I have logged so many hours researching what kind of Bamboo flooring I wanted for my kitchen,dining,hall,bathroom and front entry way........ I learned alot about it all, but not so much how it would handle the AZ dryness. I just heard that a home depot or all home depots in az are pulling bamboo lines due to the problems they are having. Does anyone live in az and have bamboo?

ALSO...is bamboo the right choice for me? I want a dark finish (mocha), and at a reasonable price. I have started to do research on other wood flooring, but haven't gotten far. I just want to know what flooring is best for az. Or should I go with engineered bamboo/wood?

Please help. I'm so lost and I feel like everyone I ask just tries to sell me their products.

Helpful info:
2 young kids
1 dog

Phoebeofaz

I am not surprised that the bamboo has been pulled from the Arizona market. It doesn't seem to perform well in ANY climate.
Think about a walnut or stained Birch floor for your area.

Gee, I don't know how I missed this post. Personally I would not buy any flooring from a box store.

That said I have clients who maintain their bamboo with humidifiers which have not had any issues for years now. Yes, even generic bamboo. Maybe they are lucky I don't know but I advise all my clients to at least try and maintain a level of rh in the home as close to 30% as possible. Some listen some don't. Some have some minor checking and splitting, those are the ones who have decided not to keep the rh up. Some have not had any issues even without using a humidifier.

If I were you I would buy a natural stained bamboo with an AO finish, not a carbonized one if you have kids and pets as it indents easily. There's some pretty new cool floors coming out like corkboo, click stranded etc.

Forgot I had a couple links for ya;

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... -100660325

Read the reviews for the HD one.

http://www.aprilaire.com/index.php?znfA ... 5&item=700

Well, Arizona is native to one of the hardest and most stable woods for floors available. And that's mesquite. It is unique looking for sure. Lot's of color variation, grain patterns and so on. The effect may not be for everyone. But one could not ask for a more durable and stable floor. And I'm sure it is available in an engineered now as well, for direct glue down to concrete. RE: bamboo. Here in N. CA. bay area, our climate year round is fairly mild compared to Arizona and Canada. We do not get those very low RH levels except perhaps a few days out of a year. Quite rare. Our RH is typically in the ideal range, 40 to 60 %. So most wood and bamboo floors perform fine, as far as stability goes. My problem with bamboo for the active family, is the because it has little grain variation ( similar to maple ), it shows denting badly. If one looks across a light colored maple or bamboo floor where the light is reflecting off it, one can see every minor defect in the surface. Now with a more "grainy" wood like ash or oak, many of the imperfections are more readily hidden due to the wood's grainy nature. This has been my experience at any rate. IMHO, I do not think bamboo makes a good floor covering material. It can be fine if you follow the far east practice of removing your shoes when you enter a home and you keep the home within the preferred RH range, 40 to 60 % RH. But then again, all floors would fare better if this is how people lived in their homes.