Vinyl vrs Wood/Bamboo Flooring

In My Humble Opinion
1

So I am in the midst of a big remodel, and since I do not want carpet for a number of reasons I had thought that vinyl was the logical option. The vinyl I really like is a bit spendy (we are on a budget) and the contractor came in today and suggested that I might want to consider some kind of wood flooring to save money. I had automatically figured that vinyl would be less expensive for now, and that we would replace it with wood flooring at some point in the future.

He has specifically recommended bamboo flooring. He recently laid it in a cabin he built for a relative and was very impressed with it. I would like some feedback from anyone with experience with wood flooring in general, and bamboo specifically. I have kids and pets, so whatever I choose needs to be durable and fairly easy to clean and maintain. All input will be appreciated.

2

The only thing I know about bamboo flooring (plyboo!) is that it is considered “high traffic” and I’ve seen it in some NYC restaurants. I’ve only ever seen it in a blonde finish, but maybe it comes in other colors now.

Also, on the warm-fuzzy factor, it is highly renewable (especially vs. a hardwood of comparable durability) since bamboo is a grass-type plant.

My old house had the new-style vinyl flooring (it was put in last summer). It looked pretty good honestly. However, it is not exactly zero maintenence. You can’t have any rubberized matting on it (90% of area rugs have plasticized or rubberized backings) because the lack of air circulation will discolor it. I was told to ONLY clean it with ammonia solutions b/c commercial cleaning products would mar the wood-like finish. Mine had a low-gloss finish, which as I mentioned looked darn good, but IMHO the high-gloss types look fake and scuff easily.

3

I have bamboo flooring. I chose bamboo over oak (same price) because of the sustainability: only two growing years to replace my floor.

Tongue and groove bamboo floor installs just like wood plank flooring. It can be nailed to plywood subfloor or glued like laminate if you have a composite subfloor.

Bamboo is naturally water resistant; it works fine in the kitchen. I would have installed it in my bathrooms but chose tile instead. (Because I love to lay tile)

4

In a nice decorating magazine in a doctor’s office, I saw a rave review for a new vinyl flooring that looks just like wood but cleans up with water. It’s supposed to be very durable because it is so thick. All I know is that it is made by Armstrong. I took the time to jot down “Armstrong vinyl floor covering” in my notebook and a 1-800 phone number which I will be glad to share if you are interested. It is really beautiful but not expensive. (I’ve been looking at flooring for a year now and this really has impressed me.)

I also love the look of bamboo, but don’t know much about its practicality for flooring.

5

I have a bamboo laminate flooring in my kitchen (installed 3 years ago). It was rather inexpensive, compared to the alternatives, and it looks good and has worn well. It is one of those ‘floating floors’ and is fairly easy to install.

6

Huh. Sounds interesting. Doing an addition myself

What about putting it on concrete that has in floor heat?

I’m stunned that it may be less expensive than vinyl.

Really interesting. I will be doing an entry way (that gets a lot of snow from boots) and a kitchen in the next few years.

And Beaucarnea of all the remodels I’ve done, putting down the tile is often the most rewarding. Sort of brings it all together.

7

A house I’ve worked in has bamboo over concrete with in-floor heat. As I was installing audio and security stuff, I can’t tell you much about it except that it was being glued down by some idiot who didn’t know what he was doing and got a lot of glue on the top of the flooring that had to be cleaned off at substantial expense. But that wouldn’t be a problem if you avoid that particular installer. :stuck_out_tongue:

8

I have plenty of scraps left over and can mail a sample. Just e-mail me. I took a few more pictures to show the details.

There is a drawback: the finish is too smooth to disguise large scars or dents. If you drop silverware on a wood floor a deep scratch might be hidden in the wood grain. Not so with bamboo. I dropped a butter knife in the kitchen and my toes find the dents each time I stand near the dishwasher.

Bamboo strips are soaked, flattened, and laminated together. There are three layers of alternating bamboo planks- this makes the board strong and very resistent to flexing or bowing. The boards are approximately 1/2" thick.

A laminated wood floor consists of a thick layer of composite wood products with a thin sheet of wood veneer or vinyl printed to look like wood. Bamboo flooring has no composites to warp or attract water.

It is a very hard surface- I have a cat and a huge dog that get the rips twice a day (yes, on schedule) and tear about the house like maniacs. As yet there are no scratches on the floor.

9

I don’t like the look of vinyl. My friend just put down vinyl that’s supposed to look like tile and it looks like vinyl that’s supposed to look like tile. If you have the money, I’d definitely go with wood over vinyl.

10

Easy to maintain and durable don’t nessesarily describe wood floors. Bamboo is definatly a good choice if you go for wood. If you have med to large dogs be carefull claws to alot of damage to wood. Kids do alot of damage to anything you put down.

Bamboo is very resistant to denting and scraping because it is very hard. Other woods like oak or cherry can get beat alot faster then people expect. A large disadvantage of wood floors is they collect dust bunnies constantly. To keep a wood floor looking nice you have to spend time regularly cleaning it. Cleaning is pretty easy though. Run around the room with a dry mop. Unnoticed spills or drips can leave very perminate damage on a wood floor.

I’m a big fan of wood floors. Most my house is wood flooring. If I had kids or pets I’d probably do tile in more vulnerable rooms.

