Home Improvement → Re: Flooring Stapler

I'm no expert; but I do know Bamboo is a tough wood...

I'd be tempted to go with the best I can (reasonably) afford - and from the list you provided; probably the Stanley...

To the best of my understanding bamboo isn't a wood, it's a grass. I've had bamboo flooring for years, and overall am not impressed by bamboo flooring compared to traditional wood floors (oak, maple, teak, etc).

When reading through some of the flooring forums, you'll see bamboo is a pretty highly discussed product. Some people like it and some people hate it. My decision not to go that route was because most of it is milled in China and because it's not as dimensionally stable as some hardwoods.

The American and Canadian milled hardwoods are typically far better than the Chinese milled floors in terms of good consistent lengths and widths. That being said, many like the look of bamboo and don't care about a little contracting and expanding. We have maple and Brazilian cherry floors that aren't as dimensionally stable as our upstairs oak, but we liked the look a little better.

Have you had problems with your bamboo? I used to hear that surface scratching was something that happened quite easily with the earlier available bamboo.

Yes, the surface began to peel in an area of the bamboo floor after 3 years, after a year or so of peeling, uneven discoloration followed. We have had bamboo for 8 years in two areas of our home and other areas are also peeling and becoming discolored. We have much older oak, cherry and teak flooring (solid not engineered or veneered) that is still fine.

At the moment I'm finishing a major addition to the home, the bamboo area is relatively small, and it'll be replaced in a few months. It could be a bad batch, or a bad manufacturer, but it's turned me away from bamboo at this time.

Yeah, you're typically not going to go wrong with solid hardwood flooring. That's my favorite stuff. Easy to put down, maintain and it lasts. We recently used high quality engineered Brazilian cherry. It wasn't my first choice, but given it was going over radiant, it was basically my only choice. Rest of the house is solid.

I assume OP already has the bamboo, otherwise I'd suggest reconsidering that choice of material.