FAQs

We are Smith & Fong Company, manufacturers of Plyboo® bamboo and Durapalm® coconut palm products, both registered trademarks. The 3 ways we are most frequently listed are Smith & Fong, Smith & Fong Plyboo, or Smith & Fong Durapalm. We also manufacture and hold the trademarks of PlybooStrand, PlybooSport and Neopolitan, so don’t be surprised to find us listed under any of these monikers. It’s all Smith & Fong.

We offer a whole range of bamboo and coconut palm products, from flooring and trim molding to plywoods, panelings and veneers.

Please visit our Representative Locator page. If you’re not sure whom to contact in your area, please call our main office at 866.835.9859 or email info@plyboo.com

If there is no distributor or rep in your area you can order directly through our main office by fax (415-896-0577) or connie@plyboo.com. Orders require payment prior to shipping or pick up. Payments accepted are check, wire or credit card.

Plyboo bamboo plywood, panels, and flooring is not recommended for exterior use, due to variations in climate, like humidity and temperature.

Yes. Although not specified for this particular purpose, our flooring, plywood and tambour paneling have all been successfully used for ceiling applications.

No, it’s a natural color achieved through caramelizing the sugars that are in the bamboo during the manufacturing process. You will notice a variation of color between and within sheets, which is normal and natural to the product.

In an edge grain application ¾” x ¼” bamboo strips are laminated together with the ¼” edges of the strips showing on the surface creating a “pin stripe” surface.
In a flat grain application ¾” x ¼” bamboo strips are laminated together with the wider 3/4” faces of the strips showing on the surface. Usually, the classic bamboo joints (aka knots, or knuckles) are more visible on the flat grain.

Sample requests should be emailed to sales@plyboo.com or by submitting your request online here

Our Plyboo bamboo flooring and building products are biodegradable. The plywood could be reusable, but not the flooring. These products are not recyclable and there is no reclamation program for them.

Formaldehyde (H2CO) is a naturally occurring chemical classified as a volatile organic compound (VOC), meaning that it becomes a gas at room temperature through a process called off-gassing. Small amounts of formaldehyde are found nearly everywhere, even produced as a metabolic byproduct in most organisms.

While formaldehyde is not harmful in such small concentrations, it is recognized as a toxic pollutant capable of causing serious health problems when found in higher concentrations. These high concentrations of formaldehyde may be found in an indoor area as a result of off-gassing of formaldehyde by manufactured products.

Although formaldehyde can be found in many common household products in trace amounts, higher levels of off-gassing from building materials, including from the solvents and adhesives used in building materials, has been an area of particular concern.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) first adopted a standard for formaldehyde emission controls called the Airborne Toxics Control Measure (ATCM) in 2007. These standards were later updated as the CARB Phase 2 emission standards in 2010, establishing even stricter standards for formaldehyde emissions in wood products (of 0.05 ppm).

CARB standards are indeed stringent, comparing favorably to the strictest European (0.07 ppm) standards, and approaching levels of naturally occurring formaldehyde in outdoor air (0.03 ppm). The CARB Phase II standard was later effectively adopted by the EPA in 2017 as the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act, basically extending CARB requirements on a nation-wide basis.

Under the ATCM, products are required to be third-party certified to assure consumers that the products comply with CARB standards, while identifying the resins used in manufacturing as “No Added Formaldehyde” (NAF) or “Ultra Low-Emitting Formaldehyde” (ULEF). These testing and consumer notice measures are intended to increase public awareness while reducing exposure to formaldehyde.

CARB standards also establish special exemptions for manufacturers of composite wood products that use NAF or ULEF resins which have been formulated to limit formaldehyde emissions to levels that are consistently below CARB Phase 2 limits.

The CARB standards are limited in scope to hardwood products only, requiring formaldehyde emission ratings for all composite wood and manufactured wood products, but specifically excluding products made entirely of bamboo.

For example, as CARB’s Frequently Asked Questions on “Applicable Products” clarify, “floorings consisting solely of bamboo veneers … are not subject to the ATCM,” and “since bamboo is a grass, plywood made using bamboo face veneers is exempt from the regulation at this time.”

Although CARB standards do not apply to 100% bamboo products, Smith & Fong has been at the forefront of product design, manufacturing, and testing to assure voluntary conformity with the most stringent indoor air quality standards, including CARB Phase 2.

While many of our competitors continue to manufacture bamboo flooring and plywood products using adhesives potentially prone to off-gassing unhealthy levels of formaldehyde, starting in 2007, Smith & Fong Co. perfected the use of non-urea-formaldehyde based adhesives in both our bamboo and palm production lines. As manufacturing trends and industry standards have evolved, our products are now manufactured by using ULEF resins, which typically off-gas at levels significantly lower than CARB Phase 2 standards.

