I have decided on a solid stranded (or woven bamboo) for the first floor of our house. I have it down to two products and I'm getting different info from different vendors on what is best. it will be installed on a concrete slab foundation, which shows movement in the past. I want to float the floor since there is some asbestos tile I would like to leave in place.

I have found two products:
1) cali bamboo click, this is about 50cents more a sq foot but is sold by a local store who will recommend and installer and I like the accountability there.
2) ming dynasty t & g, this is cheaper, and sold online. I would find someone here to install and am afraid if something goes wrong, I could just get the run around between the two.

Both say they can be floated. But someone told me you can't or shouldn't float a T& G floor because the seams will gap as the floor moves, the person selling the floors said floating (using glue on the tongue) is perfect for my situation.

My questions are:
1) is T & G or click better for floating floors, or are they the same?
2) On some threads here I see distinctions between solid and engineered products when people are giving advice, I would consider this a solid but engineered product, which should I consider it when looking at these boards?
3) are there any other factors I should be considering here? (choice of material, brands, I'll take any advice you've got).

Thanks!

If there's sealer on the T&G like there usually is on the bottom as well I would not try and float it by gluing the T&G. Cali said you could do it with theirs, but I would not trust it. The one client had HUGE heavy pieces of furniture and I was saying to myself, "Let someone else do it" I gave a bid to glue down and that was that.

Thanks for your reply. Would floating a clock lock floor be okay though? Floating is really my only option.

Yes for floating click is the way to go. Try Ambient Bamboo

http://www.ambientbp.com/

Great. That is very helpful. One more question, is there any benefit to a solid vs a veneer? I was convinced from the start I only wanted a solid plank product, i thought it would wear better and be more stable. Am I wrong about that?

Hi. I am having problems with my cali bamboo click floors and the company is giving me the run around saying they need to acclimate longer. At first they were blaming my installer who's been doing this longer than I've been alive--and I was born in the 70's! It's already been almost 5 weeks! I don't know what type of climate you're in but I live in hawaii on the jungle side, but the humidity is not that bad like east coast summers or the southern states and I'm having problems with my install which wouldnt be too bad except Cali Bamboo is ignoring me and telling me to wait. They act like they are hoping i go away or something. I spoke with flooring inspectors in hawaii and California who've said they've inspected those floors that shrink or pop out of the joints. Maybe this is all happening to save me from an even bigger nightmare in the future. Well, sorry I couldn't be more positive, but I just feel I should share my experience. I wish I could rant and rave about how great they are because that's always a lot more fun.

Any Bamboo is a crap shoot out here in the southwest. You need a humidifier and praying to Budda always helps.

The best bamboo for floating is the six inch wide long plank T&G that has a filleted core, natural or carbonized but not strand. Strand can literally take months to acclimate.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13772863@N08/7698861072/