Hardwood Flooring Choice: Timber Flooring vs Bamboo Flooring

If you want hard flooring in your home, you have many options to choose from. Two of the most popular options are timber flooring and bamboo flooring. Many people get to this point and then get stuck though, wondering which they should choose.

Timber flooring and bamboo flooring both look great when put down. There are dozens of colors that you can get in either type of flooring. Many people are under the impression that bamboo floor coverings only come in one color and grain, but this is far from the truth. Now there are different stains and processing techniques that allow the manufacturer to create very different looks with bamboo. So no matter which type of flooring you get, you can create exactly the effect you want.

A big reason why so many people choose bamboo is that is it sustainable. Bamboo is not actually a type of tree; it is a variety of grass. Because of this, it grows very quickly and can be harvested regularly without uprooting the plants. This helps reduce erosion since the roots are left to hold the soil down while the new bamboo grows. Bamboo can reach maturity within 3 to 5 years of being planted, while timber can take upwards of 20 years.

Something else many people like is that bamboo is harder than many types of timber flooring. This means that it is less susceptible to being damaged by daily life. Keep in mind that all types of flooring are prone to being damaged by sharp impacts, high-heels, and things of this nature.

Both types of flooring do require care. It is practically impossible to find a nice flooring material that doesn't need care of one sort or another. But bamboo flooring is very easy to take care of in the grand scheme of things. Regular sweeping will keep its surface from growing scratched and dull, and mopping with a cleaner/protector that is made for bamboo will cut down on the damage done to it day-to-day.

Of course, price is a big deciding factor for many people. Both timber flooring and bamboo flooring can be very expensive depending on what you are looking for, but they can also be rather cheap. In fact, bamboo flooring can be considerably less than timber flooring. Some types of bamboo flooring can be gotten for less than a couple dollars a square foot! This price is difficult to find in timber.