If you have further questions about our testing for indoor air quality, please feel free to contact us

Yes, please visit the Downloads section. They are also included inside every box of flooring that you purchase.

PlybooStrand bamboo flooring is glue down only, while all others can be either glued or nailed down.

Yes. Please follow the installation instructions.

Yes. However, we recommend contacting your radiant heating system manufacturer to check for their guidelines for bamboo or palm flooring. For more information check the installation instructions.

We recommend Bostik’s Best urethane adhesive, Bostik Single Ultra-Step & Bostik Vapor Lock.

We offer a 25 year warranty on Plyboo bamboo flooring. Please click here for our full warranty.

For our bamboo floors we recommend a hardwood floor cleaner made for polyurethane coated floors, like BonaKemi hardwood cleaners or Squeaky Cleaner by Basic Coatings.

Yes. For best results, we recommend applying an adhesion and two-coat finish system manufactured by either BonaKemi or Basic Coatings.

Formaldehyde (H2CO) is a naturally occurring chemical classified as a volatile organic compound (VOC), meaning that it becomes a gas at room temperature through a process called off-gassing. Small amounts of formaldehyde are found nearly everywhere, even produced as a metabolic byproduct in most organisms.

While formaldehyde is not harmful in such small concentrations, it is recognized as a toxic pollutant capable of causing serious health problems when found in higher concentrations. These high concentrations of formaldehyde may be found in an indoor area as a result of off-gassing of formaldehyde by manufactured products.

Although formaldehyde can be found in many common household products in trace amounts, higher levels of off-gassing from building materials, including from the solvents and adhesives used in building materials, has been an area of particular concern.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) first adopted a standard for formaldehyde emission controls called the Airborne Toxics Control Measure (ATCM) in 2007. These standards were later updated as the CARB Phase 2 emission standards in 2010, establishing even stricter standards for formaldehyde emissions in wood products (of 0.05 ppm).

CARB standards are indeed stringent, comparing favorably to the strictest European (0.07 ppm) standards, and approaching levels of naturally occurring formaldehyde in outdoor air (0.03 ppm). The CARB Phase II standard was later effectively adopted by the EPA in 2017 as the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act, basically extending CARB requirements on a nation-wide basis.

Under the ATCM, products are required to be third-party certified to assure consumers that the products comply with CARB standards, while identifying the resins used in manufacturing as “No Added Formaldehyde” (NAF) or “Ultra Low-Emitting Formaldehyde” (ULEF). These testing and consumer notice measures are intended to increase public awareness while reducing exposure to formaldehyde.

CARB standards also establish special exemptions for manufacturers of composite wood products that use NAF or ULEF resins which have been formulated to limit formaldehyde emissions to levels that are consistently below CARB Phase 2 limits.

The CARB standards are limited in scope to hardwood products only, requiring formaldehyde emission ratings for all composite wood and manufactured wood products, but specifically excluding products made entirely of bamboo.

For example, as CARB’s Frequently Asked Questions on “Applicable Products” clarify, “floorings consisting solely of bamboo veneers … are not subject to the ATCM,” and “since bamboo is a grass, plywood made using bamboo face veneers is exempt from the regulation at this time.

Although CARB standards do not apply to 100% bamboo products, Smith & Fong has been at the forefront of product design, manufacturing, and testing to assure voluntary conformity with the most stringent indoor air quality standards, including CARB Phase 2.

While many of our competitors continue to manufacture bamboo flooring and plywood products using adhesives potentially prone to off-gassing unhealthy levels of formaldehyde, starting in 2007, Smith & Fong Co. perfected the use of non-urea-formaldehyde based adhesives in both our bamboo and palm production lines. As manufacturing trends and industry standards have evolved, our products are now manufactured by using ULEF resins, which typically off-gas at levels significantly lower than CARB Phase 2 standards.

If you have further questions about our testing for indoor air quality, please feel free to contact us.

There is no difference. Bamboo plywood is the term our sheet goods are most commonly referred to, but since there really is no wood in our products and each sheet is made from 100% solid bamboo strips, it is also commonly referred-to as bamboo-ply.

The grain runs the length of the product on all Plyboo bamboo plywood sheets.

Recommended finishes for bamboo plywood depend on the application. For heavy use like a tabletop or a bar top, we recommend a very hard finish. For a lighter application such as a cabinet door you may want to experiment with environmentally-friendly finishes like linseed oil or oil wax. In general, our plywood products can be finished with anything from waxes to polyurethanes, varnishes, oils, and lacquers.

