Jamie Sandford was the Owner and Chief Editor of Home Flooring Pros. After 12 years’ experience in screen and stage set construction, followed by a further 15 years working in the home renovation and remodeling business, he now writes and curates online home improvement advice.
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In this latest article we’re taking an in-depth look at the pros and cons of bamboo flooring and cork flooring, and then examine how they measure up and compare against one another. By comparing these two eco-friendly floors side by side, you will be able to decide if either is a good flooring option for your home.
The average total cost ranges from $9 to $20 per square foot.
The average total cost for carpet ranges from $5.67 to over $21 per square foot, depending on the quality.
The average total cost for laminate flooring is between $3 to $13 per square foot.
Let’s start by taking a look at cork and bamboo flooring pros and cons, before concluding with a look at which of the two might be the best fit for your home.
The number one benefit that cork and bamboo have over hardwood flooring, as manufactures and retailers of both products are eager to point out, is their eco-friendly credentials. Cork is produced from the bark of the cork tree and can be re-harvested every ten years without ever damaging the tree itself.
Meanwhile bamboo, of course, is not actually wood at all, but a grass that grows very rapidly, with supplies replenished every 3 to 5 years. In both cases this is a fraction of the 25-100 years that it takes for a tree to be replanted and harvested.
Stick to a high quality product, have it correctly installed and you won’t be disappointed. But we recognize that they won’t always be the best option for every home, so here are a few things to consider.
So having decided why cork and bamboo might be a better flooring product over solid hardwood and other flooring types, how do they compare to one another?
While both are green options it is worth mentioning that much bamboo production is still unregulated and not certified by any official body. Questions still surround production methods, including the chemicals (like formaldehyde) used in treating and gluing bamboo strands, toxic fertilizers and pesticides used to speed up production, reports of deforestation to make way for more profitable bamboo manufacture and of course the environmental costs of shipping.
This means it is very difficult to really judge the green credentials of many bamboo products sitting on DIY store shelves. So you have two choices, go with a respected brands, like Cali Bamboo or Teragren, who have products and production certified by bodies like the FSC and LEEDS or go with cork flooring.
Savvy interior designers know that when choosing a floor you should at least consider how your choice of flooring might affect the re-sale of your home. It’s impossible to know what will be in or out of fashion ten years from now, but you will still need to make that judgment call when choosing between cork and bamboo. Solid hardwood flooring is widely seen as the luxury flooring of choice (interestingly this was not always so, not so long ago carpet was the way to go) and you would have to say that bamboo is a closer cousin to solid wood than cork.
To be clear, we’re not saying that bamboo will add more value to your home than cork, simply that corks unique aesthetics might not be to every-bodies taste and that bamboo could make resale easier by appealing to a broader range of buyers.
What often surprises many buyers is the high price of both cork and bamboo flooring. $4 to $8 per square foot is a pretty common/standard price for a good quality product of either type. Unless it’s on sale, you’re better off avoiding cork or bamboo flooring below this price point, there are too many stories of dissatisfied customers who tried to cut corners with low cost, low grade bamboo flooring. This $4-8 cost is on a par with hardwood flooring, so apart from the environmental considerations why not go with wood?
Well, the saving really comes with installation. Whether you are looking at a DIY project or calling in professional installers, putting down an engineered floating floor or glue-down tiles is a simpler, easier and quicker job than solid hardwood planks. Of course there’s nothing to stop you investing in engineered hardwood flooring.
Both bamboo and cork are durable but in different ways. Decent bamboo products are tough and you will no doubt have seen much comment on how it compares favorably on the Janka hardness test against other hardwoods. So scratches, dents and dings shouldn’t be any worse than many other solid hardwoods. Nevertheless bamboo isn’t indestructible and isn’t necessarily the best choice for a home full of children, animals and high heels.
Cork is durable in a different way. With its springy nature cork rebounds well from dents although you are advised to use protective coasters and pads for heavy furniture that continually sit in the same place. The mottled pattern of cork means that it hides dirt and scratches better than bamboo or other hardwoods, so is more forgiving.
Overall we would say that cork is a warmer and more forgiving flooring option than bamboo. As attractive and desirable as hardwood floors are some homeowners find them too cold and hard underfoot. If you share this opinion then you will probably feel the same way about bamboo as well.
Conversely corks cellular structure makes it a much softer and yielding option and has a reputation for being warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, one of the reasons that glue down cork tiles are a popular choice in the bathroom.
Editorial note: The name “Homefront” refers to the alliance between USA TODAY and Home Solutions that publishes review, comparison, and informational articles designed to help USA TODAY readers make smarter purchasing and investment decisions about their home. Under the alliance, Homefront provides and publishes research and articles about home service and home improvement topics.
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