My daughter bought beautiful bamboo flooring from Costco last summer and installed it; the non glue click type very carefully done. A week after Christmas the floor began shrinking in 8-10 foot sections. Unless installers guarantee their work I would go with hardwood.

She is waiting until July to go thru the task of moving the floor so it all clicks together again. The company blames the shrinkage on improper installation. Just an FYI for bamboo.

But if you have your heart set on bamboo research what people who have installed your floor give for reviews.

The floor is beautiful and hopefully resetting it will work and it will be all shrunk after a year, but still very discouraging for my daughter's fully remodelled Great Room kitchen dining room entry way. Good luck!

wow that is terrible Soosun2...hope the problem gets resolved. The bamboo we picked out is a nail down not a click wonder if that makes a difference

A bedroom, hardwood. Anywhere else bamboo.

All woods shrink& expand.

the flooring will be in living/dining/kitchen, open concept

Hardwood in kitchen not good with water.

I had hardwood in a kitchen for 10 years. No problem. I think bamboo would be more problematic.

Why, exactly, jmm1837, would bamboo be more problematic? I don't see any reason to say that.

This Old House magazine had a good article about bamboo flooring, including details about the 3 different ways that it's made. It was in the last issue, January/February 2016.

We installed bamboo flooring in our condo prior to selling several years ago and discovered it was VERY slippery in socks due to its smoothness. Don't know if that's typical of bamboo, but something to consider. ⛸

My friend has Cali bamboo in her living room and hasn't had any significant problems with it. Hers is floating. It did shrink a bit in spots, but it's not noticeable. I have engineered hickory that's glued, and I haven't any problems at all. Hers scratches easier than mine, though. I like my floors better, but for the price difference, the Cali isn't bad.

What is so strange is that the floor is completely 'floating' and has no nails in it anywhere and the baseboards are attatched to the wall and not the floor. We think it is a stinker company and Costco is going to get soaked with this one......very very very sad. Just saying if we had read the reviews we would not have put down Bamboo or this particular bamboo. Sigh. Thanks for listening.

Tatts - entirely depends on the manufacturing process that went into your floor. Some are very hard, others much softer and more susceptible to water damage. Some have formaldehyde in the gluing process, others don't. Get the wrong one, and yes,there can be problems with wet areas. I'm just saying, do your research, know the questions to ask, and don't assume all bamboo flooring is the same.

I have heard Bamboo is soft and can scratch easily. I would suggest doing an online search for the exact name and brand of flooring you are considering using to see if you can find any customer reviews.

The bamboo floor in our condo rental was easily scratched

Hardwood is classic and IMO bamboo floors have peaked in popularity. Also you can't put them in just any home. Bamboo flooring in a Cape Cod is just wrong. The bamboo seems appropriate in very contemporary homes and homes in the tropics. Not so much if you live in Minnesota or Michigan.

But, jmm1837, you made a blanket statement "I think bamboo would be more problematic." Now, in your reply to my question, you make statements about bamboo that are exactly the same as can be made for wood floors (some are harder some are softer, some use formaldehyde others don't, all bamboo flooring is not the same).

Nothing you said gives any reason why "bamboo would be more problematic".

The softest bamboo floors are typically much harder than oak. If you're concerned about formaldehyde you should ask that about any building material, especially engineered wood floors.

The fact is that bamboo is a perfectly serviceable material with the same available finishes as on wood and the same wear guarantees as wood. There are wide ranges in all aspects of all floors.

My two cents worth....Cali bamboo is supposed to be the most durable bamboo you can buy, but my neighbor found scratches in hers after her husband moved a cardboard box across the floor. have yet to find a scratch in mine, and I am not ultra careful with them. I don't think you can refinish bamboo, either.

A couple things to consider would be, is this your forever floor, are they solid or engineered? Bamboo is a tropical wood so more sensitive to environment change (humidity) . Oak is more adjustable to the climates changes. Just because a wood is harder does not mean its a better, what scratches is the surface (finish) a harder wood is just harder to dent. Also for future (if resanding) the oak (if solid) would be an easier option to stain.

Lowes is not known for quality. The "name brand products" that they carry are INFERIOR to the 'real' brand. CaliBamboo is selling a lower grade product to Lowes so that they can continue showing their brand. The Lowe's Calibamboo is NOT the high-quality stuff. The REAL Calibamboo = $9-$15/sf and is considered the industry leader.

Ask yourself, is the Lowe's "Cali" in the $9-$15/sf price? If you answer "No" then you are comparing a low-quality product to a standard quality Oak.

Oak has known stability re: acclimation and home humidity requirements. It can be happy between 40%-60% humidity. Bamboo is NOTORIOUS for being "picky" when it comes to humidity. You MUST HAVE pin-point accurate humidity control: 45%-55% is A MUST for bamboo.

Lower-quality Bamboo has caused hearts to break over and over again. Check your HVAC system. MAKE SURE you have humidistat that adds and removes humidity at a TOUCH OF A BUTTON. If you do not...then put the bamboo away. Oak needs control as well...but it is not as difficult to live with if you do not have humidity control.

Homeowner: know your home's limits and purchase quality flooring that can live inside the limits of your home. Not to put too fine a point on it, your responsibility (as a floor owner) is to "feed" the floor the right humidity. If you do not feed it, it will die a quick and expensive death. Homeowner: know thyself (and thine environment).

If you do not have the HVAC requirements, spend the money you save on the bamboo ($3K) and ADD the humidity component. That way you can have your cake and eat it too.

