We are renovating a house, and really like the Earl Gray woven strand bamboo from Home Depot (the click together stuff).

The sample seems tough as nails. Lifetime finish warranty. I take the handle of my Kershaw, and it takes a good whack to put a dent in it at all. Lightly running the sharp tip all over it results in ZERO scratches... I need to put some real pressure on it to scratch.

Yet the reviews are peppered with people who say that they have it installed and after wearing nothing but socks on it, it scratches. Slide a cardboard box? Scratches. Looks terrible after a year or two.

We got a little spooked from it, and I went in and looked this morning at engineered hardwood flooring, thinking this would be the answer. The oak samples I looked at were SEVERAL TIMES easier to scratch and dent than the bamboo... it wasn't even close.

We are wanting to do the whole house; if it was a bedroom or two we'd take a chance, but this is going to be a significant investment.

Does anyone have some actual experience with bamboo flooring?

We love ours. Its from Cali bamboo. calibamboo

We have three dogs in the house and one is good size with some large sharp nails. No scratches so from the animals....

One thing that will scratch the finish on the floor is sliding heavy cardboard boxes with dirt under them. So don't do that

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My oldest son put his bamboo flooring down last year.  His dog runs/slides all over it (spastic little shit, too, so she makes lots of round and round trips on it when she gets excited) and so far he says no marks from her claws.

We have oak flooring in our house.  The cats have ripped the finish up badly just playing/running/sliding around on it.  We get down on the floor a couple times a year and wipe fresh stain into the gouges/scratches to try to keep it looking nice.  We've decided we will not put oak in the upstairs bedrooms/hallway this winter when we redo the upstairs.  It'll be some kind of laminate flooring, but not regular oak with the polyurethane (or whatever they put on it).  We've got a sort of cherry looking flooring in the master bedroom (matched the furniture at the time) that's been down for almost 20 years and the cats haven't put a single scratch in it yet.

Tore ours out. It looked terrible after a few years.  Well, didnt tear it out, we overlayed it with lvt.

It was not cheap box store flooring either.  It was good quality stuff bought from a flooring contractor.  We installed it in the late 90's.  Maybe finishes are better now, but the stuff dented also.

I would never use it again, especially not in the kitchen or heavy traffic areas.

Had the "natural" colored Bamboo flooring in our last house - we had it down for 5 years with 2 dogs and you couldn't tell it wasn't brand new when we sold it.  Loved that stuff.

Real bamboo is a soft flooring compared to slow grown hardwoods.  You get what you pay for.

I would not put it in my house.

Red
Commercial Flooring Sales - 25 years

I've seen that strand bamboo flooring, which is what we're looking at, is MUCH harder than "regular" bamboo flooring. Maybe that's it?

Friend was living in a place with bamboo flooring and it got pretty tore up looking after a year, so maybe it really depends on the type and quality? He had two cats and a 140 pound golden retriever/ husky/ bunch of other stuff mix that woudl play with the cats chasing and sliding around. 

My neighbour built a custom house across the street with bamboo about a year ago. I told him I was thinking of new flooring, he instantly said to stay away from the bamboo he had.

Those who have scratched up bamboo flooring... what brand/item is it?

From what I understand there are vast differences.

OP, I've got carbonized bamboo on the first floor of my house. It's been pretty tough so far. It's from lumber liquidators and held up really well. The bamboo is shredded and then baked or something like that and once it's done it's harder that hardwood. <--- insert "that's what she said" joke.

We've got a dauchsund that's always walking on the floor and a fat cat with long claws. No damage from the dog or cat.


I'll tell you the only scratches we've got are from negligence. Example: My wife (no pics) demands we have Thanksgiving at our house after the floor was installed to show it off. Family shows up and brings their own chairs. No problem we thought... until we see that they were packing their chairs up to leave, one was a folding metal chair with a rubber foot missing. Bare metal on the new floor scratched it. Not badly like I thought it would... and we have to look for the scratches but still, it scratched some. But there aren't any gouges.

No damage to the floor when the metal tiffany style lamp was knocked off an end table onto the floor.

The only other scratches were from a couch we had. We put felt pads on the bottom of everything. Apparently one of these moved off of one of the feet of the couch and scratched the floor because there was a staple stuck in the foot from the tag that was on it previously. It scratched it but there were no gouges.

