Bamboo vs Hardwood: Which Flooring is Better?
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Bamboo vs Hardwood: Which Flooring is Better? | Happy DIY Home
Flooring is one of the most important aspects of every house, and whether you are looking to increase your home’s value or simply remodel – the best way to invest your money is in good, quality flooring. However, there are many choices for you to pick from, and how could you possibly make the choice by yourself? Every flooring you are considering has its own pros and cons, it all comes down to what you prioritize for your home. Bamboo flooring has received a massive growth in popularity over the years, because of it’s naturality, durability and sustainability – but hardwood flooring is always a classic.
With bamboo flooring lasting up to 25 years, it can barely take the crown for having the longest lifespan, with hardwood flooring lasting up to 100 years. If you are having a hard time choosing between bamboo and hardwood – we have broken down everything you need to know about the two to make the choice much easier for you.
Cost
Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo is known for growing extremely fast, making it a more economical choice for your flooring due to its easy and fast growth and harvesting process. If you want a flooring that is often mistaken for traditional hardwood but comes at even half the price at times – bamboo can be the perfect, if not better alternative. The prices range from $2-$8 per square foot. Of course, you can also find expensive bamboo flooring coming at a much higher price tag, but there is a large variety of flooring for you to choose from with realistic prices that will fit into your budget.
Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood couldn’t possibly win in this aspect due to how expensive it actually is. The price of hardwood is one of the biggest flaws of installing this flooring in your home, and if you are looking for a higher quality flooring – prepare to spend quite some money on it. Ranging from around $6-7 dollars per square foot for basic quality hardwood, spending $18-20 per square foot on your flooring is nothing strange if you want better quality materials.
Durability
Bamboo Flooring
Very durable, and therefore suitable for every room in your home, bamboo is harder than most hardwoods. While you might have to skip on hardwood flooring in some of your busier rooms, bamboo will do just fine. Its hardness ranking actually beats your traditional hardwood oak flooring, however, this does depend on the quality of your bamboo material, how it’s installed, whether there are any added materials to it and if it was additionally processed. While most experts do say that bamboo flooring has a lifespan of 10 to 25 years, if you keep your floor in shape, resurface it regularly and take good care of it, you can prolong its lifespan to up to 50 years.
Hardwood Flooring
There is a reason hardwood is a favorite among the masses, and why it is so heavily used in all types of homes. Hardwood floors require less maintenance than others, are quite durable and even water resistant, especially with today’s advanced floor finishes. Although hardwood is worth the rave, you need to be careful not to damage it, because it definitely isn’t immune to scratches when coming into contact with different objects. If you want a flooring that is resistant to staining and moisture, hardwood is definitely the way to go. However, not all hardwood floorings are the same, the durability of your hardwood flooring will depend greatly on the finish of your flooring, the type of hardwood you decide to go with, if the room you are installing it in is busy or not, and how well you take care of it. Lasting up to 100 years, hardwood is a once in a lifetime investment that you most definitely won’t regret. Not only will it increase your home’s value, but your hardwood flooring can be appreciated by generations to come.
Maintenance
Bamboo Flooring
When it comes to maintenance, you won’t be having much trouble taking care of your bamboo flooring. Simply sweep your floors on a daily basis, mop once a week and basically, you are good to go. You won’t have to worry about any staining or spills on your bamboo floor, as it is quite simple to maintain and easy to clean up. However, keep in mind that you should stay away from wet mops on your bamboo flooring, and when it comes to any cleaning agents, you can use the same ones you would for hardwood flooring. If you happen to damage or scratch your bamboo flooring, you won’t have to replace it fully, but only sand it down and refinish it.
Hardwood Flooring
While hardwood flooring doesn’t require a lot of maintenance, you will need to be more careful with it than you would with bamboo. Daily sweeping and a damp cloth are basically everything you would need to keep your hardwood flooring clean and intact. However, while regular maintenance won’t be causing many headaches for you, you will need to polish and refinish your hardwood flooring at least every three to five years. If you’ve damaged your flooring but it isn’t severe, you can repair and refinish it instead of replacing it, otherwise, you would need to replace your flooring with a material that matches.
Installation
Bamboo Flooring
If you are interested in a DIY project for your home, installing bamboo flooring is perfect. Not only is it extremely easy to install, but you won’t have to spend money on having professionals do the job. You can either nail or glue your bamboo floor boards depending on the way they are manufactured, and even when it comes to the coat of moisture protection that is needed to be applied – you can still do that on your own without the need of any professional help.
Hardwood Flooring
While hardwood flooring was extremely tricky to install back in the day, the floor boards made today come pre-cut and are quite easy and quick to install with some simple instructions.
Resistance to Moisture
Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo is finished to make it a material that is resistant to water. Because of this unique feature, you can place it in every room in your home without having to worry about your floors getting damaged due to moisture. This makes it a good choice even for kitchens and bathrooms, even though bamboo is a natural material.
Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood is known for being susceptible to changing color, shape and damage due to moisture seeping into the floorboards. Once this happens, your floors also become the perfect place for bacteria to spread. If you want hardwood flooring that is more resistant to moisture – maybe go for engineered hardwood instead of natural.