Personally, I'd go with oak.

Clients I've worked with that put in bamboo had a terrible time with dents. Even a spoon falling down dented the floor. Unfortunate...

Different wood species have different hardness. Poplar for example is very soft...but once you get to a certain degree on the scale then to me the hardness becomes a non factor. Something 400-500 avoid. When you get up around hard maple or oak (around 1200 I think) then from a hardness standpoint you are covered. Any hardwood floor can be scratched, but you don't want something so dainty you are constantly in fear. Cancork gave you great advice. It may not be what you wanted to hear but it's honest. It's like some old commercials. You can pay me now (do it right) or pay me later (redoing).

All, whether you purchase bamboo or hardwood, you should have the flooring delivered and it should sit in the house between 2 weeks to one month before installation. That is to allow the flooring to acclimate to the house. I did this (it was painful waiting) and I've never had an issue with my flooring shrinking or expanding. Bamboo is a renewable flooring and it is considered more eco friendly. Whether a flooring is going to last depends on the finish. If you have kids, dogs and think you will be hard on the flooring consider installing a distressed flooring whether in wood or bamboo. It's much more forgiving to kids, pets, etc.

And I personally do not like bamboo flooring. So I would vote for wood. I put in Tigerwood floors in my house and love them. But if I had to do it over again, I would go with wider plank and a distressed finish.

And to answer the question I forgot to answer which is why the preference to wood. They make bamboo floors to look like wood. Why put in fake flooring when you can have the original? Hardwood floors are classic, they don't go out of style and they are frequently imitated. Why? Because the real deal is expensive and the material of choice. You have houses from the 1920's and they can still refinish and utilize the hardwood floors.

Here is a link to a very interesting discussion on bamboo floors, although it's a bit old.


http://www.finishing.com/260/96.shtml

We considered the cali bamboo also. After getting our samples, they weren't much different from the Home Depot solid strand bamboo we ended up getting for half the price! We dented and scratched both samples. The Cali did hold up a fraction better but not enough for double the price.

We have a 100 yr old farmhouse. We we able to refinish the upstairs floors (solid maple) but, due to multiple additions, the first floor had to be new. I will say that the refinished maple is WAY better against scratches. They were finished on site with multiple clear coats.

The bamboo doesn't dent but the factory finishes seemed to scratch easier (even the solid wood samples we had).

We have installed Bamboo only once and the customer purchased it from Home Depot. Within a couple of months it looked horrible. It scratches and it dents. The homeowner apparently wears high heels and there were dents all over it after several weeks. Would not recommend it to my clients for this reason.

Well, scratches are a function of the finish, not the bamboo itself. Generally, factory-applied finishes are toughest because of the aluminum oxide used in them (the good ones) and they are UV-cured, which means it's a kind of finish that can't be applied on location.

Dents are another story. But, like all things there is good and bad being sold.

thank you everyone...thinking I am going to go with Oak after reading all the comments and some online research. :)

Scratches can be polished out or tea & damp the cloth.

Lighter color hides scratches.

Any experience with stranded bamboo? Reputed to be much more durable than non-stranded material.

Anne, wise decision!

ended up deciding on a 5" wide handscraped gunstock oak

I have done extensive research and am just baffled over where the person is getting $9-$15 a square foot for Bamboo. Most I have seen are priced under $7 a square foot and that is for really quality brands! Calibamboo is $3.99-$5.99 sqft. I should know as I have been speaking with them trying to decide what flooring to go with.

I've also been speaking with Cali Bamboo. For the record, I asked them directly if the product is different if purchased from Lowes rather than direct from them, and they said it is the identical product, that Lowes orders FROM Cali Bamboo.

And the price is the same if you order from Cali Bamboo or from Lowes -- I'm not sure where Cancork is getting his/her info.

Shars 55, how long have you had your engineered hickory? Are you pleased? I'm seriously considering engineered hickory and am looking at a couple different ones. I'd love to know what brand and collection you went with and if you're happy.

Leslie, we've had it for about a year and a half and I couldn't be happier with the floor. I have noticed no scratches except for the spot where I dropped the winder for my grandfather clock on it, and I was able to conceal the little nick with one of those wax crayons made for hardwood floors. We have a cat who slides around on it, and she doesn't leave scratches. It still looks beautiful. We bought Johnson engineered hickory, and it's called Tuscan.

Just looked it up, shars55----VERY pretty!

Based on what the flooring company I'm working with carries, I've narrowed it down to these two choices. Lord knows I've done my homework, I'm sure either would be beautiful, and I MUST stop the craziness. I'm going to decide between LW Flooring sawn cut antique hickory---color sherry (LOVE IT BUT JUST AFRAID IT MAY END UP LOOKING BUSY BUT CAN'T FIND A PICTURE OF AN ENTIRE ROOM WITH IT ONLINE) or Aayers Rocky Ridge Hickory Sunrise---what Justin got. Decision time tomorrow! I'd love your input!

Here's a pic of mine. Did you get some samples and live with them for a week or so, Leslie? That's what we did...we moved them from room to room looked at them in the different light...morning, night, etc. Mine is a bit darker than I originally wanted, but looked better with my furniture than the lighter shades. I couldn't find the LW flooring one, but the other one is very pretty. I love hardwood, and we have a slab foundation so we had to go with engineered. As I said before, I really love it. It's been very durable and beautiful. I think you'll love it, no matter which one you pick.

So pretty!!!!

Is this Genoa?