We want to have the upstairs done as well in this same bamboo. we like it.

The brand I think is MorningStarXD. It's not the click stuff, this floor is nailed down like a traditional floor is.

See, I would expect ANY floor, short of porcelain tile, to scratch with something like you described above.

We were looking at the "luxury" vinyl tile, but realized that although it's great for water and such, it scratches really easily.

We were also looking at the Distressed Silver Stone from LL, it's about the same as the HD brand though.

I'm just really having a hard time seeing how this stuff can be easily scratched like some say. It's gotta be a different type of bamboo, or formed through a different process.

The product you want is allegedly made with STRAND BAMBOO- which has a Jenka rating of 3000 or so.  For comparisons oak is around 1300.  I say allegedly for a reason- and that is something a few phone calls to a manufacturer and obtaining written literature should verify.  

But I am betting those bitching have another type (engineered = 1700; solid = 1800; distressed = 1900 which are all vertical bamboo).  

As for flooring, Brazilian Walnut is usually the most common when considering hardness, with a rating around 3700.  


Did a lot of research on this before we bought hardwoods and at the end of the day, we left bamboo behind. Bamboo (strand or vertical) is nothing but a tubular structure- like a straw.  Just put them all together or cut them into pieces and you no matter what, you have straws.  And guess what happens to it when moisture is excessive?  It swells- a lot more than real wood!  And what happens when moistures low?  It contracts a lot more than real wood and you have a hollow tube that looses strength.  And nobody will volunteers that the coloring of the bamboo weakens the structure further.  

When you combine that with the fact most manufacturers do not soak the material with anything to fill those voids or harden it, they just dry it (if you are lucky), cut it, glue it and dye it, you realize instead of walking on layers of wood (engineered or solid), you are not getting a quality product that will stand the test of time.  A major moisture swing in either direction will create problems- and nobody can control that.  And one it happens, your floor will look like crap forever. And no- you can't just resand it- it will tear out the cut up parts and the dye will have soaked through the straws to even lower layers, never being able to stained a new solid color without going darker. Few will take on the challenge and those that do, will charge heavily for doing such.

Not to mention those adhesives are not tested for VOC's- only the finished product is tested.  Guess what happens when you cover a VOC with a top coat?  Nothing immediately - aka a passing test.   A short time later, those fumes work right through the top coat and release.  And before anyone jumps on the sustainability or save the environment- just stop- because it causes more pollution and harm at the end of the day- that boat from China and all the adhesives puts more pollution back in than if you used a reputable wood flooring manufacturer who uses sustainable sources.    

Skip the three big box stores- Orange, Blue & Green.  Head to a local hardwood store and speak to them.  There are better options out there.  For a dollar more a foot you could get solid wood that would last forever and get a better rate of return on your investment.  If installation ease is your issue- you might be surprised what is out there.  Mirage engineered click-lock floors are foolproof and can be refinished.  

Good Luck!

Five years ago, we choose dark stained distressed hickory with an aluminum oxide finish. I have a wife, two boys and two dumbass dogs and the floor looks like it did when I put it down. During the same time, my friend laid and has already replaced non-stranded bamboo flooring from the big orange box.

I did put a nice big scratch in the finish when I slid a large ceramic pot about a foot, upon inspection a tiny piece of aquarium gravel had found its way underneath one of the pot's foam foot pads... The aquarium was in the boy's room at the time. A little clear nail polish and you can't see it unless it's pointed out and you get your face 12" from it.

Stranded bamboo with an aluminum oxide finish should hold up really well. The only issue with the bamboo flooring, stranded or otherwise, is it is all mostly smooth finish which shows scratches and dents more easily. I would also stay away from anything that is higher gloss, it looks nice when laid but like shit a few years later in the high traffic zones.

edit: that's a really nice looking distressed bamboo floor, Rocket.




 

OP

anything harder than the wood floor will scratch it

Its as simple as that

dirt under heavy object=scratch
ceramic/stone items=scratch
metal=scratch
metal pads from furniture=scratch

there are different qualities of flooring but you can't have a scratch proof wood/bamboo floor.

Thanks,

It is the hardest "wood" flooring you can buy. You have to drill the surface, as to not shatter it, when driving a finish nail through it.

The one we used was an engineered hardwood Malibu Fossilized® T&G Engineered Flooring , and it has a 50 Year residential warranty.

