Convincing argument for the use of bamboo T&G flooring…

Ben Polley, Evolve Builders, Guelph, replied to John Bleasby’s article Four Reasons I Used Bamboo Flooring. Thanks for the post, Ben.

“Very comprehensive and convincing argument for the use of bamboo T&G flooring. I agree with most every enthusiastic comment. We ourselves have been installing bamboo flooring for 12 or more years.

Two quick addendums to your comments:

Regarding dogs (or anything action/material else that serves as an abrasive)… I would suggest that it is not entirely the density of the underlying woody material that determines how well it will perform against scratches.

Instead it is the finish. This is true of most any wood flooring. I have seen bamboo floor finishes fail in just months under dog traffic. Such flooring probably only had 3 or perhaps 5 coats of finish. Better would be something with 5 to 7 UV cured coats PLUS aluminum oxide, the latter which helps provide an anti-slip surface and incidentally happens to slightly reduce the sheen, both of which make scratches less frequent and/or less obvious.

Given the other qualities that you sought out, I expect that your quality bamboo probably has such a finish. The stuff I have seen sold at the big box stores does not always seem so.

There also is a Canadian supplier of bamboo that to my knowledge is the longest operating such biz in the country at around 15 years: Nadurra. They were also the first (maybe still the only?) to acquire the third party Ecologo certification for some of their bamboo products, which too would address the (commendable) concerns that you had about adhesive and other such issues. They also sole source to particular plants in China and Vietnam so they actually know the fabricators, process, workers and are assured of the product quality. We have sourced material through them from the outset and have always been happy.

Great post.”