Bamboo Flooring?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

My Home Depot sells solid bamboo flooring that is 5/8" thick edge grain. My friend has the laminate bamboo in his bar (commercial use) that has held up well over ten years, and that's not the solid stuff. His is a thin laminate on top of thin plywood. Any thoughts on using this for a shop floor? It is very hard, inexpensive ($1.99/Sft), and it looks like maple in color. The only thing I don't like is that it might tend to be slick for the workbench to rest on, but a rubber pad will fix that.

[Jim Andrew]

Are you building a new shop, or laying flooring over a concrete floor? I am tempted to lay a wood floor over the concrete in my shop, as standing and walking on concrete is not so comfortable for 63 year old bones. If you are laying sleepers, and putting flooring over them don't know why it won't work. I took down a church a couple years ago, they had used fir flooring over joists, and didn't concern themselves with breaking the joints over the joists. And the church was probably 90 years old. They had laid oak over the top sometime, but the original flooring was finished, so it had been used as a single layer for some time. The ends of the boards were t&g, so maybe wasn't an issue. I'd probably do it that way as well, but would be better if you laid a layer of plywood or osb between the nailers and the flooring. Check the osb first by nailing into it and then pulling the nail, to make sure it is suitable for laying flooring over. Plywood seems to have very good nail holding power, just like solid wood sheathing.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

This is a 200 year old building with crawl space and massive beams for floor joists. Someone pulled the original flooring and laid plywood, which is in bad shape. I would pull up the ply and lay new with the bamboo on top. Just checking to see if anyone has had experience, good or bad, with bamboo.

[George Werner]

I put the same bamboo flooring down in the storage room of my shop and regret it every time I walk in there. It is extremely slippery once sawdust hits it and it scratches easily. I wouldn't recommend it for a shop floor.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Thanks George- the slippery feel is what I was worried about. I did not consider adding sawdust to the equation. I guess that's out. Darn. It was very affordable. I really want to use reclaimed heart pine, as heart pine would be period correct for the building, but it is a bit pricey for a shop.

[Judi Watson]

I wouldn't recommend using this, it might look good but it's not functional long term.

[Don Jarvie]

Use OSB good side up. It will give some grip and really doesn't flake much. In 4 years I've had a few flakes here and there. Give it 2 coats of deck paint and your good to go.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I have bamboo in my house actually (the solid bamboo version, not the engineered/veneered stuff). We just bought the house, so the previous owner installed it.

I'm really disappointed with it. It's badly scratched and dented and the finish is worn. As far as I know, the previous owner had two greyhounds and lived by herself. I also know a wealthy family who installed it about 10 years ago when bamboo was the new rage. Their house is beautiful (and very high end). They have a Saint Bernard, and it's the same deal. It looks as if the floor dents with every step the dog takes. There are thousands of grooves from the dog's nails everywhere in the living area.

The salespeople like to say that bamboo is extremely hard and won't dent/etc. I know they do Janka hardness test on them, etc and use numbers to support it. By my real-life practical experience has been very different. I'm thinking about stripping out my bamboo and putting in oak floors (to better match the vintage of the house).

That said, we're talking about a wood shop here. It doesn't need to be pretty like a living space. If you spill a little finish or put a couple dents in it, it doesn't really matter. The slipperiness would be my main concern. If you really want it, how about installing it and sanding it with a coarse grit (like 80 or 100 grit)? Maybe you could even roll on some finish with a heavy nap roller to give it some texture? Just a thought.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I am finishing it out so if ever needed it could be sold or rented as a separate unit. It will have a kitchen, which as a workshop will be a sharpening area and countertop space. I plan to be here forever, but ya never know. I want it to be easy to convert to a living space.

I am looking at options. I found some deals on Maple, Ash, and Hickory- all good for shop floors. I also want something termite resistant. This is the tropics and we have issues with them. They love oak. Not sure about the ones I just mentioned. Of course I take precautions, but it is best I choose something they do not like. That was another plus about bamboo.

OSB is out. I just hate that stuff. I would put sanded ply before I went that route. Also it doesn't do well down here.

By the way, the ceilings are all heart pine tongue and groove. Amazing they used that stuff for ceilings back then. It is painted white. Also there is an interior wall skinned in heart pine which will come out. Unfortunately it is not enough to make flooring out of. Likely that is what the original floors were. I suspect they were removed due to termites. Fortunately everything else seems sound.

The building itself is made of stone. Luckily it has a crawl space so I can run wiring that way; otherwise I would have to run exposed conduit. I just priced floor plugs- GASP!!!!

[Ole Anderson]

I have cheap Pergo in my shop and I like it. Not nearly as slippery as you would think and I don't consider that an issue. Actually it is a bonus as you can put felt pads on the bottom of many tools and just slide them around without wheels, but not so easily they aren't steady for work. If you want something to not move at all, like your workbench, then a rubber pad would work. Personally I have always had my workbench screwed to the wall so I can put something in my metal vise and really reef on it without it moving. And it makes sweeping very easy. I have Bamboo in my kitchen (only a year old) Seems to hold up very well, but then it is stranded which is supposed to be much tougher, not just edge grain and it has the newer aluminum oxide finish. It was about $4/sf at LL.

[roger wiegand]

I was looking for cheap flooring and the guys at the mill where I buy my flooring offered "mixed domestic hardwoods" at about a buck and a half a foot; I've got at least 10 different species that I can identify, seems perfect for a shop floor and it really looks quite nice. I finished it with Bona HD and it is holding up well against serious abuse, and doesn't seem particularly slippery. I like it vastly better than the concrete I worked on for the past 40 years. Here's a picture right after it went down:
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[Malcolm Schweizer]

I did a little research, and it seems the pre-finished bamboo flooring comes with a scratch-resistant finish, which I believe is why it is so slick. I am wondering what would be the result if you took solid, unfinished bamboo and coated with polyurethane floor finish? I really don't want the pre-finished stuff mainly because it has the v-groove on the edges. I want a smooth floor.

I am leaning towards maple or hickory, but really wish the bamboo would work due to resistence to termites and low cost. Still my dream would be reclaimed heart pine, but that stuff starts at $8/sft. For that I can get mahogany locally, and it would be 8" or greater width, and a full 1" thick. I just don't have $8/sft to pay.

[Ole Anderson]

Actually most of those scratch resistant finishes also have an anti-slip ingredient, for liability purposes I bet. That doesn't mean you won't slide around in your sock feet on sawdust covered slip resistant flooring.