The Janka equivalent hardness rating is 4552 lbs. 3.3 times harder than oak...

It's legit, really nice stuff.

I had some engineered oak from Mannington oak floorin my last house, this bamboo is waaayyyy more durable.

The finishes have gotten much harder to work with the underlying material.

Put 5/8" natural in a rental, been down for 9 years now.  Three different tenants, each time they move out it looks great.

Have 5/8" in my home office and I beat the hell out of it. Looks new.  

Have a bonus room that the carpet needs to be replaced in, going to do the same bamboo.

Can usually find it for about $2 a sq ft.

Put strand woven bamboo down back in August. I have a bullmastiff that runs around in it and claws at it to get traction when he does. So far no scratches.

I would go nail down if you can. The click lock stuff has bad reviews and if you run it for more than 20 ft I think you have to put a tradition strip in and start your next run.

Ugh... I just read the detailed instructions for the brand we were looking at. I think a lot of it is overkill so manufacturers cover their asses, but still...

The size limit is actually 35 feet, which is not a problem for us. BUT...

1/2" expansion required on EVERY vertical surface. Including kitchen islands, cabinets anything. And of course you can't put it under the cabinetry. That will make for some thick molding strips, and I'm not sure we can re-use the nice ones we have with a 1/2" gap. That seems excessive...

Also they say that any cabinet that comes out, any wall that juts out into a room, every doorway, etc needs a transition strip. Only install in square or rectangle shapes and use transition strips. That's virtually impossible in at least one of our rooms, and would make every room have multiple transition strips throughout the room.

I don't understand why, if you would have adequate expansion at every wall, every doorway, EVERY vertical surface... why you would need to use all those expansion strips. Unless they are making the criteria for warranty so ridiculous that no one will be eligible...

The same reason the "50 year" warranty quoted above is useless.  Anyone who has fully read it, and understands what the standards are National Wood Floor Association are to get them to say a manufacturer screwed up, will see that the warranty is not worth the paper it is written on. The warranty is really on the finish, as manufacturers defects are usually immediately noticeable.  NWFA inspection has many "outs" for the manufacturers:
1) The finish warranty does not cover defects or damage caused by improper installation; abuse or improper use including but not limited to the use of abrasives; the use of vacuum cleaners or other mechanical devices; the sliding of heavy objects across the finished product; damage caused by water or moisture changes; damage caused by spiked high-heel shoes; insufficient protection from furniture, pets or other animals, pebbles, sand, dirt or other abrasives; and other forms of abuse or improper use.

2) Finish warranty does not cover color changes caused by exposure to light, sunlight or ultraviolet radiation. Finish warranty does not cover gloss retention as gloss reduction normally occurs and is not a finish defect.

So yes- when they find out your wife used the Dyson Sticks (made for wood floors) or failed to put down an area rug in a high traffic area, you failed to do your end- so they will not cover it under warranty.  Yes, the NWFA actually recommends in high traffic areas you put down area rugs!  And this is not innocent until proven guilty.  The homeowner is guilty until proven innocent logic in these cases.  And you only get to even start the process if you can prove it was properly installed.  Your word is nothing - if you didn't have it installed by a NWFA installer who did the check sheet, which you hopefully saved.  If not, good luck convincing the inspector you installed it properly yourself- usually why they rip up the closets or an obscure area on you to verify what you say is true during an inspection.

A 50 year warranty on bamboo is worthless.  If you need to try to execute it- you will likely end up losing and end up with a crappy floor that needs replacement.  It will eventually look like crap and you can't refinish it.  Had you put in real wood, you could have sanded it and refinished and moved on.

I have never used the bamboo, but if you want scratch proof - look at Pergo XP or Pergo max (one is Lowe's, one is home Depot, essentially the same product but different colors at the different stores).  It's the high end of the Pergo brand.

I had the home Depot version in 2 houses now. I have a 60 lb dog that runs around like a maniac - not a scratch on it after 3 years of this. It installs very nice also, I didn't see one bad board out of about 4000 SF.

The one I have now (Pergo "Outlast" from home Depot) claims to be water resistant for 24 hours.  This stuff locks together TIGHT, supposedly if you clean up a spill within 24 hours there will be no damage.  

The Outlast had an integrated foam backer, so I didn't have to lay any underlayment, keep that in mind when comparing prices.

