wood or bamaboo floors ?
 

any have them?
i am going to be putting in a bamboo floor , and they ( i think reg wood has the option too) can be either glued down to the cement, or floating.

what are the pros and cons ? what did you do and why?

I thought this was going to be a sexual experience thread.

never heard anything about bamboo. I know were going to prolly put a pergo floor in part of our bar/entertainment area.

Tom

What type of space?

I would ALWAYS recommend floating.

How come? I am trying to learn this stuff too ;)

Tom

yea, how come ?

Never heard of anybody having troubles with properly installed floating.

However, I personally knew 41 people who have taken their own lives scraping the old glue to put down new floor..

Only 41? :lol:

Scraping shit off floors sucks ass.

I would even recommend you put in a floating TILE floor. Especially if you live anywhere that freezes :wink:

Sorcery!
:tremble:

Thermal expansion/contraction=cracking is what I think Azoom is getting at.

Yeah, I knew what she meant, but if Paul can make silly jokes out of it, so can I :nee:

Go with a floating bamaboo. They are teh shit!!! But hold on to your wallet!

A little justification or explanation never hurt.

You and she both know that freezing is not a huge issue in Ft. Lauderdale.

it is in NY :(

Tom

Why are you getting Bamboo?

The reason I ask is because I'm very interested in Bamboo. I read an article in the current Scientific American that explains a lot about it. It'd be worth it to check it out if you're getting it for the reasons I think.

There are questions you need to ask about Bamboo to ensure you get what you're really after. There are differences in age as well as hardness.

If you're doing it for environmental issues (ie. renewable resource, etc. etc.)....I highly recommend reading the article as it shed a lot of light on that issue as well.

Sorry for the long post.

If you're installing over a slab foundation, floating is the only way to go, no matter where you live.

Installing over wood joists/plywood, I use 2 inch staples and a moisture barrier.

Wood vs. Bamboo vs Laminates:

Wood: Good stuff, but expensive. Oak, Maple, Hickory, and other hardwoods, will last forever, and you can refinish them when you have to. Labor intensive if you do it the "right" way, (lay it down, sand it, seal it). Pre-finished hard woods are the next step down. A little cheaper, and less labor.

Bamboo: Tough, durable, "eco-friendly". Comes pre-finished, and can be re-finished. Purdy. The down side, is that Bamboo is basically a whole bunch of grass strings. If you get a lot of water on it, the water will seep in between the cracks in the boards, and the edges will discolor. The remedy for this, is to seal it after installation, which is a pain in the ass. But, at roughly $2.50 a sq. ft., it's a damn nice floor.

Laminates: I don't like them. Sure, they're relatively inexpensive, they "almost" look like wood (no they don't) and they snap together. Legos also snap together, but I wouldn't make a floor out of them. I dislike them in part, because I'm an elitist carpenter asshole. What I really dislike about them, however, is how they "feel". They move. They're installed over a foam underlayment (in most cases), and it just doesn't "feel" like a floor to me. You can drop a wine glass on a Pergo floor, and it will bounce. Very unsatisfying. If I drop a wine glass, I expect the fucker to break, not mock me for having a nancy-boy floor.

But that's just me.

JC

thanks for your input everyone.

seems most people before and after this thread say floating is the way to go.

is it particularly loud? or no?

i like the eco part, the not as pricey as wood part, and the look.

Damn this Jesus dude is pretty smart.

Most hardwood floors are not recommended for use on concrete subfloors. Engineered wood can be put over cement and are typically all floating floors. The main benefit that laminate has over hardwoods and engineered floors is the durability (and typically price). Its very very hard to scratch a laminate compared to hardwood. But look, sound and feel, the hardwood is a lot nicer.

btw this wll be directly on a cement slab.

What did you expect from the son of a carpenter?

Note: If you're going to go with the bamboo, do NOT invite any panda bears over for dinner...just sayin.

Personally, I'd get tile...tile is da bomb in a house...lasts forever, easy cleanup and your animals can piss and shit all over it and not tick you off. Good stuff.

Tile is too damn hard.
When I visit my parents house, even walking around in my socks, my feet start to hurt after a while.

wait... I thought Jesus was a carpenter... or was God one too... and he's a 2nd gen handy man? man I bet he was pissed when his dad invented the do it your self people :lol:


oh and fwiw... Bamboo FTW...

Mikey - If you're looking to put down wood/laminate in the house, I just wanted to bring up something for you to consider. Our whole first floor is wood, except for the carpet in the one bedroom and tile in the one bathroom. With the kitchen having a wood floor, it does look great, but it comes with the price of being higher maintenance.

If you spill any liquid on it, you need to clean it up and dry it well, right away....otherwise you risk warping of the boards. Doesn't matter how much poly may be on it. Also, it's good idea to keep small rugs in front of the areas that can easily get wet - in front of the sink, the dishwasher, the fridge, etc.

Personally, we think it looks great in the kitchen and we don't mind it - but I know some people do. Just something for you to think about. Whatever you go with, be sure to take pics for us.

Jesus helped me remodel my bathroom.

cool - this will only be in the main living / dining room area and a small hallway. total about 500+ sqft. the kitchen and fl. room are both two different types of tile. i like tile, but as mentioned it is hard, also, it would be a third type in the house, touching the other 2 types... wierd. i also like big ass 18"+ tiles, but they wont look right in a smaller area, so just another reason for the bamboo. now H wants wood or tile in the bedroom but i cant sign up for that one. i like carpet in the bedrooms.

