Bamboo Floor??

[VPFencing]

Has anyone ever used bamboo rather than hardwood for flooring? We are building a new facility and are attempting to be "green" and bamboo is our choice of sustainable material as we could not find enough reclaimed hardwood (or it was too costly). We are thinking of floating a bamboo floor over 3/4 plywood (low-VOC, of course) over a 16" grid of 2x4 or 2x6. Any thoughts? Floor space is about 4,200 sf.

Where can we get good detailed instructions for building a overhead cable system in a warehouse?

[erooMynohtnA]

Bamboo should be as good as, if not better than, hardwood flooring.

Here's a recent thread of a fencing club from scratch that focuses on floors and reels: Before, a fencing club in the making

[jjefferies]

Has anyone ever used bamboo rather than hardwood for flooring? We are building a new facility and are attempting to be "green" and bamboo is our choice of sustainable material as we could not find enough reclaimed hardwood (or it was too costly). We are thinking of floating a bamboo floor over 3/4 plywood (low-VOC, of course) over a 16" grid of 2x4 or 2x6. Any thoughts? Floor space is about 4,200 sf.

I am questioning why you would want to add bamboo over 3/4 plywood. This past year I built a 2000 sq ft fencing floor using only 3/4" OSB over 2"x4" framing. And so far the floor has held up excellently making a much better fencing surface than wood over concrete solutions or the rubber mats that seem to be a prevalent solution. But why do you see a need for bamboo over 3/4 plywood? The plywood alone should be adequate. One big expense in our case was paint. But I think that is a lot less costly than bamboo and whatever finish it requires. BTW, cost was the driving consideration and OSB costs a lot less than plywood.

Where can we get good detailed instructions for building a overhead cable system in a warehouse?

There are several threads on this subject but I suggest that if you repost this thread in the armory section you'll get more attention.

[tlucente]

Three years ago we built a floating floor similar to the one mentioned above...no "exotic" bamboo, though. What's the reason for the bamboo? Cosmetic only?

Here are some pics and specs of our build:

http://richmondfencing.blogspot.com/...g_archive.html

[LTranter]

I am questioning why you would want to add bamboo over 3/4 plywood.

Depending on where this is being installed and how would be your answer. If the base floor is concrete, then you need the plywood and I would also suggest a moisture barrier.

I understand the concept of green, but let me warn you a bit about bamboo. You seem to be headed the "economical" route and that is were bamboo can get scary. Well made bamboo, glued the right way, cut the right way, will be a decent floor. You may see surface wear sooner than on a hard wood, though. Cheap bamboo will be a night mare. Not only does it wear quickly,especially with the use it would see in a fencing salle, but it has been know to shread at the ends of the boards.

A few years ago, bamboo was the rage. My husband was selling it and installing it home and several commercial sites (a generation of Wachovia banks spec it in for about a year of so). Now he is getting calls to rip the &&&& up. I walked into a 6 month old Wachovia and was shocked how worn the floor was.

The engineered (layer on top, plys of wood beneath) seems to hold a bit better than a solid, but if you are going that route, why not try a quickly replenishable exotic like Brazilian cherry or Santos mahogany? Even a thin wear layer on some brand will hold up for year. If you have concrete base floors, why not stain them? Lots of cool things are being done with stained concrete these days. There is also the option of laminate floors. We have laminate and our salle and it is holding up very well for the cost (Granted, my hubby did it at cost ). We have painted pistes on it, and it looks very sharp.

Let me know if you have any questions.

L