11

I put down Pergo 12 years ago in my Kitchen. Despite a very large dog, and two teenagers, it still looks brand new after a quick damp mop.
The last time I looked the cost was less than Bamboo, and top quality vinyl.
It does have problems if you have flooding. A spill is no problem, a flood would be.

12

I read an article a while back in (I think) the New York Times. Two things they mentioned:

  • dark stained bamboo was more liable to dent as the stain softened the bamboo
  • make sure the manufacturer uses bamboo that is at least five years old. Apparently, it takes that long to lignify and really have the strength and hardness you need.

Hope that helps.

13

Do your pets find the floor slippery when they run? I’d love to same something over than carpet, something easier to clean, but I’ve got two greyhounds and on most hard surfaces they’re like Bambi on ice.

14

Boy, can I shout an “amen” to this. I just moved into a house which has wood floors (actually, a pergo-like material, looks just like wood). I’ve got three dogs. I have to vacuum every other day- I’ve never seen such large drifts of dog hair develop so quickly. Hell, I could knit a new dog with the amount of hair I vacuum up in a month or so.

The stuff seems to be standing up to the dogs’ claws quite well. And, you know, there’s nothing funnier than excited dogs on a slick floor.

15

Just think of it this way: instead of the hair getting beat into the carpet, it stays easily accessible so you can quickly clean it up. And, of course, a Dyson is the perfect method, because its exhaust doesn’t blow the hair all over the place.

16

Absolutely. The Rips have been modified by both the cat and the Great Dane to compensate for the loss in traction. I find they make up speed on my Persian rugs. In my opinion the decrease in drag makes for a smoother transition in the corners.

Of course, I enjoy narrating the action as if I am the navigator in the Cypress Rally (Go Team Subaru!).

But that’s just me.

17

Yes, the dog found the floor very slippery at first and took a couple of bad falls. This was especially worrisome because of the Dane’s potential for hip problems. I discouraged running indoors until she learned how to keep her footing.

The dog and the cat both purposely skid now and crash into the couch or bed. I grab socks and join them. Sliding on the slick floor is a great way to release your inner child, puppy, and kitten.

Seriously: a spectator on the outside of a hard turn will cause a rollover. And if you are standing in the outside of a curve and cause an accident- you *will * get taken down in the fray. For the first couple weeks I had a lot of bruises because the dog used my legs as a barrier. There is nothing you can do but wait out the slick floor learning curve. Maybe you could attach chute packs to your pets’ hindquarters.

Carpet doesn’t reduce the dust and hair; it masks it. The mess is more noticeable on the hard floor- but easier to clean. I also feel that carpet retains a pet smell no matter how thoroughly it has been cleaned. If I didn’t have a dog the size of a giraffe romping through the house most guests wouldn’t know I had pets.

I would choose any hard surface like wood, tile, laminate or vinyl over carpet due to the ease in cleaning- with or without pets indoors.

18

Interesting. My wife and I are hoping to redo the floor in the diningroom/kitchen area, and we just picked up a kitten as well.

Bamboo is looking better and better…

19

I have searched vinyl, bamboo, laminates and hardwood, and have decided to go with the bamboo. Thanks for all the photos Beaucarnea, they really helped me make up my mind. I am specifically purchasing this with the thought that if it does get banged up, or I end up hating it, it’s not going to break the bank to replace it when the kids are gone. The fact that it is so easily renewable is a plus also. (We had bamboo growing in my childhood home in Seattle, and on summer days you could sit on the edge of the planter and literally watch it grow!)

enipla the stuff that I am looking at says no for radiant heating, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t exisit.

The guy doing my work is nailing, not gluing the stuff down, on plywood subflooring. He said that when he was installing it in the cabin the only thing he had to watch for was inconsistancies in color. As in he began to install it, then noticed that if he wasn’t careful he would have a light patch next to a dark patch. His sister and brother-in-law are very pleased with the look, and say that the maintenance is actually quite easy, just regular sweeping and damp mopping.

As far as the dogs are concerned, I have pomeranians, and the largest, full grown pom I have is 7 lbs. Their nails are kept quite short, as per the AKC standard. I have a 20 lb. cat, but he doesn’t run anywhere, and if the three half grown kitties slide around the corners, well, that’ll be good for some grins. Between the cats and dogs there is quite a lot of hair, but it is going to be so much easier to damp mop than it is ever going to be to vaccum. The hair and the dust are two huge reasons for getting rid of the carpeting. As for traffic damage I am more concerned about my husband than the kids. I have trained the kids to remove their shoes at the door, my husband, not so much. Small dings don’t bother me, especially if I can throw an area rug, or place a chair or a plant over them. I have given up on living in a photo out of House and Garden, my home will inevitably have a lived in look, and all things considered I guess that’s not so bad.

Thanks for all the comments, and I’ll let you know how I like it after I walk on it awhile.

20

Thanks for the input! Doesn’t sound like a good floor for greyhounds, then. When they get older and lose muscle mass they have an especially hard time on slick surfaces and it can be dangerous for them, even just walking - they can end up spreadeagled and unable to get up, which is very painful. I have our entire linoleum kitchen floor covered with throw rugs to prevent accidents, and it’s a giant pain in the arse when time comes to clean the floor, because I get to wash both the floor and the rugs, which takes several hours. I do hope that eventually I’ll be able to find something that is both easy to clean and not slippery.