Floors of your house leave a great impact on your life. Whether you are making food in your kitchen for children or hosting a party in the living room, a good surface under foot gives relaxation and keeps the mood going. Since the floor covers the maximum part of the house, it should not look only beautiful but also should be durable and pocket friendly.
A huge range of flooring materials is available in the market but environment-conscious people or builders these days prefer hardwood for flooring which is derived from bamboo tree. However there are many other eco-friendly alternatives as well. One of them is eucalyptus that has become famous for its various shades and robust quality.
Also Read : Opting Bamboo Flooring: Affability towards Environment
Eucalyptus Trees: Facts
Eucalyptus trees are grown almost all over the world but they are mainly found in Australia and New Zealand. Unlike pine and oak trees, eucalyptus trees grow fast and are ready for use in half the time that other trees take to mature. It is ready almost in fourteen years which is quite fast. A fully matured eucalyptus tree can be 300 feet tall and sometimes can grow 10 to 12 feet more in the same season and the diameter of the tree can be fourteen inches. Although bamboo grows faster than eucalyptus, it is not a tree but tall grass. Wood obtained from eucalyptus trees is quite hard and that is the reason that this wood is becoming increasingly popular for flooring. Since wood from eucalyptus is difficult to cut in required shapes, it is cut into thin strips. Using resin or glue, the strips are packed together. In order to make tough flooring, these strips are baked at a very high temperature. The easy availability, sustainable quality of the wood has made it first choice for flooring when it comes to fix wooden flooring.
Benefits of Using Eucalyptus Flooring
The best point of eucalyptus flooring is that it gives the same smooth, shimmering, sophisticated and rich look as other hardwood floorings give. It is a durable flooring product and can resist dents and is also able to bear heavy traffic. Actually if one compares eucalyptus with oak wood, one will find that eucalyptus is 20% harder which itself defines its sturdiness. Places that can acquire dampness and humidity easily, eucalyptus flooring can prove a better choice. The planks made by eucalyptus wood can easily be glued, stapled, or nailed. The best thing that it is cheaper when compared to its other traditional hardwood counterparts.
If you have doubt that eucalyptus flooring may not look as good as flooring of other hardwood trees such as beech, maple, pine or ash, then place your doubts at rest. The wide range of finishes and styles that this flooring can offer includes airy tones, light shades, pale pink, deep brown and mellow-reddish with great sheen. Combined with odorless urethane, multiple coating of low VOC and shining smooth finish it is the most sought-after product for wooden flooring. It looks particularly stunning when combined with light colored furnishings and décor.
Eco-Friendly Source of Flooring
Since eucalyptus trees are obtained through plantation and it is a renewable resource, it is considered as environment friendly as well. For plantation of eucalyptus a particular season does not matter and it can be grown all the year round. This makes it easy to get hardwood and easy availability also makes it cheaper than other wooden floorings. The size of each plank is generally 3 inches in width which is quite wider compared to other hardwood flooring planks and the price of each plank may start from just $3 which makes it cost effective as well.
Maintenance of Eucalyptus Flooring
Along with durability and affordability, eucalyptus wood flooring is easy to maintain. You need only to cover this flooring when it is not in use with a water proof covering. Cleaning with a mixture of 5 tbsp. of dish soap and few spoons of bleach twice in a year on the eucalyptus flooring can be quite effective in removing stains. One more precaution that is important is not to keep very hot things on the floor directly. In order to save it from dampness under the refrigerator, just cover the legs of the refrigerator with rubber shoes.
So, if you are thinking to change your flooring, before selecting any material, do give a thought to eucalyptus flooring.