Yes that is the answer. I have strand woven bamboo in my house, it is indestructible and handles water spills much better than regular hardwood.

If you get a large enough area the odds of parts of it 'sticking' and failing to float get worse and worse.

It has been refereed to as 'panelization' of a larger area.

It can happen on almost any 'floating' floor material that is not a single piece.

Some places 'stick' and do not float as a single unit.

this thread has been very help full we are in the process of building a house and were looking at flooring options... bamboo was already on our radar and the cali brand seems to be highly recommended by every one that has it.

what brands of regular engineered hard wood are good as a comparison?

I looked around at engineered hardwood, and nothing came close to comparing to strand bamboo. Oak was like soft and fragile compared to it. We're going to be placing the order tonight.

what brand bamboo did you decide on? the cali  I know lowes carries it locally

We're going with the HD brand. It's actually $0.20/sq ft cheaper than the online price if you order it in-store.

Hand Scraped Strand Woven Earl Grey 3/8 in.

By the way, if you order from Home Depot, go to the Pro Services desk if it's over $1000. They will submit a bid for you and you'll likely get a lower price.

I bought 1700 sq ft, and they knocked off $10/box ($670).

OP, I have the same question. I got some samples from Cali Bamboo, and I can hit them with a framing hammer and cause no visible mark.
A local floor guy refused to do a quote for bamboo because "it's soft because it's a grass." He claimed just pressing a coin into it would dent it, and a woman wearing heels would ruin it in one day.

I have to assume all these horror stories are from low-end bamboo, because all the bamboo samples I've handled seem indestructible.

Mine never scratched, but dropping a rifle dented it a little.

Never glue a floor down.

Txl

Real wood scratches.  Nothing u can do about it.
Warranty will not cover scratches
Most warranties on flooring are useless unless its a manufacture defect.  
Box stores sell crap


Residential and commercial flooring business owner.

Wouldn't a 1/4" all the way around equal the required 1/2" for expansion. Trim should cover that just fine.

He is not lying.  Bamboo is NOT WOOD.  It is a GRASS!  Bamboo flooring is nothing but a highly vascular grass, filled with a chemicals and adhesives to make it hard.  The harder the floor the more chemicals in it that will off gas in houses getting tighter and tighter due to better insulation.

The bamboo craze is something that stated with the environments pushing what they called a better floor. The liberal environmentalists started pushing it.  Young designers started pushing it as high end and a luxury few had.  It was cheap at the time and landed on every home show on HGTV, DIY, etc...   The trend started.  The costs remained the same and they jacked the prices up to the same as real wood.  Folks think it is a high end product.  

Bamboo flooring will fade off starting in another 5-7 years.  Those who started this craze and others who jumped on board will be about 15 years in, the point that damage and scratches every floor gets will need to be addressed.  If they had a wood, they could just sand and refinish it.   But instead, they will realize they paid almost the same or more than wood floor prices, for a product that also dents and scratches, but has to be ripped out and replaced because you can't refinish it.  They will replace it with something else.  The wide spread complaining will start and hit every DIY and flooring forum and thread.  Bamboo will earn the reputation it should of had from day one- low end floor choice.

Your local floor shops have a few dozen brands out there of hard wood floor (solid and engineered) that cost about the same as the "high end bamboos" that provide a far superior product, and will give you a better return on your money.  Just look at your local Zillow listings....see how many boast "bamboo floors" vs "wood" throughout.  There are small and large American and Canadian companies making great products, from sustainable/reclaimed wood- yet so many run to the box stores and buy a Chinese made product shipped here and resold at about the same price.    I don't get it.

There are methods of impregnating the bamboo when it is formed into floor panels that can make it VERY hard.

Janka hardness is what you want to know.

Janka for some floor materials

One of the problems with bamboo is its consistency as well.  If it is not cut at the right time it will have problems and possibly warp after install.  Sometimes 6 months to a year later.  So it's kind of a crap shoot and that's why so many floor stores will not deal with it as too many come back to bite them in the butt.

This is a good thread.

Since bamboo is 'hollow' or fiber-ous, with modern resins I don't see any reason why properly treated bamboo shouldn't be like honey-comb carbon fiber.  To that end, if what the fear-mongerers are saying is true, a bamboo floor may very well be closer to having a tougher floor than anything a wooden floor can do.  

It may not be able to regain the sheen and shine after use, but should be damned tough.