Visible Damage
Bamboo Flooring
The only rooms in your home where bamboo flooring could be exposed to any form of damage are rooms that receive a lot of sunlight. This could make the color of your bamboo wash out and bleach. Also, any contact with sharp objects is bound to leave scratches in your bamboo flooring as it is a softer material, so always make sure to avoid this at all costs.
Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood is prone to staining, scratching and wear more than any other material, which is why it isn’t suitable for all climates or every home type. It changes characteristics when in contact with moisture, and it does wear quite a bit over time so it isn’t the best choice if you are looking for something to stand the test of time and still look just as well.
Allergen Friendly
Bamboo and Hardwood Flooring
Both of these options have no grout lines, or like carpet for example, fibers. You will have no trouble at all keeping your floors clean all the time, and making sure that dust is nowhere to be found will be easy to do. If you or any members of your family have allergies, choosing one of these amazing wooden floors will be a much better option than carpet or tiles.
Environment
Bamboo Flooring
If you are looking for a flooring that is also environment friendly, it doesn’t get better than bamboo. It grows in many different locations in the world, and it grows extremely fast at the same time. The part of the bamboo plant that is used for flooring can be harvested in a short amount of time, as opposed to hardwoods that take more than a hundred years to grow and harvest. Bamboo really is the perfect environment friendly solution when it comes to the flooring you will choose for your home.
Hardwood Flooring
As a natural resource, hardwood is considered to be environment friendly because it can be recycled. However, as previously mentioned, hardwood takes a long time to grow and harvest, not to mention the impact cutting trees down has on our planet – especially if this process is done in large amounts.
It is important to think about our planet, no matter what it is that we are doing. If you can contribute to making our planet a better place while purchasing gorgeous flooring at the same time, you will have the best of both worlds.
Selection
Bamboo Flooring
You won’t have trouble finding the perfect bamboo flooring for your home as it comes in many different colors, styles and finishes. With different quality flooring available for you to purchase, you will easily be able to find the bamboo flooring that fits into your home – whether it is horizontal, vertical or even compressed bamboo that you are looking for. When it comes to the color of your flooring, a variety of colors and dyes are added to the bamboo before it being finished, providing you with a large selection of choices to choose from.
Hardwood Flooring
In 2021, you will have almost an infinite amount of options when it comes to picking your hardwood flooring. Ranging in colors, style and types of wood, you can find the perfect hardwood flooring for any type of home and décor style. Both hardwood and bamboo will have many options for you to choose from, so you won’t have to worry about being limited with your choices in any way.
Don’t worry. Whatever your style is – you’ll find a floor to match. Both of these options come with an amazing selection.
Value Increase
Bamboo Flooring
With the massive popularity growth when it comes to bamboo flooring, installing it in your home can result in quite the home value increase. New home buyers are looking for trendy details, so bamboo flooring can be the perfect investment if you are planning to sell your home in the future.
Hardwood Flooring
Having hardwood flooring in your home will surely attract more buyers than any other, and while it is expensive to install – hardwood flooring can add significant value to your home making it definitely worth the investment.
It is great to think down the road. If you are planning on selling your house at any point in the future, investing in quality floors will definitely be the decision you won’t regret.
Quality
Bamboo Flooring
When you decide to install bamboo flooring, you will need to do your research. Low quality bamboo that isn’t manufactured properly can actually be more harmful than you would think. You want to purchase bamboo flooring from a trusted manufacturer to ensure you get the best quality of bamboo that will last you for many years to come.
Hardwood Flooring
When purchasing hardwood, the process should be the same as with bamboo. Research needs to be done to ensure that the best quality hardwood for your budget is being installed in your home. Instead of purchasing from the first manufacturer you find, make sure to do your research beforehand. After all, you are buying something that is meant to last you a long time, not to mention that hardwood is everything but cheap to purchase and install.
The quality of the floors you are purchasing is everything. Yes, you might be spending more money on better quality flooring, but that will pay off over the years when your floors remain in the same, perfect condition as they were when you’ve installed them.
Additional Benefits
Bamboo Flooring
Since bamboo flooring is more resistant to damage than hardwood, it is the perfect material for dog owners. Bamboo is also more resistant to insects than hardwood. You will also find that bamboo flooring is much more comfortable, making it a great choice for households with children. You won’t have to worry about placing your bamboo flooring in any room in your home no matter how busy it may be, and you also won’t have to stress about it getting scratched or damaged as well.
Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood is known for keeping heat inside, making it a great choice if you live in a colder climate. Not only do other types of flooring not have this advantage, but some might even make your heating costs bigger. With hardwood, you will be saving money while having a warm home at all times.
It is important to keep track of your priorities and based on them, find which flooring ticks all of the boxes.
Conclusion
Both bamboo and hardwood are amazing choices when it comes to flooring – and it all comes down to your personal needs and preferences. Make sure to do extensive research and get the best for your money, regardless of what you are purchasing. With both bamboo and hardwood, you couldn’t possibly go wrong as both offer amazing advantages.