thinking about putting in Bamboo Floors, anyone have opinion good or bad? (Nokomis: hardwood floors)

[FLSnowbirds]

We are thinking about putting in Bamboo Floors in does anyone have anything good or bad to say about them? Thanks and Happy New Year !

[cupper3]

Go for it!

Bamboo has very few negatives; environmentally very sustainable, wears well, ages well, and in many peoples' opinion, looks great.

Before installation, be sure to open packages and let them acclimatize to the humidity... best lay out the boards.

It is somewhat sensitive to moisture, so do not install it in bathrooms, and with the humidity in the summers, you need to have air to control it.

Loose dirt and sand are a bamboo floor's worst enemy, as it can scratch or be ground into the floor's surface and high heels are not exactly it's best friend either.

I am doing my house in bamboo before selling it.

[Dollydo]

I replaced my carpeted areas with natural bamboo. Been 3 years now and I am very happy, looks like new and cleans up easily.

[TamRE]

We have engineered hardwood floors in our home and they are 5 years old and still holding up. The only problem we have had is that the dog has put scratches in the floor with his nails. We have maple floors. When we first moved here the flooring places tried to steer us away from hardwood floors saying that they don't hold up with the humidity here in Florida. I think if you take good care of them, they will last. Bamboo looks very nice. With proper cleaning and care, you will love it. Hire someone to install it that knows what they are doing.

If you are thinking about getting the laminate Bamboo looking floors, they do not hold up. I have gone into several homes with laminate floors that were not very old and the laminate is starting to curl on the edges. Some people just didn't install them property, but others were not well taken care of.

[Coachgns]

We were all set to do Bamboo floors last year, to match the bamboo we ahve all over our condo, but a few different stores talked us out of it because of the humidity issues in FL. One very well-respected store told us he even stopped selling bamboo here because there were too many problems down the road.
We ended up with a very hard wood Engineered Floor - IPE. Regardless of which way you go, the Installer is critical. Our Installer was magnificent. THe only "drawback" is that he is a perfectionist, so it took him a little longer to do than if he wasn't paying such close attention. He saw flaws I'd never notice. If you are interested in name, etc. feel free to PM me.

[FLSnowbirds]

Ithink we will pass on the bamboo.

Multiple stores have told us the engineered hardwoods all darken over time. Does anyone have experience with that issue?

We were told that the Brazilian Cherry turns really dark.

I am looking for something in a light to medium shade so if it darkens it won't be very dark brown/black looking.

Thanks again.

[DaCounselor]

I would look at the Janka rating of any wood/bamboo flooring you are considering before you put it in. Without getting too technical, the lower the Janka psi rating the easier the floor can (and will) be dinged and scratched. We avoided bamboo when we put our floors in because the Janka ratings were all too low for our liking. We opted for Brazilian cherry.

Another tip - the glossier the finish the more it will show dings and scratches, so if this is a concern go for more of a matte finish. Or you can always go with a pre-distressed product if you like that look.

[whakru]

Originally Posted by DaCounselor

I would look at the Janka rating of any wood/bamboo flooring you are considering before you put it in. Without getting too technical, the lower the Janka psi rating the easier the floor can (and will) be dinged and scratched. We avoided bamboo when we put our floors in because the Janka ratings were all too low for our liking. We opted for Brazilian cherry.

Another tip - the glossier the finish the more it will show dings and scratches, so if this is a concern go for more of a matte finish. Or you can always go with a pre-distressed product if you like that look.

We are in the process of buying flooring now also and i am pretty sure that we are going with bamboo. It is important to note that the type of bamboo makes a difference in the Janka rating....if you buy solid stranded bamboo that is one of the hardest flooring out there (it ranks up there with teak). The just solid bamboo or engineered does tend to be a lot "softer" and ding easier.

[loves2read]

I have large format tile in my house in DFW--and the grout between tiles has been sealed--we don't have problem with staining in the grout lines...
I am curious as to the lines between the strips on wood floors--
bamboo is a narrow flooring material--so there are lots of grooves...
how badly do these trap dust and other materials like cat hair?
My daughter has concrete floors in the rooms in her house in Nokomis and she wants to lay wood--she has not decided what type of flooring (engineered/solid/bamboo...)
but they have two cats and keep their door to lanai open and windows open a lot of the time...
just curious as to what type of flooring is easier to clean and does not trap dust/matter in the grooves...