Bamboo floors

[medpedspouse]

Anyone have them? They look cool on HGTV but I do not know anyone that actually has them. If you have them or seen them, what was your impression? They are supposed to be - what's the word I am looking for? - hardier? more resilient than wood? I want floors that will withstand large inside dogs and kids. If you have them, I'd love pictures.

[poky]

If you just want wear-resistance, I'd go for a high-end no-glue laminate, personally. Long warranties, really hard-wearing, dead easy to install, etc., etc.

Bamboo is really nice, and much more renewable, though. We did at least see it when we were at the floor store, and it's very nice wood. I honestly don't know how its wear compares to the tough laminates; if it's comparable (compare the warranties), and you've got the money, go for it. Especially if there's a no-nails/no-glue/click-together option (after laying our click-together wood laminate in one room, I'd never try to install any other kind of wood floor - just not worth the hassle).

Ah, a moment of googling came up with this: http://www.stepcofloors.com/products.asp?floor=184

The top three appear to be no-glue bamboo options, and look pretty nice. Looks like you can order a free sample from fastfloors.com (their online retailer) if there isn't a dealer near you.

We are doing our floors next month. So far we have found that bamboo doesnt wear so great. We are looking into engineered wood. It's part laminate, part wood and can be refinished - some up to three times. We found engineered about par to high end laminate for $$. DH is going to do it himself. My dad laid his hardwood w/his brother w/out any prior experiance and let me say that Brazillian Cherrywood looks amazing! We may go hardwood if we find a good price. I'll post our finds when we get to that point.

Re: Bamboo floors

I think the bamboo is really pretty. We opted for the engineered as well when we did our living room, but I think the bamboo would be a cool thing to do someday. I think I saw it at Lowes for not a bad price- not sure about their color options though.

[Stella]

Re: Bamboo floors

I've seen bamboo and thought it was STUNNING! I've heard it is very durable (it's used for cutting boards, so I'd believe it.)

Plus it is very eco friendly!

(PS - Lots of color options available!)

[medpedspouse]

Re: Bamboo floors

We had laminate flooring done in our previous house and they did not wear as well as we had expected. Some areas began to chip. Granted, it was under warranty but still...a PITA.

I've seen the bamboo at the store but just wanted to hear from someone that either has it or knows someone that does because although the say it is durable - we are not sure after the same claim was made about the Pergo floors.


Thanks for the replies

[PrincessFiona]

Re: Bamboo floors

the only downside I've heard of is that they are noisy.....though I think it's possible to install something between the floor/subfloor to minimize that.

[Cumberland]

Re: Bamboo floors

I saw it at HD today for 3.99 a SF, just so we know what kind of $$ we are talking about.

[Lo]

Re: Bamboo floors

we have bamboo floors and i LOVE them! as with any hardwood floors they are easy to clean and they just look really nice! I say go with the bamboo!

Re: Bamboo floors

we have bamboo floors and i LOVE them! as with any hardwood floors they are easy to clean and they just look really nice! I say go with the bamboo!

How long have you had them? I'm lad to hear good stuff about them. Did you lay them down or did you have them done?