We would like to thank all of you for signing up on the Floors, Inc. MMS Frequent Buyer Program. This program is designed to award you for your continuous support and loyalty. This program has been specially designed to show you our appreciation for the business relationship that we share.

Over the next three years you will have the opportunity to choose from exotic vacations, adventure trips, leisurely cruises, and enjoy shopping for jewelry or home decor for the ladies, and sporting equipment and electronics for the men. What's important is that you have the freedom and flexibility to choose how and when you will be rewarded.

The points accrued for the MMS Frequent Buyer Program will be based on your level of business activity, paying your account on a timely basis, and x-tra bonus points for attending seminars and workshops co-sponsored by Floors, Inc. and various vendors.

If you are not yet signed up for the program we encourage you to do so, so you can start rewarding yourself today!

• Entrance fee of $15.00 for each floor
  The total money collected for each entrance fee will go to the winner.
• All products for the floor submitted must be purchased from Floors, Inc.
• Submit one 8 x 10 photo
• Obtain entry form from Bonnie

Each quarterly winner will have their job photograph and a company profile published in the Floors, Inc. quarterly newsletter and posted on our website which will reach millions of industry contacts.

Each submission will earn 250 MMS Frequent Buyer Points.

The concept of using grass for flooring may have seemed far-fetched a few years ago but today it is becoming quite common. How is that so? The grass that I speak of is commonly called bamboo.

Bamboo to be used as flooring is grown near the Shanghai region of China and is harvested from the grass specie Moso. Bamboo reaches maturity and can be harvested in four to six years, making it an environmentally friendly choice for use as a building material.

Once harvested, the bamboo stalks are cut into strips and boiled in a boric acid to extract starch, which attracts power post beetles and termites. This process, of course, enables bamboo to be resistant to insect infestation.

After the boiling process the bamboo strips are kiln dried, sanded and laminated. Some of the strips are laminated so that they are horizontal to the surface of the board and some so that they are vertical to the surface of the board. These two basic configurations can loosely be compared to quarter-sawn and plain-sawn cuts of oak. There is only one grade produced in bamboo flooring. It could be compared most closely to select oak. It is free of knots, streaks, wormholes, and has a fairly consistent color overall.

Bamboo's natural color has a rich blonde appearance and can be steamed at the flooring plant to acquire a light brown color that is consistent throughout the depth of the board. In the flooring industry, the natural blonde color is referred to as "natural" and the light brown color as "carmalized" or "carbonated". The depth of the color in carbonized version depends on the amount of time that the material is steamed which can cause some lots to be slightly darker or lighter than other lots. Care should be taken to work out of several cartons to ensure that the overall look of the floor is consistent.

Bamboo is available in both unfinished and factory finished versions. Factory finished, however is more popular and more available than the unfinished. The factory finished carried here at Floors, Inc. utilizes a six coat aluminum oxide coating and has a five year wear through warranty. The material is also warranted, for a lifetime, to be free from defects in material and workmanship. With unfinished bamboo you have the advantage of being able to stain it most any color and finish with your choice of urethane.

Bamboo can be installed like most any other hardwood floor. It can be glued, nailed or stapled. Care should be taken to ensure that the sub-floor is level when using the direct glued method. Bamboo is quite rigid and will not conform to slabs like most engineered flooring products. A quality adhesive like Bostiks Best should be used when installing bamboo. After being installed, bamboo is easily maintained with regular dust mop-ping, and use of a recommended hardwood floor cleaner. Care should be taken to protect bamboo flooring from direct sunlight or intense light. As with any flooring product, direct sunlight will cause discoloration to exposed surfaces.

This new innovation in the wood flooring market has some remarkable qualities. It is as hard as ma