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Preservation of Bamboo |
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Q: I am having a really hard time finding answers and instruction how to dry out the bamboo that is growing on my land. I would love to be able to build some of the following: trellis, small furniture, decortive walling, plant holders, a bar for my pool deck, etc. A: Some basic principles of harvesting and curing are: 1. Harvest only poles that are mature- at least 5 years old. 2. Store in an open air rack -in the shade. You might want to rotate occasionally. 3. Cure for a few months, until completely dry, before use. 4. Stand cured bamboo, those that die and dried out while still in the stand, can be used immediately. 5. A light scrubbing with a dish scrubber will bring back the luster of the skin, and remove any lichens, etc. 6. Bamboo will split, especially the larger diameter pieces. You can wrap wire around the ends to prevent this, or, pre-split the bamboo to relieve the stress and prevent further splitting. 7. You can oil or wax the bamboo for a nice sheen, and it is good for protection from the elements. Q: I live in Sri Lanka and nobody is building with bamboo here which is a shame. My understanding is that bamboo likes shade, no rain etc. Here it is always raining and the sun is scorching one minute and then not !! OK So I still wanna try and build a bamboo treehouse which will be shaded in a jack tree. So we cut the bamboo and the pieces are 30ft in length...what do we do then? Do we need to boil them? If so, in salt water or chemicals, and for how long? Do we then leave it for some time? I was thinking of building a 12 ft long boiling half cylinder welded oil cans cut in half !! Once these are cured what further treatments can we put on the bamboo to prevent rain and sun damage, temperature fluctuations etc. A: Make sure you cut older bamboo (over 5 years since sprouting)- it needs to lignify for strength and durability. Also, what is the species? Some species are better than others- starch content being the biggest factor (more starch-more attractive to bugs-termites, bamboo beetle. The best environmentally benign treatment is with borax solution- either pressure injected into the xylem and phloem, or taken up naturally with a bucket under a newly cut bamboo (left standing-in place) Keep the bamboo out of the direct sun and rain as much as possible (borax is water soluble)- big overhang (the hooch design is good for this (http://www.tropical-treehouse.com ) Also, keep bamboo away from direct contact with soil - route for bugs - and moisture retention. Bamboo should be cured (dried, in the shade) for a while (months) before use, or use only stand cured bamboo (dead, and dried naturally). Or, if exposed and airy construction design, you may use green bamboo (still not recommended). I have heard of salt-water soaking as a treatment also. But, it does leach out, and salt attracts moisture. Q: I would like to construct a bamboo screen to enclose the under-floor area of a newly built pole-house in Sydney, Australia. The area is bushfire prone and subject to white-ant/ termite problems. I intend to harvest about 60 culms and cure by standing for 3 weeks then immersing in salt water for anothter 3 weeks. I would then like to longitudinally split the culms for ease of mounting and weight saving, then gal-wire the material onto 2m high sections of gal-steel grid (ala concrete reinforcement mesh) If the mechanics of the above sound ok, I wondered about the flamability of the product when cured, and wether the cured material is tempting to termites. We have the house erected on gal-steel poles and I want to avoid offering the little buggers an easy route of ingress. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Q: We have a good overhang so moisture is not so much of an issue, but we have really strong sun in the early part of the day. Would the culms be less susceptible to cracking and drying out if left un-split? There are pre-fab fencing products (gal wired bleached bamboo) that I am trying to emulate in a way. Will these crack too or is there a step I'm missing. Q: Do you know of any bamboo product for exterior siding? I live in a cool, rainy climate in Portland, OR. Q: I purchased a 5" diameter 10' pole of Moso bamboo grown in China. It is slighty green shaded but mostly yellow so it is fairly freshly cut. The smaller end was split but I'm using 3' of the 5" end still entact. What can I do to best maintain pole and prevent splitting? I am using it indoors and reside in subtropical southern California. A: The bamboo will need to dry out, but slowly. Even so, the cracks will progress unless measures are taken. Cutting the remaining, unsplit bamboo from the split end will stop the progression. Also, you could wrap a few turns of wire around the ends to prevent a split from developing. A slow curing is best. Keep it in the shade, away from extreme changes in temperature. Allow air around it, store it vertical or well supported horizontally. Q: Do you have to dry out the bamboo before building something such as a tiki bar? Q: I cut down about 3000 bamboo shoots that the city said it had to go. Tomorrow a group of friends will help me move it. Now where is the question. Another friend said to submerge it underwater for a month than dry it standing, but for how long. Or could I just stand them in a metal silo which has a floor off the ground that breathes air. At one time it was used for drying grain. Now its just a silo. I live in Americus, Ga. so the moisture is going down, but inside is very dry from the weather. Does this sound in the right direction? A: Ideally, you cut the bamboo and let them stay in the stand until they lose their leaves and start turning brown - in the process they lose starch content and water. Soaking in water also dissolves and leaches starch. Storing in the silo sounds like a good drying place - in the shade, with ventilation. My next problem is not enough time to complete the process. So, they're sitting in our cow pasture. If you were to look at them, they lie on the the ground, 6' wide, 4' to 5' ft. tall, and 20' to 30' long. The leaves are falling off slowly. I have questions, (1) the little branches, do they break off easy or do I still have to cut them off with a shape knife. Or what is the easiest way? (2) If they are lying on the ground, like they are, will they still dry if I put a tarp over them until I can get to them. Will the bottom ones laying on the ground grow roots? or just rot closest to the ground? What do you think? A: If you can raise the pile off the ground, it'd be better for drying. Lay some sacrificial bamboo 90 degrees to the pile. A tarp - to keep the bamboo in the shade, out of the rain, and dry is good. You may perhaps keep the ends open, for ventilation. Good that you kept the branches and leaves, they will facilitate the drying process, and use up food, ie, starch. The branches can be removed efficiently with a machete', or any sharp knife with some heft. An accurate swing from the underside of the branch works well. Cutting from the top may cause a strip of epidermis to peel away - not good. |
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Jo Scheer has been deeply involved in working with bamboo for about two decades, having lived in Rincon, Puerto Rico, where he built a home for his family with mainly bamboo components. He has been designing, building, and marketing a wide range of beautiful bamboo creations that can be seen at his website 
