flooring... anyone use cork? bamboo? (wood floors, rental, condo)

[newUHprof]

So, we had a little flood in our condo, which is probably going to end up requiring us to re-do the flooring upstairs. We have laminate now, but if we're going to re-do it, we might want to upgrade. I was thinking of bamboo, but when I started reading, I came across references to cork flooring.

I like the idea of something a little softer than hardwood, since we go barefoot inside, but I don't want carpeting (pets!). It also is supposedly mold & mildew resistant, which might make it a good choice for Hawaii.

Anyone here in Hawaii and have either cork or bamboo flooring? Any strong feelings one way or the other?

[Sweetbeet]

We have the bamboo laminate (click-lock floating floor, we installed it ourselves - piece of cake) in several rooms. Overall, we like it. Haven't had any problems with mold (I have heard that mentioned as a problem), and it cleans up pretty much like the wood laminates. It is a little soft, though - the boy has run his office chair around quite a bit in one area and there are dents and scratches as a result (I think the dents are from when little bits of who-knows-what get stuck to the chair wheels and ground in, but I'm not sure). He spends a lot of time at his computer and is not the best at sweeping the floor, or doing things (e.g., eating) neatly or carefully, so YMMV (and probably will). I don't know how it would stand up to doggie claws.

Anyway, in the living room and our bedroom, where we don't give it such hard use, it is great.

I don't know anything about cork, but I'd love to know, so hopefully someone will answer that part of your inquiry.

p.s. - sorry about the flood!!

[KonaKat]

Cork floors are great. One of the properties that we manage has cork floors in the kitchens and it is just beautiful. My cousin also has cork and she loves it. I would definitely have it. Oh, one other older property we manage has cork tiles in entire house. This house is probably at least 20 years old and the tiles show some wear but still look good even being a rental for many years.

In this climate I am also a big fan of the (newer, better quality) faux wood floors. They look like new for a long time.

[cynmkolohe]

This may not apply to where you live, but at a party recently I had an interesting conversation with someone who says that bamboo is a really poor choice for parts of Hawaii that get a lot of rain (like East Hawaii). He said that he saw one case in which the bamboo had actually started to re-grow under a large bed in a master bedroom. Wish I had pics of that.

[lauleahere&there]

"Engineered" bamboo is the way to go in a humid environment. It is 1/4" to 3/8" of bamboo, over layers of other wood like cedar. The wood is layered so that the grain is horizontal on some layers and vertical on others--stronger and less likely to warp.

Make sure you get the best finish you can afford. It will dent and scratch less easily and will be less likely to fade in sunlight. You do get what you pay for.

p.s. Have you looked at iFloor? Lots of choices, but they're sometimes discontinued designs--be sure to read independent reviews. A good idea anyway for a large purchase.

[winkosmosis]

My current place has plastic flooring. I thought it was wood until the landlady told me. She says it lasts really long too. Termites don't eat plastic

[annaegel]

I live in Tampa, FL. I was looking to replace some old carpeting. I asked my interior designer to help me choose new flooring. I have kids and a dog so I wanted something durable that I won't need to replace or repair in a year. Also, we had plumbing problems that made us look into changing the flooring, so it had to be resistant to water damage, if our problem ever came back. She told us to stay away from bamboo because it is a soft wood and would be damaged easily. She recommended cork. We put cork in our living room and the connecting hallway. We installed it 2 years ago and I like that it feels good to your feet, but if you put furniture on top of the floor, it makes a permanent dent. We often move our heavy coffee table around and there are pock marks all over that area. The cork flooring does scratch, even though I was told it has 7 layers of finish on it. If you want to move your furniture, you have to lift it, otherwise when you push the furniture, it scraps off the layers of finish very easily. We had a leak by our window and did not know it until I notice buckling in the floor. Luckily, I saved some planks so we could repair it, but it did get damaged by water, despite what my interior designer told me.

[LSLBlues]

I would never buy bamboo flooring after living in a house for a month with the stuff everywhere. It may have just been cheap bamboo flooring, but I could put an indentation in the wood with my fingernail. Furniture, toys, etc all dented the floor.

[elaineo]

We've had a bad experience with cork in our kitchen and living room. If water sits on it and gets into the seams, the underlayer swells up permanently, and you're left with a bulging seam that looks horrible. Our old dog developed an incontinence problem, and we would discover one of her "spots" the next day when it was already too late.

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

My current place has plastic flooring. I thought it was wood until the landlady told me. She says it lasts really long too. Termites don't eat plastic

BTW, the reason she replaced the original wood floor in the first place was it was being eaten by termites. The walls of the house are concrete but apparently the bottom wasn't. They took out the wood floor, poured a concrete slab, then put the plastic floor on top