Were kinda lucky in that the living room/dining room and hallway have wood floors already. In th eden/entertainment area were going to put new carpet down in the tv room and prolly the laminate in the bar/entertainment room. it looks like its just concrete under the carpeting so I will have ot get some plywood to lay down first.

Tom

On a concrete slab I would only put a floating laminate with the moisture barrier/foam pad under it. I finished my entire basement with laminate with the exception of the bathroom which I installed tile. Real wood only on OSB/plywood stapled directly to the floor with only a thin moisture barrier under it.

Why wouldnt you put plywood down first? I had heard from others that if its a concrete slab that you had to put plywood down first. The room I am puttin git in is not realy a basement but is on a slab at ground level if that matters.

Tom

Put some shoes on.

Hippy.


You can't really just "lay down some plywood" over concrete. There's no decent way to attach it. You have to lay down "sleepers" first (PT 2x4's layed flat, and Tapcon'd or nailed with concrete nails). The advantage to that, is that you can install rigid insulation between the 2x's (you could also install radiant heating) before you lay the plywood down. The disadvantage, is that the floor will be about 2.5 inches taller than the adjoining rooms, which makes for a funky transition. You're probably going to be better off laying down an "elastomeric polyurethane" coating, and installing the Lam over that.

Heathen.

JC

If you are putting real wood down, yes you need a plywood floor to nail to. If it's a laminate then no you don't need plywood.

makes sense :dthumb:

Tom

Was the area carpet before? If so, keep in mind that you will need to raise your baseboards(plywood and wood flooring are thicker than carpet and pad) and add a shoe molding to your trim.

Well, technically his stepfather was a carpenter... or adopted father... or the guy who actually married his mom...
"it's complicated"

My family reunions are always...awkward.

It is currently carpet with padding underneath from what I have seen so far, still need to pull the rest up to see whats under there.

Or, you could do it right and take that crap off before you do it :nee:

That's what I was implying.

What is this "implying" crap?? Next thing you know, you'll be "nice" :skep:

Oh its all getting ripped out seems like the closets may be wood and the room is concrete, but I will be tearing it up in a few weeks.

Tom

No, never. :boobs:

Its not loud, cause after you pull up existing flooring... go thru and put screws in all over, along the floor joists next to existing nails. Then you lay down the foam padding and that's what the laminate sits on.

Crap bust the screws part... but the foam/moisture barrier will help with problems. But as rider said below... the laminate is a great flooring on concrete.

However, grout makes tile hardly a maintance free. Plus needs constant cleaning. My carpet cleaner guy, a bud as well, does grout cleaning.

Grout doesn't get darker with age... that's dirt in there. Look at grout... its dirty as hell, cause when you mop you brush that dirt right into the grout grove...

the barrier/foam pad under it is a must.

i am talking about bamboo wood , not laminate.

On a slab? Don't do it unless you put down plywood under it. You don't want that floating around and glue will not be permanent due to moisture and the expansion and contraction of concrete. Wood and concrete expand and contract and different rates.

I think they make a bamboo laminate...

nothing cooler than the click into place laminate floors...

it would be concrete-> moisture barrier -> floating bamboo.

isnt that what a lot of people do ?

Floating? Those pieces don't lock together. You will have gaps between each piece. You need to leave 1/4" to 1/2" gap on either end for expansion and contraction and you will get gaps between each piece.

Let e clarify that "Real" wood floors don't lock together but engineered/laminate pieces do. You said you were not going with a laminate so the real bamboo won't lock together.

And actually laminate and engineered flooring is different. Engineered flooring while it looks better isn't as durable.

Yeah I can vouch for that. My kitchen/foyer floors are an engineered cherry and it is softer than butter.

Real bamboo won't lock together like an engineered floor, but you can, technically, float a bamboo floor over concrete. Once the moisture barrier is down, you can glue the bamboo boards together at the joints, with a good grade glue like "Gorilla Glue". You just apply the glue to the groove, and push them tight together.

This is not as easy as it sounds though. The boards are not perfectly straight, so you will end up clamping, or space shimming at some points, while you wait for the glue to set up, before you can continue. That can be a very long process indeed. It's also messy.

It would definitely not be my first choice of installation methods, but it can come out ok, on a very smooth slab. All you need is a butt load of patience and time.

Personally, if I was going to do the whole house, I'd use the "plywood over sleepers" method.

JC

a buds neighbor had a party... all the whale women there in high heals... a wore in valley of heal prints all over his engineered wood.

Looks like you just got your wish Paul.

I'm pretty sure "Engineered wood", is code for Viagra...

JC

:rofl:

...and the marks didn't heel? [sic]

no they didn't heal? LOL

:panic: :panic:

Match your wood flooring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rSZHQkfUFw

We carry a bamboo engineered that is a locking floor at HD. I think its around $3 to $3.50 a sq ft, somewhere around there. It looks pretty similar to real bamboo.

Exactly, real wood has to be either nailed down or glued down. Ive never seen a real wood thats even available in locking.

Yeah that stuff gets beat up in a hurry. Part of the reason we went with laminate is becaause of having 2 dogs that like running through the house. 8 paws with claws running around on engineered floors is not a good idea.

what about crocodile?

http://www.fastfloors.com/lp_11465,0...roduct.htm#NAV

my salon has this and she put in some padding so it doesn't feel like normal cheap vinyl. when i buy my own place, i'm putting in croc flooring!