5 Years. Please click here for our full warranty.

Different applications require different types of maintenance. Before applying any cleaning agent to your Plyboo plywood check for recommended cleaners with the manufacturer of the finish you used.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area please visit us at our showroom. For photos of case work and cabinetry visit our Gallery page.

The Plyboo bamboo plywood meets a Class C fire rating per ASTM E 84.

Formaldehyde (H2CO) is a naturally occurring chemical classified as a volatile organic compound (VOC), meaning that it becomes a gas at room temperature through a process called off-gassing. Small amounts of formaldehyde are found nearly everywhere, even produced as a metabolic byproduct in most organisms.

While formaldehyde is not harmful in such small concentrations, it is recognized as a toxic pollutant capable of causing serious health problems when found in higher concentrations. These high concentrations of formaldehyde may be found in an indoor area as a result of off-gassing of formaldehyde by manufactured products.

Although formaldehyde can be found in many common household products in trace amounts, higher levels of off-gassing from building materials, including from the solvents and adhesives used in building materials, has been an area of particular concern.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) first adopted a standard for formaldehyde emission controls called the Airborne Toxics Control Measure (ATCM) in 2007. These standards were later updated as the CARB Phase 2 emission standards in 2010, establishing even stricter standards for formaldehyde emissions in wood products (of 0.05 ppm).

CARB standards are indeed stringent, comparing favorably to the strictest European (0.07 ppm) standards, and approaching levels of naturally occurring formaldehyde in outdoor air (0.03 ppm). The CARB Phase II standard was later effectively adopted by the EPA in 2017 as the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act, basically extending CARB requirements on a nation-wide basis.

Under the ATCM, products are required to be third-party certified to assure consumers that the products comply with CARB standards, while identifying the resins used in manufacturing as “No Added Formaldehyde” (NAF) or “Ultra Low-Emitting Formaldehyde” (ULEF). These testing and consumer notice measures are intended to increase public awareness while reducing exposure to formaldehyde.

CARB standards also establish special exemptions for manufacturers of composite wood products that use NAF or ULEF resins which have been formulated to limit formaldehyde emissions to levels that are consistently below CARB Phase 2 limits.

The CARB standards are limited in scope to hardwood products only, requiring formaldehyde emission ratings for all composite wood and manufactured wood products, but specifically excluding products made entirely of bamboo.

For example, as CARB’s Frequently Asked Questions on “Applicable Products” clarify, “floorings consisting solely of bamboo veneers … are not subject to the ATCM,” and “since bamboo is a grass, plywood made using bamboo face veneers is exempt from the regulation at this time.”

Although CARB standards do not apply to 100% bamboo products, Smith & Fong has been at the forefront of product design, manufacturing, and testing to assure voluntary conformity with the most stringent indoor air quality standards, including CARB Phase 2.

While many of our competitors continue to manufacture bamboo flooring and plywood products using adhesives potentially prone to off-gassing unhealthy levels of formaldehyde, starting in 2007, Smith & Fong Co. perfected the use of non-urea-formaldehyde based adhesives in both our bamboo and palm production lines. As manufacturing trends and industry standards have evolved, our products are now manufactured by using ULEF resins, which typically off-gas at levels significantly lower than CARB Phase 2 standards.

If you have further questions about our testing for indoor air quality, please feel free to contact us.

LEED^® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the U.S. Green Building Council’s voluntary, consensus-based Green Building Rating System that has evolved into a national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.

Plyboo Standard Flooring & Plyboo Plywood:

Credit MRc6, Rapidly Renewable Materials

Credit IEQ 4.3, Low-Emitting Materials, Flooring Systems (No Added Urea Formaldehyde)

Credit IEQ 4.4, Low-Emitting Materials, (No Added Urea Formaldehyde)

Credit MRc7, Certified Wood

PlybooStrand, Stiletto & Neopolitan Flooring:

Credit MRc6, Rapidly Renewable Materials

Credit IEQ 4.3, Low-Emitting Materials, Flooring Systems (No Added Urea Formaldehyde)

Credit IEQ 4.4, Low-Emitting Materials, (No Added Urea Formaldehyde)

Credit MRc7, Certified Wood

Durapalm Flooring & Plywood:

Credit IEQ 4.3, Low-Emitting Materials, Flooring Systems (No Added Urea Formaldehyde)

Credit IEQ 4.4, Low-Emitting Materials, (No Added Urea Formaldehyde)