This is an interesting material. It can be put together with metal strapping to provide strength and flexibility in a low-cost structure.
http://whisperingwindsbamboo.wordpress.com/
(http://whisperingwindsbamboo.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/img_4594.jpg?w=615)
(http://whisperingwindsbamboo.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/img_4722.jpg?w=615)
(http://whisperingwindsbamboo.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/single_carport.jpg?w=615)
(http://whisperingwindsbamboo.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/img_4283.jpg?w=615)
That's really cool. I didn't have a whole lot of time to study it in detail, but it appears that the link goes to someone who is selling prefabricated kits and/or trusses and beams prefabricated from bamboo. Since bamboo is fast-growing, I wonder how difficult it would be to grow your own bamboo for use in light construction projects.
According to Jade Mountain Nursery's website http://www.jademountainnursery.com/html/info/faqs.asp (http://www.jademountainnursery.com/html/info/faqs.asp) : "At the nursery we have a grove of timber bamboo (Phyllostachys bambusoides and Phyllostachys vivax) that grew between one foot and a foot and a half everyday for a month! It stopped growing after 32 days and was 35 feet tall with a 2.5 inch diameter." It looks like if someone knew what they were doing you could plant bamboo in the spring and by fall you'd be able to cultivate enough to build a shed, chicken coop, pergola, gazebo, or some other project.
I also found a website with a forum for making stuff out of bamboo: http://www.bamboocraft.net/ (http://www.bamboocraft.net/).
Thanks for the inspiration!
Peace,
Ray
I'm not touting this company, but their galleries of bamboo structures made with their products are really quite amazing, and well worth some time spent looking through:
http://www.calibamboo.com/galleries/
Bamboo has been used for centuries as structural framing on small and medium sized buildings. It has great strength and flexibility. The Whispering Winds folks are in rural Maui, HI (full disclosure - my son is a partner in the business). They grow and sell bamboo and have come up with some kit projects such as the one shown. The structural connections shown in the kit add greatly to the durability over traditional lashings.
Just a word of warning to anyone considering cultivating their own bamboo: choose carefully, as it can be quite invasive. You want clumping, not running varieties.