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TL;DR answer: because they're different things. Using bamboo for building houses tends to result in using different building methods & architecture. Which can

TL;DR answer: because they're different things. Using bamboo for building houses tends to result in using different building methods & architecture. Which can look amazing (see http://ibuku.com/ http://ibuku.com/). But I doubt it'd make sense to use bamboo to build my house in snowy Norway, rather than locally sourced lumber.

simias 8y ago
Your TL;DR doesn't do the answer justice IMO, especially the "Lumber" section. It's not just that they're different, it's that lumber is more versatile because it's more easy to shape it to fit your design. I don't know anything about woodworking (or bamboo-working for that matter) but if I am to trust this Quora answer it seems that bamboo is only really good if you want bamboo-shaped elements. Otherwise you need highly processed bamboo to emulate the versatile lumber boards: >The process is fairly involved. Typically, bamboo is harvested, leached in water to remove starches (so it does not rot so quickly) or boiled in hydrogen peroxide (or both), dried, and baked at high temperature to darken its color. Sliced into thin strips, it is arranged in layers, usually with some degree of weaving to improve strength, mixed with resins, and then subject to high temperature and pressure to set the epoxy.[10] The resulting “board” is then stained and sealed, much like a regular hardwood floor.
logfromblammo 8y ago
The cold-hardy bamboos I am familiar with are Phyllostachys nuda (running) and Fargesia genus (clumping), and I'm not sure that either would fare well in such high latitudes. It might survive in landscaping, but not as a significant lumber source.
marcinzm 8y ago
>But I doubt it'd make sense to use bamboo to build my house in snowy Norway, rather than locally sourced lumber. Based on other comments a bamboo house (baring some kind of treatment and/or constant maintenance) may not last long in your climate due to differences/fluctuations in humidity/temperature.

simias 8y ago

Your TL;DR doesn't do the answer justice IMO, especially the "Lumber" section. It's not just that they're different, it's that lumber is more versatile because it's more easy to shape it to fit your design. I don't know anything about woodworking (or bamboo-working for that matter) but if I am to trust this Quora answer it seems that bamboo is only really good if you want bamboo-shaped elements. Otherwise you need highly processed bamboo to emulate the versatile lumber boards: >The process is fairly involved. Typically, bamboo is harvested, leached in water to remove starches (so it does not rot so quickly) or boiled in hydrogen peroxide (or both), dried, and baked at high temperature to darken its color. Sliced into thin strips, it is arranged in layers, usually with some degree of weaving to improve strength, mixed with resins, and then subject to high temperature and pressure to set the epoxy.[10] The resulting “board” is then stained and sealed, much like a regular hardwood floor.

logfromblammo 8y ago

The cold-hardy bamboos I am familiar with are Phyllostachys nuda (running) and Fargesia genus (clumping), and I'm not sure that either would fare well in such high latitudes. It might survive in landscaping, but not as a significant lumber source.

marcinzm 8y ago

>But I doubt it'd make sense to use bamboo to build my house in snowy Norway, rather than locally sourced lumber. Based on other comments a bamboo house (baring some kind of treatment and/or constant maintenance) may not last long in your climate due to differences/fluctuations in humidity/temperature.