We were planning to install strand woven bamboo flooring to go over the particle board. When we were shopping around there were different opinions about bamboo flooring, regarding emissions, bulging and movements with moisture and temperature. Some suggested Laminate flooring - like AC3, AC4/5 etc. Now we are confused for which to go for. Timber is expensive for our budget and has been excluded.
As fellow ozbargainers your suggestion and feed back is highly appreciated. Thanks
I would go with bamboo.
We did our old house diy, and it looks just as good 5 years later when we sold it.
Stand woven is definitely one of the harder flooring types.
Do you suggest any supply and install persons in Sydney or surrounding suburbs. Thanks
we got ours from these guys many years ago for our kitchen
https://www.lionkingflooring.com.au/
and these guys for our remainder of the house
https://www.ebay.com.au/str/ubtradingptyltd
cant help on install, DIY (easy enough, but is pretty tough on the back/knees doing a whole house in a long weekend)
I installed bamboo in one room as a test last year. Was away on holiday during the massive Melbourne storm , roof leaked and dripped water on the floor that sat for a week - not a lot of water but somehow managed to get into the underlay and whole floor was cupped and ruined. But maybe the same would have happened with even the good laminate?
Same thing happened on the hardwood flooring in another part of the house - no issue.
Friends also put in bamboo about 5 years ago - it is very hard and difficult to scratch, but has got very scuffed and dull over time
But maybe the same would have happened with even the good laminate?
laminate is easy to repair. dry the wet parts. get a phone book and weights. put the phone book on the apex and the weights on top of the book. wait a few weeks and it'll return to normal.
get a phone book
What century is this? lol
It's important not to get bamboo flooring overly wet. That's its major weaknesses.
Tiles would be better
Depends on what room, tiles are too cold for most of the house.
Heated?
If you like to spend heaps on installation and running costs.
Thanks heaps all
I love my vinyl planks flooring. Can be loose layed straight on top of your particle board or glued down. If your flooring is yellow tongue you will need to put down a screet for the planks to stick to as the yellow tongue has a wax layer on top and the glue will not stick.
Mosr bamboo flooring you can't get wet, mop, any moisture really which is why we went for the planks. Still nice and soft to walk on, If somehow they get damaged you can easily replace and they don't get damaged by water ! We used them through out our house? Not bedrooms and through the kitchen.
May I ask why vinyl plank not for kitchen area? My newly designed home is an open kitchen with living area. Am considering vinyl plank as well.
Sorry my mistake. Not sure where I was going with that but we ran the planks through the kitchen, dining, living and hall ways
Solid bamboo strand woven is sensational. We had this installed in our home 10 years ago and it's as good as when new. The provisio is, only buy "solid" bamboo, it's around 19mm thick, and have it bonded with urethane glue to concrete or ply/chipboard sub flooring. We have it on concrete on GF and ply on the upper level, just a great product. But buy a quality one!. The pre finish is excellent and requires no sanding!! …. ours is a low/mid sheen finish.
What's your budget per m2? Is it in a kitchen or wet exposed area?
Have you looked at engineered oak? It's much nicer and not excessively more expensive than laminate/bamboo
Its all in the living areas and bedrooms not in kitchen, might be some exposure to the balcony, where there will be exposure to moisture and heat. Budget around 50 to 60 per square metre inculding installation. Thanks.
I’d do this
We looked at all three
Found engineered oak “tobacco” on eBay for 60 per m2
Looks incredible and is in kitchen, tolerates all sorts of wear and tear
Another protip from personal experience - don't get a glossy finish, get something more natural/with grain/texture. That will hide any imperfections (like me dropping a knife into the floor/two dogs running on it).
When I was building I did consider bamboo, but I was turned off by how easily it can get damaged. If you have any new display homes near you, go have a look at the wear and tear on the floor. But this was 4 years ago, not sure if the technology/product has improved.