Bamboo Flooring

I installed a bamboo floor in a client's house two years ago. They
love it! It is harder than red oak due to a very high silica content.

As others have noted, it is a much more "renewable" resource--a new
crop can be cut every 5 years, and it grows from the roots (can't do
that with oak!).

The silica does mean it's harder on saw blades: the floor I laid was
only 200 s.f. but by the time I finished the nearly-new blade I started
with was beginning to burn the curf.

Oh, the stuff is just flat-out beautiful in the morning sun!

Dan

We installed bamboo in a portion of our house 4 years ago. We used a
3-ply lamination, each piece 3.625" X 36" (I think those are the right
dimensions)long, tongue and groove, and end-matched. We bought the
pre-finished, natural color, horizontal layup product. We love the
stuff. It's a renewable resource, feels great on bare feet, and although
not impervious to scratches, chair leg denting, etc . . . it seems every
bit as durable as the oak flooring in other parts of our house. We are
just starting to build a new house (and a new, large shop!) and will use
bamboo throughout the main floor.

From my personal experience, I highly recommend the stuff. As an added
bonus, the stuff is relatively inexpensive (I just paid $2.18 per square
ft.)

Rick

[email protected] wrote:
> Sorry if this is a bit OT! I'm considering installing pre-finished
> bamboo flooring (real, not laminate) in my "family room", and was
> wondering if anyone in the group had any experiance with bamboo
> flooring. Specifically in the areas of durability, and scratch/scuff
> resistance.
> I understand that much of this is also based on the finish...I was
> hoping for an "all other things being equal" type of comparison.
>
> Any help or advice would be gratly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
>
> Hal
>

[email protected] wrote:
> Sorry if this is a bit OT! I'm considering installing pre-finished
> bamboo flooring (real, not laminate) in my "family room", and was
> wondering if anyone in the group had any experiance with bamboo
> flooring.

We installed it in a relative's farm house.


>Specifically in the areas of durability, and scratch/scuff
> resistance.

His has been similar to many prefinished floor products, with a bit more
dentability. It will scratch, but it's a little tougher than a
typical polyurethane hardwood floor, but less scratch resistant to a
finish product like "Traffic".

Barry

Andrew Barss wrote:
>
> Non-carbonized bamboo is substantially harder than any species of oak.
>
>
> See
>
> http://www.woodfloorsonline.com/techtalk/hardns.html


A-ha!

Thanks, Andy.

I felt my BIL's bamboo floor was softer than typically used hardwoods,
but it's carbonized, with a color similar to light walnut.

Thanks again for the link.

Barry

The distinct difference is that it is not as hydroscopic as wood products,
and a more renewable resource.

As for the construction (scratch and scuff) it is based simply on it's
pre-finish by the manufacturer. In that case quality counts, but the surface
and wear and tear, would be equal to any other product wood or otherwise.
Bare Bamboo should easily outlast bare wood!

joe


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Sorry if this is a bit OT! I'm considering installing pre-finished
> bamboo flooring (real, not laminate) in my "family room", and was
> wondering if anyone in the group had any experiance with bamboo
> flooring. Specifically in the areas of durability, and scratch/scuff
> resistance.
> I understand that much of this is also based on the finish...I was
> hoping for an "all other things being equal" type of comparison.
>
> Any help or advice would be gratly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
>
> Hal
>

I can relate the same experience.
We love it.
Rugs are around high traffic areas. The only difference in durability
compared to oak is that bamboo dents easier. (dropped a fire extinguiser one
day!).
Mark

"Rick Stein" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> We installed bamboo in a portion of our house 4 years ago. We used a
> 3-ply lamination, each piece 3.625" X 36" (I think those are the right
> dimensions)long, tongue and groove, and end-matched. We bought the
> pre-finished, natural color, horizontal layup product. We love the
> stuff. It's a renewable resource, feels great on bare feet, and although
> not impervious to scratches, chair leg denting, etc . . . it seems every
> bit as durable as the oak flooring in other parts of our house. We are
> just starting to build a new house (and a new, large shop!) and will use
> bamboo throughout the main floor.
>
> From my personal experience, I highly recommend the stuff. As an added
> bonus, the stuff is relatively inexpensive (I just paid $2.18 per square
> ft.)
>
> Rick
>
> [email protected] wrote:
> > Sorry if this is a bit OT! I'm considering installing pre-finished
> > bamboo flooring (real, not laminate) in my "family room", and was
> > wondering if anyone in the group had any experiance with bamboo
> > flooring. Specifically in the areas of durability, and scratch/scuff
> > resistance.
> > I understand that much of this is also based on the finish...I was
> > hoping for an "all other things being equal" type of comparison.
> >
> > Any help or advice would be gratly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
> >
> > Hal
> >
>

Mark <[email protected]> wrote:
: I can relate the same experience.
: We love it.
: Rugs are around high traffic areas. The only difference in durability
: compared to oak is that bamboo dents easier. (dropped a fire extinguiser one
: day!).


Non-carbonized bamboo is substantially harder than any species of oak.


See

http://www.woodfloorsonline.com/techtalk/hardns.html


- Andy Barss