March 9, 201610 yr Was going with laminate...but now thinking about engineered hardwood which is, in a way kind of a cross between hardwood and laminate. Get the "real wood" beauty of hard wood, with some of the benefits of laminate (installation, hardness/resistance to wear, etc.). It is a little more expensive than laminate, and being on a budget I have to keep that in mind, but want to see if anyone has any experience with the engineered hardwood.
March 10, 201610 yr We went with Bamboo and it rots...... Get the real stuff, if it does get gouged or scratched it's still wood. Anything else looks like cardboard.
March 10, 201610 yr Author We went with bamboo on our most recent purchase, and like it. Mind if I ask what the labor costs were? I am doing 550 sq feet and the labor costs alone are over $1600 as quoted for laminate. That almost floored(pun intended) me!
March 10, 201610 yr Mind if I ask what the labor costs were? I am doing 550 sq feet and the labor costs alone are over $1600 as quoted for laminate. That almost floored(pun intended) me! Man that's way too high. There's a guy in Frankfort named Charlie Hodge who is the best around here and he is very reasonable too. I can't seem to find his # right away.
March 10, 201610 yr We went with Bamboo and it rots...... Get the real stuff, if it does get gouged or scratched it's still wood. Anything else looks like cardboard. What happened that made it rot? I'm not doubting you...I've just used lots of bamboo over the years (including some higher moisture situations), and I've never seen it rot.
March 10, 201610 yr Author Man that's way too high. There's a guy in Frankfort named Charlie Hodge who is the best around here and he is very reasonable too. I can't seem to find his # right away. Installer or he sells product too? Got a good deal (i think) on some eng hardwood, if can locate a resonably priced installer I might be set to roll.
March 10, 201610 yr I did my own. Friend of mine used this guy and was very pleased. Tile and hardwood flooring
March 11, 201610 yr What happened that made it rot? I'm not doubting you...I've just used lots of bamboo over the years (including some higher moisture situations), and I've never seen it rot. Spill of milk that was cleaned up immediately and around doors. Not around the door casing, but around where one would take the first step in the house. They scratch very easy and dent even easier.
March 11, 201610 yr Spill of milk that was cleaned up immediately and around doors. Not around the door casing, but around where one would take the first step in the house. They scratch very easy and dent even easier. Any recollection if your bamboo floors were made using carbonized bamboo? Carbonization is a process used frequently to get certain tones of brown colors in bamboo flooring. It makes some really deep and rich colors, but it also can diminish the hardness of the bamboo by as much as half.
March 11, 201610 yr I posted this in another thread. the Janka rating info is what makes me question whether or not your bamboo was carbonized, CBDV. I suggest bamboo, for a variety of reasons. 1) It's a renewable resource. Bamboo grows like a weed. 2) Bamboo is integrally colored - not just stained. The color you see on the top of your plank goes clear through to the bottom. Cut it, scratch it, gouge it...SAND IT DOWN IN A LOCATION THAT HAS BEEN HEAVILY SCRATCHED...the same color is still there. 3) Bamboo seldom run much more than $2.75 per square foot, material price. That's not bad at all. 4) Assuming you're not going to be springing for the super expensive exotic hardwoods out there, bamboo is harder than most. There's a rating system for wood hardness called the Janka rating scale. The higher the rating, the harder the material: Eastern White Pine - 380 Western White Pine - 420 Shortleaf Pine - 690 Mahogany - 800 Longleaf Pine - 870 Cherry - 995 Carbonized* Bamboo - 1180 Red Oak - 1290 Ash - 1320 White Oak - 1360 Natural Bamboo - 1380 Hard Maple - 1450 Locust - 1700 Paduak - 1725 Strand Woven Bamboo - 3000 Ebony - 3220 *Carbonizing is a heat treatment used on some types of bamboo flooring in order to obtain a certain range of brown color tones. The process lessens the hardness of the bamboo as compared to natural bamboo.
March 11, 201610 yr Spill of milk that was cleaned up immediately and around doors. Not around the door casing, but around where one would take the first step in the house. They scratch very easy and dent even easier. Strand woven bamboo flooring is about as hard as it gets. You'd have to hit it pretty darn hard with a hammer to dent it.
March 11, 201610 yr Strand woven bamboo flooring is about as hard as it gets. You'd have to hit it pretty darn hard with a hammer to dent it. I know, we have an 8 year old boy and 2 year old girl, so all the reasons we went with bamboo has let us down.
March 11, 201610 yr I've got a box of it at the house still, when I get home I'll take pictures of the brand/box and the damage from the milk, everything else has been repaired.
March 12, 201610 yr Installer or he sells product too? Got a good deal (i think) on some eng hardwood, if can locate a resonably priced installer I might be set to roll. He's a Installer Big V.
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