KingM Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 We need to make a decision about flooring on Monday and have come down to oak or bamboo. The bamboo will save us about $600, but it's new enough and I've seen enough questions on the other thread that I worry about its durability. Is it really softer and prone to dents? I'm wondering who has put in bamboo on the board and whether or not they regretted the decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 :lurk5:I'm curious to see what feedback you get. We would like to take up the master bedroom carpet and replace it with bamboo. I like the look. On the other hand, I've had #3 maple in my great room and kitchen for 20 years and have loved the ease and beauty. I don't really know what I'm thinking except that bamboo is intriguing and sustainable. What brought you to the choice between oak and bamboo? Or is that a highly personal question?:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 We had it for four years before we moved away. We managed to scratch the surface by dragging a heavy cardboard box across it that had massive staples in the bottom, but we never dented it. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingM Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 What brought you to the choice between oak and bamboo? Or is that a highly personal question?:001_huh: Not personal at all. We're building an addition and have radiant heating and not everything will work on top of that kind of floor. They have a good price on some nice looking engineered oak floors with an even better price on some bamboo that would work with radiant. I like the look of the bamboo, but I'm worried that this will be one of those trendy things that will look dumb in hindsight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherMayI Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 I had bamboo in my master bedroom in our last house. Bamboo is actually harder than hardwood. We used a hardwood in our lower level and I regretted not using bamboo there as well. There are dog nail scratches all over the lower level floors. I would go with the cheaper, harder product:001_smile:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 We have 1800sf of bamboo in our house. It is scratched with a few dents as well. We do have 4 kids so I think no matter what, it is going to look worn, KWIM? I have no illusions that we could keep a floor scratch free so in hindsight I would have picked a floor that looks better the more worn it is. Our friends have plain old pine planks(not flooring) and I think it looks great. We have the light bamboo. I wish we had chosen the darker. But, we also only paid $1.99/sf so :shrug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Bamboo is actually harder than hardwood. This was my understanding. I'm glad to have actual user confirmation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingM Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 Originally Posted by MotherMayI Bamboo is actually harder than hardwood. This was my understanding. I'm glad to have actual user confirmation. I've spent the last hour or so digging around on a contractors forum and it sounds like the difference is strand bamboo (meaning, engineered) versus natural. The strand bamboo is harder than hardwoods, but the natural bamboo is apparently prone to dents and scratches, more like pine planks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherMayI Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 I did see where carbonized is softer than natural bamboo (the lighter-blonde color). We had carbonized- and I was very happy with it. We own a flooring business-my dh is out of town right now. When he calls I will ask what he would recommend. If you have a manufacturer's name for the flooring you are considering, that would be helpful. He knows his stuff:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 We had bamboo for 2.5 years at our other house and put it in our current house just a couple of months ago. We love it. It is harder than other wood floors, but like any wood floor it will dent if something heavy is dropped on it and scratch if something is drug across it. The best thing is that we did not have to worry about lot numbers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamapjama Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 We were looking at bamboo a year or so ago and the thing that stopped us at that time was that we were told bamboo really reacted to temperature change. We were told that it would shrink quite a bit, leaving noticalbe gaps between the boards, for example it you have electric heat or a wood stove as we do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Ours is doing fine. We got the "on end" kind. One fun thing...when you sand it it smells like alfalfa, not wood....for it is a grass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Ours is doing fine. We do have dents but, after 18 months, it still looks really good. It's in our living/main room and our main hallway. We're very happy with the product. Note: I've never lived in a house with oak wood floors to compare it to. We glued ours down to a cement sub floor. We're do-it-yourselfers. It was messy and soooo hard but we saved a lot of money (almost $2000) by doing it ourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherMayI Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 [/i] I've spent the last hour or so digging around on a contractors forum and it sounds like the difference is strand bamboo (meaning, engineered) versus natural. The strand bamboo is harder than hardwoods, but the natural bamboo is apparently prone to dents and scratches, more like pine planks. OK, I stand corrected. :tongue_smilie: My dh just texted me- he said Oak is harder unless the bamboo is strand. (Just as your research concluded)...So is the bamboo you are looking at strand? Good luck on your new project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 My in-laws just put this in a few weeks ago. It is beautiful, but it already has dents in it. It is in the kitchen (in a tiny kitchen, with quart countertops and custom cabinetry :001_huh:) so the dents would bug me when I mopped/swept. It is really, really pretty, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 We were originally going to go with bamboo, but about 90% of the first-hand accounts I read on it said that it was soft and very prone to dents. With a rough little boy in the house and 2 large dogs, we decided to go with something harder, even though it was more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmsmama Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 I read in all the promo material that bamboo is harder than hardwood, but almost all the personal accounts online that I read from people who actually used it, said that it dented very easily and they ended up very unhappy with it. I just don't want to take the chance. One thing I did read is that the hardness of bamboo depends on several factors: the colour of the bamboo, the type of bamboo, and manufacturer. Since bamboo has become so popular, sometimes it is being harvested too early, before it is properly hardened, and that is leading to big differences in the quality of the end product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 :lurk5:I'm curious to see what feedback you get. We would like to take up the master bedroom carpet and replace it with bamboo. I like the look. On the other hand, I've had #3 maple in my great room and kitchen for 20 years and have loved the ease and beauty. I don't really know what I'm thinking except that bamboo is intriguing and sustainable. What brought you to the choice between oak and bamboo? Or is that a highly personal question?:001_huh: I would love, love, love to put maple in, but it's more $$ (based on what we've seen) and since KingM likes the look of oak better, it's hard to convince him to spend more on maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingM Posted August 16, 2009 Author Share Posted August 16, 2009 I would love, love, love to put maple in, but it's more $$ (based on what we've seen) and since KingM likes the look of oak better, it's hard to convince him to spend more on maple. I don't prefer oak to maple, per se, but I don't necessarily favor the maple enough to tack on $750 to our already tight construction budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 I heard engineered was harder than bamboo. But not impervious to scratches and w/two cats we went w/ a top grade laminate. No scratches and lookes beautiful after two yrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 We have 1800sf of bamboo in our house. It is scratched with a few dents as well. We do have 4 kids so I think no matter what, it is going to look worn, KWIM? I have no illusions that we could keep a floor scratch free so in hindsight I would have picked a floor that looks better the more worn it is. Our friends have plain old pine planks(not flooring) and I think it looks great. We have the light bamboo. I wish we had chosen the darker. But, we also only paid $1.99/sf so :shrug: This is why we chose oak. Hardwood, fewer scratch & dents. The dents and scratches in the wood show up less and are often confused for the pattern of the oak itself. we have 5 kids and 2 dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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