I’ve purchased a home where the truly icky carpeting must be removed and a new floor put down over concrete…. does anyone know about bamboo flooring?
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We replaced the carpet in my daughters room with bamboo flooring, and I love it. As you probably know it is an easily renewable resource because it is a grass - your floor can be grown in less than a decade vs. decades or centuries for a hardwood tree. We chose a horizontal grain (vs vertical grain) because I like the interest added by the 'knees' in the bamboo. We also went with the lighter natural color rather than the darker carmelized because the carmelization process weakens the bamboo somewhat. It is advertised as harder than oak, but you have to make sure that you are getting the right species of bamboo to really get the hard stuff - there are as many variations in hardness of bamboo species as there are between different species of hardwoods. You also have to be careful when buying it because some of the places that produce bamboo use formaldehyde levels in their glue that offgas excessively and can cause problems in those who are sensitive (besides cancer in others). If they can't tell you anything about the formaldehyde content, you should buy from somewhere else. I have heard good things about
http://www.greenwoodflooring.com/
and we used:
http://www.bamboohardwoods.com/
Did you install the bamboo flooring yourself? Thanks for the links, they were quite informative - and particularly thank you for the formaldahide info... I also love that this is a good for the planet type of choice.
Yes, we installed it ourselves. Our bedrooms are in the basement so we were installing below grade and were limited to either engineered flooring, tile, or some sort or resilient flooring. Engineered (which bamboo is) seemed like the best choice. This was our first experience with installing wood flooring of any kind and it went pretty well. We put down a subfloor so we could nail rather than gluing to the concrete - that has also made the room much warmer in the winter.
The flooring sales man told us that it couldn't be refinished, as opposed to wood.
He was right - all engineered flooring is limited in how many times it can be refinished vs 3/4" hardwood flooring. You might get 1 to 3 refinishes out of engineered (depending on thickness of the show layer) vs many more on solid wood. However, because our application was below grade, solid wood was not an option for us. Additionally, the finish on prefinished wood is much harder than can be provided on finished-in-place wood, so it lasts a lot longer before it needs refinishing. Plus, if you take proper care of your floor, you will never need to 'refinish' it, only replace the top finish with a light screening and a topcoat of finish.
What about floating floors for below-grade rooms?
We have the same situation: I'm considering bamboo floors on concrete in the below-grade living space of a split-level. There's an existing wood floor that appears homemade, nailed into concrete, with nailed pine planks on top as the flooring. These have separated over time, leaving gaps that collect basement dust and crud of all kinds. The subfloor also looks like a welcoming potential space for critters, who love our home as it is. We had to take up part of it when we removed a closet, and there was, um, evidence of past rodent inhabitants.
My contractor suggested putting down some sort of special pad, and then placing a floating floor on top of it -- that doesn't have to be nailed, or glued to the concrete. it just fits together like a puzzle, I guess.
Any thoughts on this?
You should be able to float a bamboo floor just fine - engineered floors lend themselves to such applications, and some are designed so that is the only way to install them. We chose the subfloor/nailing route for several reasons, all of them personal preference. We put Delta-FL under the subfloor, which is a product that helps insulate the floor as well as handling moisture. I was worried about undiscovered moisture problems because we have been in a drought for over 5 years. While it is advertised that you CAN float a floor over Delta-FL, it isn't recommended, so we needed a subfloor. And we nailed the finish floor because I wanted the ability to straighten boards, if necessary, and because I like the more solid feel when the floor is connected to what is under it. I have been on poorly laid floating floors where it crackles against the pad underneath it as you walk. However, there is nothing that I'm aware of to prevent you floating your floor, it is a matter of personal preference, not a requirement for installing bamboo.
Good luck with your decision, and with your installation.
Wow, thanks a lot! Especially about the possible pitfalls of floating the floor -- I don't have any experience with it, only what I've seen on This Old House. The main benefit to us for floating it is that we could get rid of a subfloor space that seems like it has let in mice, and because it would give an inch or two of extra headroom.
I really appreciate the links to the bamboo floor sites.
Bamboo came in the house that my sister bought this year. She loves it and I think it is gorgeous. I have no idea what her subfloor is but I guess it is concrete as she does not have a basement. If I ever needed to put in a new floor in my house, I would choose it.
Thanks...