Bamboo Flooring offers warmth, elegance, and natural beauty to rooms. Shoppers for new flooring should take a look at the pros and cons of Bamboo Flooring. It may be the perfect flooring for your next home improvement project.

Pros

Let’s start with a look at the positive aspects of bamboo flooring (and there are many). A quick glance at the pros of bamboo and you’ll see what makes it a favorite for designers, decorators, and custom home builders.

• Durable – Floors made from bamboo are harder than hardwood floors. Their durability makes them perfect for high-traffic and light commercial applications. They are more water resistant than hardwood, so you don’t panic at every drop of liquid that hits the floor.
• Affordable – Bamboo plants grow close together and they grow close to where they are processed. What does that have to do with price? Lots! Bamboo flooring costs less than hardwood flooring because it costs less to harvest, transport, and convert to flooring.
• Eco-friendly – Bamboo grows fast! Growers can harvest their bamboo in 7 years. Because bamboo is naturally pest-resistant, it doesn’t require the application of pesticides. It is renewable and kind to Mother Earth.
• Better for indoor air quality – All hard surface flooring is better for air quality than textile flooring. Ambient bamboo flooring assures buyers that its flooring doesn’t off-gas toxic chemicals. Not every bamboo floor on the market carries FloorScore Certification, so to take advantage of this pro, shop carefully.
• Can be refinished – Who says you can’t refinish bamboo floors? While bamboo is incredibly tough and durable, it may eventually require refinishing. And that’s okay. Just like hardwood flooring, sand and refinish your bamboo flooring to restore its beautiful shine and finish. Of course, depending on how long you live in your home, you may never need to take advantage of this pro. Bamboo flooring is tough!

Cons

Nothing is perfect. As a flooring material, bamboo comes pretty close to perfect. But it does have a few disadvantages. So, no honest discussion of bamboo flooring pros and cons doesn’t openly address the cons.

• Scratched by rolling furniture – Just like hardwood flooring, rolling chairs eventually scratch bamboo flooring. You need a chairmat under your rolling chairs – no matter what kind of flooring you have.
• Not waterproof – Bamboo is water-resistant but not waterproof. That’s a big difference. So, don’t install bamboo flooring in areas that get wet.
• Can’t be installed below grade – Like all hardwood flooring, bamboo can’t be installed below grade because of moisture. The exception to this rule is Ambient engineered bamboo flooring. Engineered bamboo flooring installs below grade. It’s an ideal way to get wood flooring in your basement!
• Must be nailed or glued down – Novice DIY’ers may find solid tongue and groove bamboo flooring intimidating when it comes to installation. Installers need to be familiar with a nail gun or proper application of glue to install tongue and groove bamboo flooring. A more DIY-friendly alternative is click-lock engineered bamboo flooring. Engineered bamboo flooring installs using a floating method that eliminates the need for nails or glue.

Bamboo FlooringPros and Cons: The Pros Win!

Unless you need to float a floor or need flooring for installation below grade, the pros of bamboo flooring far outweigh the cons.

Bamboo’s durability and eco-friendliness along with lower cost top the list of pros. That’s along with the ability to be refinished and contribute to better indoor air quality.

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