Laminate flooring VS bamboo flooring

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Laminate flooring(LF) and bamboo flooring(BF) are both of wood flooring. But they have their own features.

1. Abrasion resistance
LF is strong abrasion resistant. AC4 and AC5 rating LF can be used for heavy commercial purpose. It can be used in many high traffic indoor places such as gymnasium and supermart. Bamboo flooring is not strong abrasion resistant. It can� be used in high traffic place.

2. Price
LF is much cheaper. The prices of bamboo is usually 3-4 times higher than that of BF.3. Moisture resistance Both of the products are strong moisture resistant. But BF is much better. BF even can be used in kitchen. The swelling rate of BF is very low.

4. Durability
Regarding durability, BF is better than LF. LF can�t be repaired if the top layer, abrasion resistance, is broken as there is no layer to protect the decorative layer and support material. BF still can be used if its surface is broken because there is still bamboo under the surface.

5. The content of formaldehyde
BF is mainly made up of glued bamboo planks, while the support material of LF consists of glued wooden fiber. So the content of formaldehyde in LF is times of that in bamboo. But laminate flooring(LF) is also safe as long as it meet the standard of formaldehyde release.

6. Colors available
Almost all the colors can be available to LF: pine, oak, birch, beech, cherry, oak, teak, walnut, ceramic tile, granite, marble and even including bamboo. But the colors for (BF) are just natural color, carbonized color and several other colors.

7. Appearance
BF gives a natural, elegant and comfortable feel. It makes your house more valuable. Common LF can� t offer such feel. But now there is some type of LF with hardwood like appearance such as V groove type and hand scraped surface.

8. Noise.
LF is of a floating type. There is some noise when people step, while there is only a little noise from BF as its installation method is quite different from LF. It is not a floating type. But attached underlayment on the back of LF can reduce most of the noise

[Philip Rowe]

Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. Its Green to use Bamboo, because it has low impact on the environment.

[Richard Wuest]

I have bamboo in my kitchen, and all I can say is don't do it. The salesman at Lumber Liquidators told me that this stuff is just as hard as oak and should hold up fine. I have a Hardwood floor in my dining room, and it recieves the same amount of abuse as the Kitchen floor, but is still in good shape after about 11 years since it was last refinished. The (hard as Oak) bamboo in the kitchen, after only 3 years, is trashed. Things which have damaged the bamboo include moving the fridge, which is on wheels, but the wheels are small, have resulted in leaving grooves where the wheels rode. Also, drop a canned good on the floor, and you can count on there being a nice large dent wherever the can strikes. Also, my son, 4 years old and 45 pounds, rides a 4 wheeled vehicle which uses skate board wheels called a skitter. There are grooves all over the kitchen floor from the skitter, but nothing more than superficial scratches on the hardwood in the dining room hardwood. I myself like the looks of bamboo, but I would never use it again, even if it were free. I would rather pay a little more for quality hardwood and have something that will last. If I could not afford the hardwood, I would look into other alternatives, but would still stay far away from bamboo.

[Boyd Smith]

I would also suggest laminate flooring. It is the best.