Bamboo Flooring - The Advantages And Disadvantages

Bamboo flooring is a premier sustainable flooring product that most people are not aware of the real pros and cons that surround it.

Hardwood flooring is one of the most popular types of floor products out there, and most home buyers are looking for that type of flooring in the purchase of their home. But the real beauty behind bamboo floors as a hardwood flooring choice is that it is completely sustainable to our environment, and a wonderful ‘green’ pick to make for your hardwood flooring needs.

What Are The Bamboo Flooring Pros

It’s amusing that bamboo flooring lists as a hardwood flooring option. It is not a tree or hardwood at all, but rather a bamboo stalk or grass (called culms) that processes into a solid flooring substrate. If you are curious about learning more concerning how bamboo flooring is made, the structure of bamboo and its finishes, check out our other article – Bamboo Floors – Everything You Need To Know. So, what are the biggest benefits to this type of flooring? What makes it highly desirable? We can think of a few; beauty, eco-friendliness, durability, and affordability. Let’s dive deeper into each of these advantages of bamboo hardwood floors.

Beauty Beyond Compare – Bamboo Floors

There are three different looks you can achieve with the types of bamboo flooring available on the market today. These types are horizontal strips, vertical strips and strand woven. Each of these offer a different type of look and styling that can match your design preference and personal sense of style.

The horizontal strips option utilizes the entire bamboo stalk in its appearance, amplifying the beauty of bamboo by highlighting the ‘knuckles’ and giving the flooring that traditional bamboo design. Perfect for a modern or exotic designed room. The vertical strips variation shows fewer indentations than the horizontal version, so a more subtle bamboo finish comes out. The last bamboo type is strand-woven, and it tries to mimic traditional hardwood. This denser option can be an excellent match for any design look you are trying to achieve.

Super Sustainable Bamboo – The Best Green Flooring

Most bamboo used for flooring comes from plantations that farm responsibly by repeatedly harvesting stalks from the same bamboo plant every five years or so. While in comparison, trees require a 20-year growing cycle to reach maturity and then are cut down for that one time use. This bamboo harvesting process inevitably draws environmentally conscious homeowners to this renewable flooring choice. During the manufacturing of the flooring, various adhesive materials are incorporated to compress the fibers together, and many brands are now making sure it’s formaldehyde-free. This step adds another layer of safety to this ‘green’ product line.

Quality Bamboo Hardwood Flooring – Extreme Durability

How durable is bamboo flooring? Flooring undergoes a testing process to test for hardness and durability called the Janka test. Strand-woven bamboo, being the most durable of the three types of bamboo flooring, matched or exceeded the hardness of even the strongest of hardwoods. The rating was recorded as high as 5,000 Janka scale, ranking it even with Brazilian walnut and harder than red oak. This scoring places strand-woven bamboo planks as a long-lasting flooring selection that will have less warping over time and tough surface for any busy, active family.

Bamboo – Low Cost In Comparison To Hardwood

If you are trying to keep your renovation or remodel budget down a bamboo wood floor product is priced competitively with most hardwood floors. You can add this to your DIY project list as well if you are comfortable tackling hardwood floors since they are a similar installation process.

But keep in mind that not all bamboo flooring is created equal, and if you desire a superior bamboo flooring product with the best pricing available in the Portland Metro area, you will need to speak with a reputable flooring dealer. This will guarantee that you receive a top-quality bamboo floor with a substantial warranty!

What Are The Bamboo Flooring Cons

Knowing whether bamboo flooring is right for you is probably defined by the few items listed below. For the most part, bamboo is one of the best products for flooring, and you can probably see why, but there are a few drawbacks, and before finalizing your decision, you should be aware of them as well.

Bamboo Has A Unique Style – Not Everyone’s Preference

While most people find the beauty of bamboo a fantastic choice for their home, some are not on board with the look that bamboo offers. Bamboo flooring is typically lighter than some hardwood alternatives, and while you can find darker color choices in the bamboo category, they are usually carbonized which means that the durability factor drops in those cases. The pattern that bamboo flooring provides is more uniform in texture and grain, which may or may not be your preference.

Cheap Bamboo Flooring Is Susceptible To Water And Ding

Not all brands of bamboo flooring have the same strength and hardness. Don’t be fooled by cheap bamboo flooring that does not have a better grade of materials, construction, and process. These types of floors are more susceptible to moisture and water damage, plus more prone to those nicks and scuffs that happen with the natural course of action in an energetic household. In general, selecting a bamboo floor product from the big box stores won’t necessarily ensure that you have the durability under your feet that you were hoping for.

Bamboo Offers A Smaller Selection Of Colors Than Hardwood

Bamboo floors can give you a diversity of hues, tones, and colors but probably not as many as traditional hardwood floors can! Depending on how you look at it, this could be a good thing! Bamboo provides you a pleasing range of shades from light to dark without all those slight variations in between, keeping your decision-making down to a few. And if you are headlong into a remodel or renovation, having to make fewer decisions can really be a relief.

SHOP – Bamboo Flooring Online Catalog

Click above so you can browse through some of the hundreds of bamboo floors we have available and see each option in more detail. Of course, if you have any questions or would like a quote on flooring for your specific project, we are always here to help!