Engineered bamboo features antimicrobial properties

January 10, 2011

Kolbe has expanded its selection of interior wood species to include a new option called Lamboo®, an engineered, laminated veneer bamboo (LVB) product.

According to the company, the product is similar in density to hard maple, has no knots or voids, and is pressed into two different grain types. The solid, uniform, engineered surface is easy to clean, and bamboo's natural antimicrobial properties help to resist pests, molds, and moisture.

The company's supplier, Lamboo Inc., says the product offers good stability in the areas of moisture and temperature changes, has good tensile strength (10 times the tensile strength of wood), uses 15 percent less embodied energy than wood, and sequesters 35 percent more carbon in the growing cycle than timber. As a rapidly renewable material, Lamboo allows a four- to six-year harvest cycle, about half of the harvest cycle allowable under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® Rating System.

In addition to LEED's materials and resources credits, the material's use of ecologically responsible adhesives also may contribute to indoor environmental quality credits for low-emitting materials within the composite wood and agrifiber products category. Along with Kolbe's materials sourcing, recycled content, and manufacturing processes, its windows and doors support daylighting, outside views, energy efficiency, and other attributes recognized by LEED.

The interior wood products are available in a variety of stain colors and custom-matched finishes. They are finished with sensitivity to environmental air quality and the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Kolbe * 800-955-8177 * www.kolbe-kolbe.com