Every homeowner seems to have a preference when it comes to floor. Some folks love the feel and the look of hardwood flooring. Others are partial to laminate flooring, vinyl flooring or some other material. Ultimately, a person’s preference for flooring comes down to two things: durability and look/feel.

If you’re looking for durable flooring and looks and feels great, look no further than bamboo flooring. If your local home improvement or furniture store is having a bamboo flooring sale, here’s why you need to take a second look at bamboo flooring:

• Bamboo flooring has a very high Janka rating, the test used to determine the hardness of flooring types and its resistance to wear and denting. In fact, only three types of wood flooring have a harder Janka rating than bamboo: Brazilian Teak, Tiete Chestnut, and Brazilian Walnut.
• As far as look goes, bamboo flooring has a contemporary, clean look that usually outperforms other types of traditional hardwood flooring.
• Bamboo flooring is very durable, but make sure to find a bamboo flooring sale that also comes with a warranty, just in case.
• If you’re trying to more environmentally conscious, bamboo flooring is very eco-friendly.
• If you’re worried about insect issues with your new flooring, bamboo flooring is termite resistant.
• As far as cost goes, you can expect to pay roughly $1,000 for bamboo flooring (figuring in the cost of materials as well as the installation cost). In some cases, this can be less expensive than traditional hardwoods.
• Bamboo flooring can easily be refinished and is DIY-friendly if you’re looking to install it yourself.

While there are many benefits to bamboo flooring, but as with any home improvement project it’s important to look into total cost before anything is done. If you can find a bamboo flooring sale, you might be able to strike a deal for both materials and installation. But costs can vary depending on what you’re looking for and where you go to buy it. If you can find discount bamboo flooring, this can help ease the stress on your wallet.

If you’re considering bamboo flooring, there the pros and cons of each of the five types:

• Groove engineered bamboo
• Click-lock engineered bamboo
• Solid strand bamboo
• Floating bamboo
• Horizontal and vertical bamboo

• Solid strand bamboo: This flooring is extremely hard (think about three times harder than oak) and is also renewable. It can be refinished several times and can either be nailed down to subfloors or glued to wood. If you find a bamboo flooring sale, this would be the kind to pick up since it usually costs quite a bit less.
• Grove engineered bamboo: This is also highly renewable. It can be refinished a couple of times, but layer wear must be monitored. Installation can be a little tricky however as it requires applying glue on every groove of each plank.
• Click-lock engineered bamboo: This can be also refinished depending on the length of the wear layer. Another benefit is this bamboo flooring requires less use of wood and is more eco-friendly.
• Floating bamboo: Floating bamboo is extremely hard and it is available in several styles. It’s renewable, is composed of solid wood and can be easily installed. If you’re installing this flooring in a low-humidity environment, keep in mind that the floor may shrink a bit.
• Horizontal and vertical bamboo: This flooring is also very eco-friendly and comes in many colors and styles. It can be refinished a couple of times and there’s no limit on the amount you can put down, if you’re going to install it in a certain direction. This type of bamboo flooring is a softer type and must be handled carefully to avoid dents and scratches.

There are lots of benefits to installing bamboo flooring at home and many ways it can be installed. If you can find a bamboo flooring sale and you want to install bamboo flooring, figure out which style of bamboo flooring you want and stock up. Once you’ve done that, carefully follow steps to install it if you’re doing it yourself or enlist the help of flooring professionals.