Bamboo Flooring -- Durable or Not?

It's true. Go with Pergo.

L.,

Don't bother. My best friend's Mom just redid her entire kitchen, and they put in bamboo floor. It looks really nice. However, even the simplest thing like the foot of a stool that's starting to poke through the rubber, the dog's claws, or someone's high heel leaves a mark. As soon as she inherits the house, my friend intends to change the kitchen floor. She says it's just not worth it.

Best wishes,
K.

Hi L.,
I think just about any type of hardwood flooring will get a little messed up from dogs. We have hardwood on our entire 1st floor, except our foyer. We had a Golden & he did a doozy on our floors. He has passed away, but he left behind his nail marks! It's not terrible, but we notice it. We're just putting off having the floors sanded & refinished. My parents had the same issue with their hardwood flooring ~ but they refinished theirs. I agree, I would NOT go with Pergo, especially on an old house! You can totally tell it's fake. Real hardwood looks much better.

I think it depends on the type of bamboo flooring you choose. The carbonized bamboo is softer because of the way the color is done. It is steamed not stained so it causes the bamboo to be a little softer. The natural floors are harder. Also I have read that if the floors are made with a more mature bamboo it makes it harder. Also look at the finish. The cheaper versions will have a cheaper finish and will scratch easier. I think Ty Pennington and Morning Star make their flooring with the more mature bamboo. I do think dogs will be hard on all hardwoods though. I would suggest using rugs in high traffic areas. Happy floor hunting! I hope it works out for you, I think bamboo floors are gorgeous!

We have Morning Star Bamboo and love it. We have a 23 lb Jack Russel mix who gets groomed every 9 weeks or so. Her claws have never made a mark on the floor. There is one dent from when some friends were helping to move furniture and a large entertainment center was dropped from a couple of inches. It takes a lot to put a dent in the floor we have. It is easy to take care of too. I just use the swiffer wet jet mop. Anytime we have to stand on a stool to change a light bulb or something, I do put a non-skid rug underneath, and all our furniture has the felt pads on the bottom. It is in our kitchen, breakfast nook, family room areas. I do use a few area rugs, but we have had the floor since 2004 and it looks great still. We got the bamboo from Lumber Liquidators and then paid an installer. We actually had an extra box, so we kept it just incase we have to do a repair. I guess it might depend on the kind of dog and his/her activity/distructiveness level. Even though my dog is a little older, she still has her crazy Jack-Russel moments. Just be a little careful (ex. don't drag something around like metal on the floor) and it will look great.
Also, you could visit a restaurant that has it and ask them if they like it or just observe what it looks like. I think the Soho Japaneese Bistro near Voice of America has in in the entry way, or I know there was an Asian restaurant down at Newport on the Levee that had it. Both of those have been around for a couple of years and would have a decent amount of traffic on them. Just a thought.

My husband is an architect. He says bamboo is harder than tree hardwood. So, I'm guessing your friends' dogs would leave even worse marks on regular wood and it's just time for then to get their nails trimmed WAY back.