Has anybody had any bad experiences with bamboo floors - such as scratches, shrinkage, etc.?
Please let me know!
Thanks . . .

 

There have been plenty of bad experiences with bamboo since its introduction. I have seen problems with quality control in China, voids in lamination, problems with split tongues on some installations, etc.
There have also been plenty of successful installs. I have laid thousands of feet without incident from a quality importer. There are several quality importers, but beware, you will get what you pay for. Bamboo Mountain is my supplier, but Hawa looks like a quality product as well. There is another, I can't think of right now...hope that helps.

 

Stear clear of Morning Star!!

 

Perry,
Whats the deal on Morning Star Bamboo.? Lumber Liquidators sells it and I am thinking of buying from them.

 

Many prefinished flooring products today have finishes that contain additives that make them scratch resistant. No floor finish is scratch proof. Proper care and maintenance of floor finish is crucial to its longevity.

As with all floor covering products, not all are created equal. Quality tends to vary among manufacturers, as does warranty, and price. Following manufacturer's installation instructions for subfloor prep, job site conditions, acclimation, and installation are important for a successful floor.

Buy a major manufacturer's product that offers good, better, best levels of quality, warranty, and price. Buy the best that your budget will allow.

 

Well most has been covered but a few words.

I would watch the moldings like your t-molds and reducers with bamboo.

Because they only come horiziontal.

Since you have horizontal and vertical bamboo, the looks are different. Just be careful because if you go for a vertical look, the trims will always be horizontal so they won't 'match' or blend as well as other products.

 

Artistic finishes makes both vertical and horizontal accessory molding for bamboo.

 

I wished I had listened to the "steer clear of Morning Star". My Morning Star floor has been down for less than a month and I'm finding it very suseptable to scratches/dents. I'm trying to see what Lumber Liquidators will do about it with their 100% satisfaction guarantee (ha!). Save yourself the headache and avoid Morning Star.

 

Avanti is great!

We hold many different brands of bamboo flooring and do comparison tests. Most end users want the Avanti.

 

Must be one of the new guys to come across the big pond. Not much marketing. Never heard of them.

 

I bought bamboo on line. I think it was Ming Dynasty brand. I am very unhappy with it. It scratches and dents extremely easily. I did extensive research before deciding. If I had to do it all over again, I would go for a laminate. We installed a brand from Home Depot at a main entrance door about 4 years ago and it has held up beautifully. We have a small dog too. I have not seen any scratches on the laminate, but the bamboo has the dogs toenail scratches everywhere!

 

That is the finish scratching. Have it refinished with Bona Traffic.

 

I've been looking at the different brands and have a lot of samples. I think the key factors are these:

Hardness
Moisture Content
Color richness
Quality of Manufacture

The hardest bamboo is bamboo that has been allowed to mature. The really soft ones are only three or four years old when harvested (but by that point they've reached full size) - make sure you compare a samples for actually checking the hardness - a fingernail or key can help you check it out.

Moisture coming straight from the factory is usually 10-12%, so it really should be kiln dried if you live anywhere other than the coast! I live in Colorado, so we are really dry here. Also, a bamboo dealer should be able to show the moisture content with a moisture meter - in my case it needs to be less than 8% preferably 5-6% - otherwise even with some time to acclimate you will have shrinking.

For color richness - just look. Compare pieces. I like the darker richer colors - it's true all wood changes with time - so start out with richness to avoid getting too light.

Last, I think the issues of delamination, etc. have to do with the type of glue used - the manufacturer shoud be able to provide this information, but make sure thay have a warranty against stuff like that!

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