Guadua Bamboo Constructions Costa Rica is the Central American expert for original and cost effective construction solutions.

Our team of guadua bamboo specialists is managed by Ing. Alejandro Restrepo G., who has years of experience designing, building, and teaching about guadua bamboo in Central America.

One of our recent projects we can proudly refer to is the Timarai Beach Resort & Spa located on Playa Palo Seco, Costa Rica.

On this page you will also find more general information about building with bamboo. If you are interested in building with guadua, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information or to meet one of our team members to discuss your project.

Guadua, a new high tech building material!

As a building material, guadua bamboo stands out because of its structural properties, the strength/weight ratio, is one of them.

The fibers of bamboo are up to 1 cm long, while those of wood are approximately 2mm long. That’s why Guadua surpasses most woods and can even withstand a comparison with steel and some high-tech fibers (guadua's tensile strength is 28,000 per square inch versus 23,000 for steel).

Its capacity to absorb energy and the higher bending strength makes this bamboo an ideal material for seismic-resistant constructions.

Bamboo possesses only a small proportion of lignin. Its main component is silicic acid, which gives the shoot its durability and hardness. The tissues composition of guadua is 40% fiber, 51% parenchyma and 9% conductive tissue, which explains its astonishing strength and flexibility.

For the past 10 years, bamboo experts have been experimenting with the multiple uses of bamboo and are still discovering new applications, bamboo fiber for the garment and automotive industries, flooring boards, veneers as thin as 0.2 mm, are just some of many examples. Bamboo panels, especially floors, are more and more in demand all over the world, because they have the texture of marble and the elegance of wood; in addition, they are strong, durable, smooth, clean, non-sliding and resistant to humidity.

For all these reasons guadua bamboo is on the point of a breakthrough, and may soon be described as the new high technology material of the future that replaces to use of conventional woods in constructions.

Advantages of building with bamboo

• A natural and renewable resource of quick growth that can avoid future deforestation of ancient tropical rainforests.

• Easy to cut, handle, repair, reposition and maintain, without the need for sophisticated tools or equipment.

• Because of it's extraordinary physical characteristics, guadua is suitable for all possible types of structures and architectural constructions.

• It is up to 45% cheaper to build with guadua compared to the use of conventional materials.

• Non-polluting, bamboo does not have crusts or parts that can be considered as waste.

• It's circular form and hollow sections makes bamboo a light building material, which is easy to transporter and store. There for, building with bamboo is fast, and has the additional advantage that it can easily be utilized for temporary constructions as well.

• In each of the nodes of the bamboo there is a dividing wall or transverse wall that in addition to making it more rigid and elastic, it also avoids rupture when bent. Because of this characteristic bamboo constructions are perfectly earthquake-resistant.

• The composition of the fibers in the walls of the bamboo allows that it can be cut cross-sectional or in pieces of any length, using simple manual tools like the machete.

• The natural surface of the bamboo is smooth, clean, with an attractive color which does not require to be painted, scraped or polished.

• Besides to be used like structural element, the bamboo can also be used for other functions in construction, such as water pipes and in small sections for drainage.

• Bamboo can be used in combination with all other types of construction materials, like reinforcing materials for foundations.

Misconceptions about constructing with bamboo.

The incorrect use of guadua in marginal bamboo constructions has contributed to the misconception that bamboo is synonymous of misery and delay. Until recently professional constructors and the public in general were totally ignorant for the structural, mechanical, and environmental advantages of guadua.

These are the disadvantages of bamboo when not handled correctly:

• Once cut, insect attacks will occur, they construct great galleries in the walls of the bamboo. For that reason, once cut, it must immediately go true a special immunization and drying process.

• Bamboo in permanent contact with the humidity of the soil, will rot and attracts termites and other insects; for that reason it cannot be used as a foundation without receiving a special treatment first.

• Once the bamboo is dry it is highly flammable, for this reason it is important to cover the bamboo with a fire-resistant substance.

• When bamboo ages, it loses its resistance if one does not treat it appropriately in advance.

• Bamboo does not have an equal diameter over all its length, the thickness of the internal walls is also different. Reason why sometimes it presents difficulties in the construction.

• The diameter of the bamboo diminishes when drying, which has implications on the construction if not dried completely in advance.

• To connect different structural elements, special techniques are used. When joining bamboo with nails that are generally used for wooden structures, the bamboo will split, another reason why bamboo unrightfully is considered as a difficult material for construction.

Many credits have to be given to the collaboration of Colombian and Ecuadorian architects and engineers, who are responsible for most of the new guadua bamboo constructions. Their effort to simplify and universalize this material as an element in constructions will contribute to a better and correct use of guadua in constructions. Because of the global demand for non-polluting, renewable, strong and affordable building materials, the interest in bamboo constructions among western innovative architects is now growing rapidly.

Guadua bamboo not only offers optimal solutions for communities with smaller resources, it is also a popular resource and study subject for people or institutions of a high economic level which translated itself in high scale residential houses, schools, offices, hotels, etc.