Has anyone had any experience of bamboo flooring. I have to say I had never
heard of it until a friend announced he had recently bought some and was
about to lay it in his home. must say it looks good but how does it wear?

Appreciate any comments

Gary Dean (UK)

A flooring contractor I know does not reccomend using bamboo flooring. He
claims that it is too soft.
Gene
"Gary Dean" wrote in message
...
Has anyone had any experience of bamboo flooring. I have to say I had
never heard of it until a friend announced he had recently bought some and
was about to lay it in his home. must say it looks good but how does it
wear?

Appreciate any comments

Gary Dean (UK)

Gene T wrote:
A flooring contractor I know does not reccomend using bamboo flooring. He
claims that it is too soft.

I agree.

We installed it in a relative's den. It's nice, but I think it's
overpriced. Black and Decker uses bamboo for current model Workmate
tops, as it's cheap overseas. Here in the states, bamboo is priced like
oak, without the durability.

Several of my friends have bamboo flooring. It's beautiful and they
love it. I've been told there are several manufacturing techniques --
one uses strips which are flat and shave from the bamboo sprially.
Another compressess them vertically under millions of pounds of
pressure...

There's a bamboo floor store in Boulder, Colorado, wtih these all on
display. Perhaps there's a bamboo floor store near you???? I didn't do
a web search but maybe....

On 21 Jun 2005 05:08:54 -0700, "Never Enough Money"
wrote:

Several of my friends have bamboo flooring. It's beautiful and they
love it. I've been told there are several manufacturing techniques --
one uses strips which are flat and shave from the bamboo sprially.
Another compressess them vertically under millions of pounds of
pressure...

There's a bamboo floor store in Boulder, Colorado, wtih these all on
display. Perhaps there's a bamboo floor store near you???? I didn't do
a web search but maybe....

http://www.bamboo-flooring.com/

Two flooring contractors I talked to claim bamboo warps, cups, etc.
even when installed correctly.
My research shows bamboo is slightly HARDER than oak, and the finish
they apply in China is equal to or greater than other pre-finished
hardwood flooring. The engineered mahogany flooring I have came
pre-finished with a 25 year warrantee, and can be sanded and refinished
once or twice, so it'll outlive me and my house.

You better talk to another flooring contractor.

Look here http://www.hardwooddirect.com/Hardness_Scale.asp

I have seen a large bamboo floor installation in the most heavily used area
of a large local dept store. After 10 years it still looks good. My only
dislike is the repetitive pattern of the bamboo knots... gets boring to
look at after a while.

Google posts to alt.home.repair where it has been discussed a fair
bit.

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 05:42:16 GMT, "Gary Dean"
wrote:

Has anyone had any experience of bamboo flooring. I have to say I had never
heard of it until a friend announced he had recently bought some and was
about to lay it in his home. must say it looks good but how does it wear?

Appreciate any comments

Gary Dean (UK)

Gary,
I have used the bamboo flooring and plyboo (like plywood, but solid,
cross laminated bamboo) on a number of projects, but not floors. The
info that I got with it said that using some ball test (they drop a
steel ball on it, and measure the dent) the hardness is between cherry
and oak. From working with it, I will agree. It sands nicely, cuts
nicely, but when cross cutting you need to score a line, or put tape
over the cut. It has long fiber and tends to have long tearouts if you
don't. It takes finish nicely and glues nicely. I like the colors, and
the fact that it is sustainable (they can reharvest every 4 years). For
any good wood floor, if you want it to last and look good, you have a
no shoes house. No dogs as well becuse the claws can do a lot of damage
to any floor. As near as I can tell, it is very stable.
robo hippy

It's pretty decent stuff. I used it for a wall (backsplash) and dining room
floor It's tough as Oak and not hydroscopic. Only the solid is worthwhile
for tough areas Just be aware that between the two types (v & h), there are
grades of quality. Like everything else you can buy cheap crap, and spending
more doesn't guarantee a better product. What I would agree with is that a
"renewable" material is expensive!



"Gary Dean" wrote in message
...
Has anyone had any experience of bamboo flooring. I have to say I had
never
heard of it until a friend announced he had recently bought some and was
about to lay it in his home. must say it looks good but how does it wear?

Appreciate any comments

Gary Dean (UK)

We used it in our home remodel 4 years ago and are getting ready to
install it in a new house we are building. My wife and I love the stuff.
It has held up well so far . . . I disagree that it is expensive. If you
search the net, you can find it cheap . . . approximately $2.50 per
square foot, finished.

Rick

B a r r y wrote:
Gene T wrote:

A flooring contractor I know does not reccomend using bamboo
flooring. He claims that it is too soft.


I agree.

We installed it in a relative's den. It's nice, but I think it's
overpriced. Black and Decker uses bamboo for current model Workmate
tops, as it's cheap overseas. Here in the states, bamboo is priced like
oak, without the durability.

In article . com,
"robo hippy" wrote:

Gary,
I have used the bamboo flooring and plyboo (like plywood, but solid,
cross laminated bamboo) on a number of projects, but not floors. The
info that I got with it said that using some ball test (they drop a
steel ball on it, and measure the dent) the hardness is between cherry
and oak. From working with it, I will agree. It sands nicely, cuts
nicely, but when cross cutting you need to score a line, or put tape
over the cut. It has long fiber and tends to have long tearouts if you
don't. It takes finish nicely and glues nicely. I like the colors, and
the fact that it is sustainable (they can reharvest every 4 years). For
any good wood floor, if you want it to last and look good, you have a
no shoes house. No dogs as well becuse the claws can do a lot of damage
to any floor. As near as I can tell, it is very stable.
robo hippy

How is it for consistency in terms of thickness?

In article ,
"Gary Dean" wrote:

Has anyone had any experience of bamboo flooring. I have to say I had never
heard of it until a friend announced he had recently bought some and was
about to lay it in his home. must say it looks good but how does it wear?

Appreciate any comments

Gary Dean (UK)

I installed a bamboo floor three years ago in a new sunroom I built for
my daughter. It looks as good today as when it was new(and there is a
great dane to help with the wear). I bought it from "Flooring
Liquidators" or something close to that name. I believe they have
outlets across the country here in the US but don't know about the UK.