Bamboo Flooring Reviews

Bamboo is considered by many, a tree. However, it's actually a grass. Most of the bamboo used for manufacturing bamboo flooring comes from China. Bamboo flooring is gaining popularity because it's environment friendly. The species used for manufacturing bamboo flooring is called moso. It is very strong and flexible. Growing moso is fast and easy, making it readily available.

Bamboo being a grass, grows faster than trees used for making floors, called hardwood trees. Trees used in hardwood flooring are oak, maple, cherry, etc. The harvest period for a hardwood tree can be anywhere between 50-120 years. On the other hand, bamboo has a harvest period of only 3-7 years. This is one of the main reasons which make bamboo flooring environment friendly. Bamboo absorbs a lot of the poisonous carbon dioxide gas, and releases a high amount of oxygen into the air. As bamboo is a grass, it regenerates itself. Bamboo helps prevent soil erosion. After harvesting bamboo, its roots remain in the soil, and there is no need to replant it. For growing bamboo, very little amount of pesticides or fertilizers are required. These were the bamboo flooring reviews on it being environment friendly. Let's look at other bamboo flooring reviews.

Bamboo is strong and surpasses other hardwood flooring types in strength. Choose the bamboo which is about 6 years old, as old bamboo is denser and harder. The older the bamboo, the more durable it is. Bamboo flooring survives denting and bending. Good quality bamboo flooring is also stain and scratch resistant. It is easy to maintain and clean. You can swab the floor with a wet mop. For more maintenance information read, bamboo floor care. As bamboo is easy and fast to grow, bamboo flooring prices are lesser compared to other hardwood flooring. Per square foot price of bamboo floors can be between $1.5 to $8, exclusive of the installation cost. The cheapest are the unfinished bamboo floors, which cost around $1.5 per square foot and the high priced ones are the hand-scraped bamboo floors which cost around $8 per square foot.

When you are buying wood flooring, you might get a free installation service or a discount on the installation. If you wish to get it done by a contractor, then look for a reputed one. You can always bargain for lower installation cost. Installation of bamboo floors is easy and is similar to any hardwood floor installation. The easiest installation is the click and lock type. Another easy installation method of bamboo flooring is the tongue and groove. In this, pieces of bamboo fit with each other like a jigsaw puzzle. Buy your planks unfinished and go for square edged type if you want uneven surface, or opt for micro bevel for even plank height. Go through, how to install bamboo wood flooring, for more information.

Different Bamboo Flooring Reviews
The natural color of bamboo is light yellow (blonde). But it can be stained or carbonized to the color of your choice. Here, are natural, carbonized and stained bamboo flooring reviews.

Natural Bamboo Flooring: The natural color of bamboo is light yellow. When bamboo is heated, different colors are produced. The more you heat the bamboo, the darker the color gets, and the bamboo becomes softer and less durable. So, choose a lighter shade for the floor, if you want a natural and more durable flooring. Natural bamboo flooring costs around $2 per square foot. Natural bamboo flooring is available in planks. You can install these planks by either nailing them or gluing them together.

Carbonized Bamboo Flooring: Carbonized bamboo flooring comes in shades of coffee, caramel and honey. These different colors are obtained by boiling bamboo at different temperatures. This makes it around 20% softer. So it is not so durable compared to natural bamboo floor. But, if you are looking for a specific color to match your home decor, carbonized bamboo flooring is a good choice. Carbonized bamboo flooring price is around $2 to $4 per square foot. It is available in strand woven bamboo flooring and solid bamboo flooring, both horizontal as well as vertical.

Stained Bamboo Flooring: If you wish to go for natural bamboo but want a specific color, stained bamboo flooring is the best option. Planks of natural bamboo are stained with different colors. So you can get strength of the natural bamboo and color of your choice. It is available in planks, so installation is similar to natural bamboo flooring. It is priced around $4 per square foot.

Given below are some more bamboo flooring reviews.

Solid Bamboo Flooring: Bamboo wood flooring is filled with details and you can see the fine or thick lines. In horizontal grain bamboo, you can see fine long lines and in vertical grain bamboo you can see interesting small stripes. The image shows some interesting bamboo floor colors and textures. In solid bamboo flooring, planks of wood are used. These planks are then glued together to form a surface. In solid bamboo flooring there are two types, that is, horizontal and vertical. In horizontal, flat layers of planks are placed on each other. In vertical bamboo flooring, long thick planks are glued to each other in one layer, displaying the fine nodes of the wood. Solid bamboo flooring is stronger than red oak and cheaper than hardwood floors. It can also be floated on a sub-floor.

Engineered Bamboo Flooring: This is not 100% bamboo. It consists of different types of wood glued to each other and the top layer has bamboo strips. It is stronger than solid wood. It has a lesser expansion rate compared to non-engineered bamboo floors. Bamboo engineered flooring, due to its expansion rate, is an ideal choice for places having very dry or very humid weather. Engineered bamboo floor can also be floated and is a very good option if the sub-floor is concrete. More on bamboo flooring pros and cons. Engineered bamboo floor prices start at $3 per square foot.

Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring: This kind of flooring is made by weaving different strands of bamboo together and sticking them by glue. It is visually attractive as you can see the different shades of stripes on the floor. It is more durable than grain bamboo floors, both horizontal and vertical. Thus, it a great choice for the high traffic areas. It is very easy to clean and maintain; you can use a dust mop to clean strand woven bamboo flooring. For high humidity areas, it is a great choice as it resists moisture and has a longer life. Strand woven bamboo floors are more durable than solid bamboo floors, and are best choice for heavy traffic areas. It is priced around $4 per square foot.

Floating Bamboo Flooring: If you are a DIY enthusiast, go for click and interlock bamboo flooring. In click and lock method, different planks of bamboo are fitted together without using adhesive. Floating bamboo flooring is the easiest to install as it is the click-and-interlock type. Floating bamboo flooring type is not attached to any sub-flooring. Planks of bamboo floors are fitted together like an interlocked puzzle. And only in certain cases adhesive is used. Because of its easy installation it is very popular.

Laminate Bamboo Flooring: For bamboo laminate flooring, thin long strips of bamboo are removed. Such pieces are converted to vertical or horizontal laminated pieces. Laminate floors are cheaper than hardwood floors and natural bamboo floors. Laminate flooring is more durable and easy to install. But once after long use, the laminate floor starts showing signs of wear and tear, it can't be refinished or recoated. If you are looking for a nice but cheap wood flooring, laminate bamboo flooring is the best option available.

Useful Tips
The above were the different bamboo flooring reviews. Here are some useful tips which will help you while choosing the bamboo floor.

• You can get samples of bamboo flooring and check them for denting. Also, compare the samples so that you can choose the one that goes with your home decorating ideas.
• Do a good research on the supplier. It's very important to choose a reputed and trusted supplier, who gives you a good quality product at a reasonable price.
• Check if the manufacturer has an FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification.
• Bamboo floors are certainly cheaper than hardwood floors, but before you buy the bamboo floor planks, calculate the additional cost of installation. Also, if you are buying unfinished planks, the cost of staining the planks, beveling its edges, etc., should be taken into consideration.
• Use protective pads for the legs of your furniture like tables, chairs and sofas to protect your bamboo floor.
• Bamboo floors come with a zero to lifetime warranty. Decide how long you want your wooden flooring to last and invest accordingly.

Bamboo flooring adds a natural wooden, warm and stylish look to your home. After reading these bamboo flooring reviews and their advantages, you know that it stands out as the best choice for wooden flooring.