamboo ailment and preventing further damage. [more inside] For Christmas two years ago I received six stalks of Lucky Bamboo. Everything was wonderful until I took a vacation and forgot to provide them enough water for the duration of my trip. When I returned, one stalk had developed a large brown spot. The others appeared undamaged. Since I assumed the spot was due to my negligence, I simply turned the stalk around and let it be. Recently, I noticed that a different stalk became extremely pale. Deciding that something needed to be done to save my remaining stalks, I excised the two ill ones and thoroughly washed the vase and glass beads that house the stalks.

While doing so, I noticed that clumps of a clear gel-like substance were tangled with the roots. Is this some kind of bamboo disease? My Google fu is weak in this matter. Did the two sick stalks suffer due to different causes? What can I do to ensure the survival of my remaining stalks?

Christmas trees made out of bamboo?

rushmc — Thu, 18 Dec 2003 06:52:40 -0800

When I lived in the Philippines, we had a Christmas tree assembled out of bamboo. Every year I search online for a source for these, but this year, as previously, I've come up empty. Does anyone know who sells them? It was my understanding at the time that they were very common (there), but now all trace of them seems to have vanished.