Has anyone used bamboo flooring? Have they held up well to scratching?

Answer 1

I recently had my home re-done with hardwood floors and at first I was very interested in Bamboo flooring because I loved the look of the "knots" and I liked the enviornmentally friendly concept however when I saw the sample piece of flooring that my contractor had I quickly changed my mind.

Bamboo will show scratches very easily and there is no way to refinish bamboo. You can not sand and re-stain or re-poly because bamboo is not a flat product ... once you have a chip or a scratch in your floor it is there forever.

I went with a lovely red oak floor instead and have been very glad I did.

Answer 2

I have not used bamboo flooring because I suspect it WILL scratch easily.
When selecting flooring, you distributor or home store should have samples.
I take my thumbnail and try to press it into the surface of the flooring material. You will be amazed at how soft some of them are.
Laminate flooring is the hardest but lacks desirable aesthetic qualities.
A few companies manufacture pre-finished flooring that has titanium mixed in with the finishing material. It is quite hard and less likely to scratch, but expensive and not likely to be sold at discount supply stores.
Shop around and do the thumb-nail test.
By the way, chair legs can easily DENT softer flooring even if it doesn't get scratched. It can therefore be cosmetically "ruined".