Bamboo flooring...

[andyjay]

We are in the middle of having an extension built, knocking out the back of the house to make a big open plan room linking on to the existing kitchen/diner. We want to put a hard floor down, previously having used engineered oak board flooring. The wife has found some strand woven bamboo flooring from simplybamboo.co.uk and can’t find many useful reviews, so thought I’d turn to the collective knowledge on here!

Is it any good, or any other recommendations? The room is roughly 7m x7m part of which is a kitchen, south facing and want a reasonable dark colour, the bamboo going by the name of ‘coffee’. Is it hard wearing, OK in a kitchen where it will get wet occasionally etc...

Thanks

Andy

[TomGW]

Bamboo flooring (or simply bamboo as a timber for that matter) is slightly harder wearing and more resistant to damp conditions than other common hardwoods, such as oak. So to answer your question, 'is it any good?', I would say that, in terms of durability it is one of the better choices. However, I would consider that it is bland and lacks the character of oak or ash, but that's just a matter of aesthetics. Have a look at brushed & lacquered expresso solid oak. which looks great in both a modern and traditional setting. An architect friend has just completed an edgy modern home for herself, using this, and I think it looks great. Obviously it will look perfect in a traditional setting too.

[Tony-GB]

The advice given to me by a flooring specialist (about eleven years ago) was that bamboo is a grass and isn't as hard wearing as oak. I was always advised to never put any timber flooring in kitchens or bathrooms where water is likely to be on the floor.

Basically, I was advised it was a fashion thing and to avoid it. Needless to say I got the solid oak.

[boris9]

We put it in our living/kitchen area in our first house about 10 years ago. It was cost effective, looked good but sadly wasn’t that hard wearing in our experience. It scratched up quite badly and didn’t maintain its finish all that well.

In fairness, we were young and not as careful as we are now, but I wouldn’t install it anywhere again.


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[jwillans]

I have had an IKEA bamboo desk for a few weeks. While nice, it doesn't seem to be hard wearing and marks easily.

[Boss13]

Same as experience above, used it in a small office. Looked lovely but a scratch magnet hence would not use again.

[Saint-Just]

We have bamboo flooring upstairs (landing and bedrooms) that was fitted when we moved in about 20 years ago.
In terms of character, I disagree that it is bland as you can get some where the sugars within the grass have been heated to give a golden caramel colour that highlights the knots and fibres of the bamboo. In terms of wear, it has been good except in the smaller bedroom that became an office when Ms SJ outgrew it: The wheels of the office chair quickly started to wear and within weeks we stopped the carnage and put a rug under the chair. Other than that, I would certainly make the same choice if I had known then what I know now.

However: It is an engineered flooring, which means that the bamboo layer has a limited thickness (5 mm I believe). a 50sqm room is vast, and you will quickly realise that you always walk on the same invisible paths across the room. When I say "invisible", I mean at the beginning because with time those paths will become very apparent. Because of that, I would advise against an engineered flooring that can only be sanded lightly, and recommend a solid hardwood. Be aware though that the difference in moisture content in the air between summer and winter means that the wood expands and contracts: Make sure you use a reputable supplier and a no less reputable fitter who will take this into account, otherwise you might find gaps or worse, a little hill in a corner.

[andyjay]

We have bamboo flooring upstairs (landing and bedrooms) that was fitted when we moved in about 20 years ago.
In terms of character, I disagree that it is bland as you can get some where the sugars within the grass have been heated to give a golden caramel colour that highlights the knots and fibres of the bamboo. In terms of wear, it has been good except in the smaller bedroom that became an office when Ms SJ outgrew it: The wheels of the office chair quickly started to wear and within weeks we stopped the carnage and put a rug under the chair. Other than that, I would certainly make the same choice if I had known then what I know now.

However: It is an engineered flooring, which means that the bamboo layer has a limited thickness (5 mm I believe). a 50sqm room is vast, and you will quickly realise that you always walk on the same invisible paths across the room. When I say "invisible", I mean at the beginning because with time those paths will become very apparent. Because of that, I would advise against an engineered flooring that can only be sanded lightly, and recommend a solid hardwood. Be aware though that the difference in moisture content in the air between summer and winter means that the wood expands and contracts: Make sure you use a reputable supplier and a no less reputable fitter who will take this into account, otherwise you might find gaps or worse, a little hill in a corner.

Our current flooring is engineered oak and in 10 years has done very well, apart from cleaning has not been looked after or treated in any way, the bamboo that we’re looking at is called stranded bamboo where the whole board thickness is bamboo and is not on a softwood or similar backboard. Several of the reviews say that bamboo is not so good in damp areas, however others are saying that it is really good and the experience is widely ranging.

We are now looking at other flooring (again) and I’m currently being shown pictures of all sorts of wooden flooring!

[Saint-Just]

This is what ours looks like at the top of the stairs

[deepreddave]

I appreciate the OP wants a hardwood floor and may have considered other options, however, I was dead set on similar about 8 years ago but ended up with Karndean and have zero regrets. It's in a heavy traffic area and has marks/scratches if you look closely but generally speaking it looks like it did the day it was laid down. No fading, warping, sanding required so I'd certainly get the same in the next house.

[andyjay]

This is what ours looks like at the top of the stairs

Looks really nice, I like the darker tone. Our worry is how well it’ll wear in a high use area with part of it being the kitchen. Just found a nice solid oak, but not suitable for the kitchen...

We’ll keep looking!

[Saint-Just]

For the kitchen I wouldn’t consider wood at all. Tiles, or laminate if you can live with it.

[bambam]

We have bamboo flooring in a lot of the downstairs - all the rooms except the kitchen and the study. We chose a strand woven one I think but that also had some other treatment that brings out the colour.

Must have been down for over 10 years now and it looks really good. Plenty hard wearing enough. Has aged somewhat from when it went down and easy to clean.

I’ll try and upload a picture and see if can get some info as to what we bought. We got ours from simplybamboo as well I think.

Good choice I reckon.

[Rob s]

I can't comment on the brand you are looking at but a good friend has it though out his downstairs and it scratched up very quickly and marked when water was left on it overnight - spilt drink. I know he said he wouldn't have it again. It was quite a glossy finish which didn't help on the scratches.

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