Atlantis Bamboo Outdoor Kitchens
23 August 2010
“Happy Endings”
One of the more exciting products I have encountered in writing these blogs is bamboo, which I like for a number of reasons, starting with its sustainability and legitimate greenness, as opposed to the other variety. The same hypocrisy that produces high-sounding words that purport to be Mission Statements (they’re not unless they’re implemented), also produces a great many of the “green initiatives” being trumpeted in certain quarters. I sometimes think they simply take a few sips from some St. Patrick’s Day “green” beer and declare themselves and their companies “green.”
What I find particularly fascinating about bamboo, though, is that it actually is just about as “green” a wood material as anything we’re ever going to find. To begin with, it’s a form of grass that grows much faster than the grass in our lawns, one variety actually growing at a rate of four feet per day. They now have managed bamboo forests in China where they have learned how to cut it off at the roots in such a way that it grows again from those same roots and reaches maturity in four years! You don’t even replant it! You simply harvest it and come back in four years.
What makes bamboo particularly valuable to those in the East, though, is not its ubiquity, but its sustainability and its strength. Used properly, it can be put to almost any use. Don’t be misled by its spindly appearance; it is every bit as strong as maple, which I was taught to view as aluminum, because maple actually has a similar strength. The problem with bamboo, of course, is that spindly shape, but simply grinding it up into sawdust would make it no better, and no stronger, really, than particleboard.
What they have done, though, is to develop a manufacturing process for cutting spindly bamboo into thin strips, gluing these thin strips together into panels, sanding them flat, and then gluing these panels into plywood sheets that retain all the strength of bamboo, but that have now been transformed into 4′x8′ sheets in thicknesses ranging from 1/4″ to 2″. The result is a product with strength, durability, beauty, and honest-to-goodness environmental sustainability. For those who are counting, that’s win-win-win-win.
So, that, at some length, is bamboo plywood, but what does one do with it? And with that I can turn to an old friend, namely Atlantis Outdoor Kitchens, who I last blogged about in February 2009 with “.And the Living is Easy” because with their products it really is. Well, in the fullness of time, Atlantis has added bamboo to their line of outdoor kitchens, a material they have selected for its beauty, durability and sustainability. Patrick Byrne, Executive Vice President of Atlantis Outdoor Kitchens points out that “Bamboo is the perfect selection for outdoor living, due to its density and remarkable strength.” Given those attributes, it is certainly fair to add, as Mr. Byrne does, that “even more importantly, it is a rapidly renewable resource.”
Really, Atlantis rightly regards bamboo as a high quality, socially responsible product for their designs, neither quality counting for more than the other, because both are present in abundance. The bamboo used for Atlantis doors and drawer fronts is selected at the peak of maturity and strength for ultimate longevity and trouble-free maintenance, and this latter quality is another item that is of particular interest to Atlantis.
The tops, bottoms and sides of the cabinet boxes themselves are made of a material that is as close to indestructible as anything is ever going to get, a solid marine-grade polymer they call Perma-Panel, and that is actually used in the boating industry. Anything that goes to sea goes to a harsh environment, but even there Perma-Panel will not absorb moisture, split, crack, rot, or swell. It’s so durable they use it for hatch and live well covers, rod and reel holders, swim platforms, boat doors and cabinets, trim and hand rails and wood replacement parts. It also has a UV inhibitor to help it retain its color even in direct sunlight, and it will withstand extreme temperatures up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and below -100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Finally, I wanted to get back to where I began with this, with the bamboo, because it is such a wonderful product. The latest line from Atlantis Outdoor Kitchens is the “Destin” door style, which they named after the exotic city in Florida. The doors and drawer fronts are made exclusively of bamboo and exhibit a sleek, orderly look with finely spaced grain lines. I guess that’s the most exciting part of all about using bamboo as a building material these days. You’re not really “taking your medicine” so much as you are using something almost innovative, in how it looks, how it holds up, and what it does to the environment, which is pretty close to nothing at all. Ya gotta love a story that comes out like that!
Joseph
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One Response to “Atlantis Bamboo Outdoor Kitchens”
August 23rd, 2010 at 2:23 PM
I love bamboo myself. I had not really thought about using it outdoors previously because I left an unprotected piece outdoors for a while and it did not do too well. I guess it is all in the finish. I would love to know what they are using to finish it.
Joe