Anyone here have bamboo flooring? Love it? Hate it? Meh?

[GreenPartyVoter]

Even the really cheap stuff at Lumber Liquidators would cost a lot for the size of the area I need to cover. (Kitchen/dining/living room) I hear it scratches easily and warps as well. Have you had problems of this nature? Is it worth scrimping, saving, and sacrificing to get it?

[napi21]

1. I don't but my son does & he loves it! Has it in the kit, LR, DR, & foyer.

He had a collie & 2 cats & 2 kids and never had any problems with scratching or warping. I can't help you with the grad he has because it was in the house when he bought it. He just uses a damp mop to clean it and it's beautiful.

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. That's cool to know, thanks! :^)

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Have you considered cork flooring?

http://homerepair.about.com/od/interiorhomerepair/ss/cork_flooring_3.htm

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Yes, for the bathrooms, but it's more expensive than the cheaper bamboo we were looking at.

[KT2000]

3. Check for formaldehyde

I was in Costco and took a sniff of their bamboo flooring. It seemed to have quite a bit of formaldehyde - too much for me. Ask lots of questions and make sure you get the answers. Also read the box of products like this, such as engineered wood flooring. It may have a notice for residents of Minnesota (I think that is the state) informing them that the product contains formaldehyde. That just means other states have not passed laws requiring notification.
Have a friend who had half her floor installed and the whole family was sick from it so they had to take it up and then return it.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Yeah, that's been on my mind too. But the alternative of doing laminate may

be just as bad. Whichever one we go with, we'll have to be careful.

[KT2000]

7. Check out ecohaus

http://www.ecohaus.com

look at their flooring page - it says their's is low emission
you could find out the brand and see if you could find it locally.

[madokie]

11. That sounds like total bull****

unadultrated bullshit

[KT2000]

12. Are you kidding?

There is formaldehyde in those products. If you do not know that you are sadly uninformed.
Formaldehyde is used in many products you would not suspect. It is up to you to find out because informing you of its presence is voluntary.

You might want to reconsider the way you communicate with people.

See: http://www.bamboo-flooring-facts.com/bambooflooringformaldehyde.htm

[madokie]

13. Maybe some of it is

What we installed sure didn't and don't have a formaldehyde smell to it and yes I know what formaldehyde smells like. All except the solid wood flooring is glued up pieces of wood, or the all the ones I've checked out are. Its one of the first ingredients I look for and ask about when I buy building products. I do a lot of building work and have all my life, from placing the concrete to installing the trim and building the cabinets so I know a thing or two about building products. I'm here to tell you right now that not all glue that is used in building products has formaldehyde in it.

I call bullshit when I smell it, sorry

[KT2000]

14. There are different formaldehyde

products.
Urea formaldehyde which is used in particle board and the bamboo wood flooring (as well as many other products) is less stable and outgasses a lot.
Phenol formaldehyde which is used in plywood is more stable and does not outgas as much and is generally more tolerable.
Most glues DO use formaldehyde.
Don't know what it was I said that you objected to but this is a subject I know quite a bit about and what I have said is true. Enough said though.

[Mimosa]

8. Do it!

There are some 'green' lines of bamboo. I saw a website for one company which showed all the patterns and grades. If you Google, you'll come across it. :)

I don't have it but a friend of mine in NOLA had it in his house and it was strong and GORGEOUS! It has a soft glow which helps reflect light. It goes with any decor.

I found a good site showing many styles.

http://www.calibamboo.com/bambooflooring.html?gclid=CLzg56uyi6QCFcHs7QodMRkhIg


I like this colour called mocha.

http://www.calibamboo.com/bamboo-flooring-organic.html

[slackmaster]

9. Tagged for interest. It makes great cutting boards.

I don't know about flooring.

[madokie]

10. We have it in our bedroom and hallway

and simply love it. it doesn't scratch easily and I can't imagine anyone can say that with a straight face. its been three years since I put it down and it looks as good as it did the day I put it in. I plan to replace the flooring I have in the dining room with it sometime this winter. Bamboo is some hard ass flooring so like I said it doesn't scratch, dent or anything like that. we used the flat (there is flat and edge, caramelized and not caramelized,) and its the caramelized so its a dark honey color and simply beautiful. Any hard wood flooring you put down, bamboo included, you should put a vapor barrier down first then install it over that. I suspect that anyone who says that theirs warped didn't install it correctly to begin with.

If I hadn't already put wood in two rooms and tile in one I'd put bamboo though out the whole house. I like the feel of it, I like the toughness of it, I like the look of it. Like I said if I had put it in one of our rooms first the whole house would be bamboo flooring right now. its the best I've found.

Add: Its the most stable, ie it doesn't swell or shrink with the seasons like some flooring I've used does either.

[kentauros]

15. I just read about a new one on TreeHugger.com

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/09/fossilized-bamboo-hardest-floor-ever.php

I have no idea how they "fossilize" this type, but it looks pretty good. Also, it's the hardest wood flooring yet :D