Wood flooring
Bamboo floors are tough, renewable and warm to look at, but they react to Ontario humidity faster than oak. Kitchener Prestige Flooring installs strand-woven, horizontal and vertical grain bamboo for homeowners and landlords across Kitchener and Waterloo Region.
In 16 years and more than 1,700 flooring jobs, we have seen what happens when bamboo goes into a dry house untested. That is why every bamboo job starts with a humidity check of the rooms, not just a moisture reading of the boards.
Our installers are licensed, insured and WSIB covered, and your floor is protected by a written 1-year labour warranty. We give you an honest opinion on whether bamboo suits your home before you buy a single carton.
Bamboo is a grass, not a tree. Most flooring bamboo is Moso bamboo, harvested every five years or so from plants that regrow from the same root.
Strips of the stalk are split, boiled, dried and pressed with resin into boards. That process gives bamboo its strength, but it also means the board takes on and gives up moisture differently from a sawn oak plank.
We install bamboo with that behaviour in mind. Wider expansion gaps, careful acclimation and the right adhesive make the difference between a floor that stays flat and one that cups by its second summer.
The word bamboo covers three very different products. Hardness here is on the Janka scale, where red oak scores 1290.
Shredded bamboo fibres are compressed with resin under heavy pressure. Many strand-woven floors test above 3,000 on the Janka scale, well past hickory.
It resists dents from dog claws and dropped pots better than almost any wood. The trade-off is weight, cutting time and a tendency to swell if humidity climbs.
Horizontal boards lay strips flat, so you see the knuckles of the stalk. Vertical boards stand strips on edge for a narrow, linear look.
Both land around 1,300 to 1,400 on the Janka scale, similar to oak. They feel more like a traditional floor and cost less than strand-woven.
Carbonised bamboo is steamed under pressure to turn it a caramel or coffee colour. That heat also softens the fibres, cutting hardness by roughly a quarter.
It is a real trade-off buyers are rarely told about. If you want the darker colour on a busy floor, choose carbonised strand-woven rather than carbonised horizontal.
Bamboo responds to humidity faster than oak. In Waterloo Region, the risk window is the heating season, when indoor air can sit at 20 to 30% for weeks.
Before we install, we measure room humidity and temperature, not only the boards. If the house is running below 35%, we ask you to set up humidification first.
We acclimate the flooring in the rooms for at least 72 hours, and longer for strand-woven. Expansion gaps are left at the manufacturer's full recommendation, never trimmed to save a baseboard.
People who choose bamboo often care about what they breathe. We only install boards that meet the TSCA Title VI formaldehyde emission standard, and we look for FloorScore certification on the finish.
For glue-down work we use low-VOC urethane or hybrid polymer adhesives. Most factory finishes are aluminium oxide, so there is no on-site finishing smell.
If a sustainable, healthy home is your priority, we are happy to walk through options on site. You can read more about how we work on our about page.
Nail-down suits horizontal and vertical boards over plywood. We use thin 18 gauge cleats because strand-woven splits under heavier fasteners.
Glue-down is our choice over concrete and for strand-woven boards in open rooms. It keeps the floor quiet and limits movement.
Floating click-lock bamboo goes down fastest and suits condos and basements with a sound underlayment. Long open runs may need a T-moulding break to allow movement.
Bamboo works well in living rooms, bedrooms, home offices and kitchens in homes with steady humidity. Strand-woven is one of the best wood-look choices for large dogs.
We steer customers away from bamboo in bathrooms, damp basements and homes heated mainly by a wood stove. Wide humidity swings in those spaces lead to gapping and cupping.
For a softer, warmer feel in a basement, cork flooring is often the better fit. For a traditional look over a wood subfloor, compare it with solid hardwood.
Bamboo flooring material runs about $4 to $8 per square foot for quality strand-woven. Installation in Waterloo Region usually adds $3.50 to $6.00 per square foot depending on method.
A good strand-woven floor lasts 20 to 30 years or more. Solid boards can be sanded and recoated later with our floor sanding and refinishing service.
Your written quote separates material, removal, subfloor prep and trim. All bamboo installs include our 1-year labour warranty.
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FAQ
Straight answers to the questions we hear most. Still unsure? Call and ask.
Ask for a Free QuoteStrand-woven bamboo is, often by more than double on the Janka scale. Classic horizontal and vertical bamboo is close to red oak, and carbonised bamboo is softer than oak. The label on the box tells you which you are buying.
It can shrink and gap if indoor humidity drops below about 35%, which is common in Kitchener homes in January and February. A furnace humidifier and a proper expansion gap prevent most problems.
Yes, if the top layer is thick enough. Solid strand-woven boards can be sanded, though their hardness makes it slower work. Engineered bamboo with a thin top layer can only be screened and recoated.
It is fine in a kitchen with normal spills wiped up quickly. It is not waterproof, so we do not recommend it next to a dishwasher with a history of leaks or in a basement kitchen.
Free estimate
Tell us about the floor. We will call to book a time, measure on site, check the subfloor and moisture, and leave you a written quote.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call and speak to a flooring specialist directly.
Kitchener Prestige Flooring
137 Glasgow St, Kitchener, ON N2M 5E3
Monday to Saturday: 7:00am to 9:30pm
Sunday: 9:00am to 9:00pm