Which Bamboo Would You Do?
I received 5 more bamboo flooring samples today. I’m acquiring quite the collection . . .
These are just the bamboo samples. They are all solid strand /woven bamboo which is the hardest. Left to Right: Cali Bamboo Fossilized Java, Cali Bamboo Fossilized Vintage Java, Cali Bamboo Fossilized Kona, Cali Bamboo Fossilized Antique Java, Cali Bamboo Fossilized Coffee, BR-111 Maduro Bamboo, Country Wood Floors Bamboo Strand Sable, Yanchi Strand Bamboo in Russet, Sepia and Equinox, Warner Strand Woven Walnut, Yanchi Strand Woven Direct Print Brazilian Walnut (x2), Country Wood Floors Print Strand Exotic Walnut, Warner Bamboo Strand Woven Ash Brown, Home Legend Strand Bamboo Sapelli, Home Legend Strand Bamboo Walnut, Home Legend Solid Strand Woven Espresso.
The Cali Bamboo samples are the ones I received today. They are supposed to be even harder than Brazilian Walnut, ranking over 5000 on the Janka Scale. It’s on the higher end of the Bamboo prices, but still within the range of the others and much cheaper than the Brazilian Walnut we were considering. Unfortunately, I don’t really care for any of the colors. Too light, too dark, too red. I like the color and shade of the 4th one, but it has a distressed antique finish which will be too rustic for our house. I also like the 5th one, but it’s pretty dark and I’m afraid it will always look dirty.
The middle one (below) was damaged when I received it. It has a couple scrapes that are thru the finish. Whatever hit it must have been pretty hard. That piece is toward the top of my list though.
The middle 3 below are printed with stain to look like Brazilian Walnut. I like the smaller piece on the right the best because it is a little lighter and less red. I also like the shorter piece on the far left.
I was anxiously awaiting these samples last week, but was disappointed when I got them. Unlike the others, these are not strand bamboo – they are horizontal which is softer than red oak. They weigh nothing in comparison to the strand samples. I really like the colors of the first 3 though, of course. They are all printed with stain to look like other woods. The first 3 are supposed to mimic walnut. The 4th one looks like Acacia and the last one like Brazilian Walnut. The middle one is exactly the color I’d like to have – a nice medium, neutral brown.
From the back, they don’t look a whole lot different (strand on the left, horizontal on the right). You can see the shape of the bamboo better on the horizontal piece.
You can really see the difference on the end. The strand bamboo is shredded and compressed like particle board. The horizontal bamboo has the whole bamboo pieces fused together.
Meanwhile, if I keep collecting samples at this rate, we may be able to cover the whole floor . . .
Tomorrow, I am meeting with one of the window reps. We need to go over what size and type of window is going where so we can update the floor plans and get a better cost estimate.
Just curious what you ended up going its. We’re considering Cali Bamboo flooring and I need to figure out color. Our furniture is a natural cherry and cabinets are maple, so the combo is making it difficult.
We ended up not building, so I unfortunately don’t have an answer for you. I’d love to put some in the house we purchased, but don’t think I can justify ripping out all the existing oak floors to do it 😉 Good Luck with your project!
My contractor in California had an experience with Calibamboo shrinking dramatically after 6 months. He had gaps next to the molding as a result. You can read other reviews where the problem is discussed. There mix must have more h2o than others. In dry climate the moisture is lost resulting in shrinking.