apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Not much of a debate in that article, just two guys saying that it's a good idea.

My understanding is that it's less durable than oak or other hardwoods because it's a grass. From experience, my bamboo kitchen floor dents much more easily than the oak floors in the rest of the house. Then again, I might just have some cheap-o laminated bamboo product. But that also raises the issue: how many people actually buy the high-end stuff? And if 75% of people buy the cheaper variety, is THAT ecologically friendly?

We have dark stained bamboo in our living/dining/kitchen area. While the color is awesome, the floor itself has been scratched and dented to death by light use and cats. I seem to recall it had a waranty maybe it's time to investigate.

I've heard that bamboo flooring can't be sanded and refinished more than once. Does anyone know if this is true?

i find that my bamboo floor scratches a dents like crazy. It is pretty but not my favorite finish in my home.

yup, my bamboo floor dents very easily. not really any scratches, but maybe they don't show up because its a light color. don't know the quality because its a rental. i guess that's what's good about renting...you can test out these things and know before you committ in your own house!

To be honest I think bamboo flooring is pretty ugly.

Wouldn't engineered or laminate flooring just as green? After all, these are made mostly with wood pulp or wood scraps. Just wondering...

I love my bamboo flooring. I agree, it does seem to dent pretty easily. But I don't notice it much and don't have many dents -- only where I've dropped pots. Which begs the question whether fir or maple would also dent whereupon a pot had been dropped?

I think as the OCD homeowner that I am, I tend to by hypersensitive about keeping things in good shape and I notice every little ding, no matter the surface. When I was renter, I was still clean and careful. But there's a huge difference when it's your investment.

My point is that as an owner I think I scrutinize things more and frankly haven't had any other flooring that I owned against which I could compare.

My bamboo is the solid stuff, carbonized (heat treated for the caramel color).

We looked at a bunch of samples and wound up with a pretty dense solid natural variety from Greenwood (via a Craigslist score). I could dent a lot of samples with my fingernail but not this. It's used in two bedrooms and a hall so the duty is pretty light anyway.

We considered soft pine for the wide look but it was cheaper to ship the 'boo from China than pine from the East Coast. I'm not convinced that it's all that green but we like the yoga studio look it gives the bedrooms. The stuff we got is formaldehyde free so that's a plus (t'was a special order).

You can refinish the solid and most of the engineered stuff afaik.