Bamboo flooring is an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional hardwood flooring. With bamboo flooring, you can enjoy the same benefits of hardwood flooring, but at a slightly lower cost and with a smaller environmental footprint. Bamboo grows quickly—sometimes up to a foot per day—and doesn't usually need fertilizers or pesticides.1 This unique growing feature means that bamboo grown for harvest can reach maturity in as little as three to five years, making it a very sustainable type of flooring.2
Bamboo should be among your top candidates if you're considering adding hardwood flooring to your home. Below, we've outlined important things you need to know about bamboo flooring, and what you should expect to pay for it:
While bamboo flooring isn't as common as oak or maple, it has many benefits, including:
- Durable: Properly produced bamboo flooring is as durable as other types of hardwood flooring, like oak or maple.
- Contemporary: If you're looking to create a trendy home style, bamboo is the perfect complement.
- Easy to clean: Bamboo can be cleaned with a mop and mild soap, just like tile and vinyl.
- Refinishable: If your bamboo floors become damaged, you can refinish them by sanding and restaining.
- Variable quality: Not all bamboo flooring is equal. Inexpensive bamboo can scratch and ding, especially if you have dogs with long nails.
- Absorbent: Bamboo absorbs water, which makes this flooring risky for wet areas like kitchens and bathrooms. If you do use bamboo in these areas, seal with a waterproof sealer and watch closely for moisture build-up.
- Less variety: Bamboo is available in fewer colors than traditional oak, and therefore may not fit your design style.
The average price of bamboo flooring ranges from $5 to $15 per square foot.3 With professional installation, you can expect a 250-square-foot bamboo flooring project to cost between $3,500 and $9,000.3
However, there is a huge amount of variability in bamboo flooring cost. That variability comes from several factors, including:
The square footage of the project will have the biggest impact on the cost of your bamboo flooring because it impacts all aspects of the project, from materials to prep work to installation labor costs.
If you're planning to hire a contractor, keep in mind that increases and decreases in the cost of labor aren't linear with the square footage. Rather, there are often minimum charges to offset the setup and travel costs associated with the project.
And if you plan to DIY the project, you'll need to purchase specialized tools (like a saw and nail gun) regardless of whether you're flooring 250 square feet or 2,500 square feet.
Bamboo grows exceptionally fast, often up to a foot per day. It takes about six years to fully mature, but some manufacturers harvest their bamboo early. While bamboo harvested earlier is less expensive, it also tends to be less durable and more susceptible to scratches and dings.4
The type of bamboo flooring you choose also impacts the price. Here are the most common types of bamboo flooring:3
- Vertical: Solid bamboo flooring where the wood strands are arranged vertically and laminated into a solid piece of hardwood. This style tends to have a more textured look.
- Horizontal: This quintessential style shows off the grain of this unique wood. Horizontal bamboo is manufactured by taking bamboo strips and gluing them horizontally, then shaping them into a plank.
- Strand-woven: The most durable style is made by weaving strands of bamboo together and then compressing them under heat.
Choosing whether you install bamboo flooring yourself or hire a professional is a personal decision you should make based on both your skill set and level of comfort. Of course, your decision will affect the cost of the project.
DIY installation is usually less expensive, but there are still some costs involved. While you'll save money on labor, you'll need to buy any specialized tools required to complete the project. For example, installing bamboo flooring usually requires a miter saw, a flooring nail gun and many other smaller tools and supplies.
Doing it yourself can also take much longer than hiring professionals, so it might not be the right choice if you need to complete the project as soon as possible.
While bamboo isn't available in as wide a range of colors as oak or maple, there are still several color options with different price points. In addition, the type of grain you want (vertical, horizontal, or strand-woven) will impact the price.
Whether the bamboo is handscraped (a method of sanding that leaves distinct grooves and marks on the floor) will also impact the price.5 Handscraping is a popular option for bamboo flooring because it gives the impression that the wood is much older, making it blend well in historic or older homes.6
Finally, the installation pattern you choose (e.g., herringbone) will impact the time it takes to install your bamboo flooring, thereby impacting labor costs. The more intricate the pattern, the higher the cost
Bamboo flooring can be manufactured in several ways, each with its own associated price range:3
| Types |
Average price per square foot |
| Vertical |
$5 |
| Horizontal |
$5 |
| Strand woven |
$6-$10 |
The cost of any flooring project depends on two key factors:
- Material cost
- Labor cost
The cost of materials for bamboo flooring depends on the type of bamboo you choose to install, but you'll also need to consider the cost of hiring someone to install the floors (labor cost). The cost of labor ranges from $3 to $5 per square foot.7 Using this information, you can roughly estimate the cost of your bamboo flooring project.
First, determine the square footage of your project. You can calculate your project's square footage by measuring the length and width of the room and multiplying those numbers together.
For example, suppose you want to add bamboo flooring to your living and dining room, which measures 12 feet wide by 16 feet long.
Here's the square footage calculation: 12 feet x 16 feet = 192 square feet
You'll also want to add 10% to that number to account for mistakes and waste.
192 square feet x .10 = 19.20
192 + 19.20 = 211.20 square feet
Once you have a square footage figure, you can use that number to estimate material and labor costs. Let's say you're looking to install vertical bamboo flooring that costs $4 per square foot. You would calculate the cost of materials as:
211.20 square feet x $4 = $844.80
If you're DIYing the project, add several hundred dollars for the cost of a saw, a flooring nailer and miscellaneous other materials. You can price these out in advance using an online retailer, but we'll use an estimate of $300.
$844.80 materials cost + $300 extra materials and tools = $1,144.80
If you plan to hire professionals instead, you can estimate the labor cost using the range provided above.
211.20 square feet x $5 = $1,056
And add that to the materials cost:
$844.80 + $1,056 = $1,900.80
Keep in mind that these numbers are just estimates based on a variety of variable factors. For a more accurate assessment, be sure to get at least three professional quotes.
High-quality bamboo floors can be very durable, but they can still become damaged. If this happens, you don't need to tear up the floor and start again—you can refinish them. Refinishing bamboo floors involves sanding down the top layer of flooring and re-staining them.8
Refinishing your bamboo flooring depends on the type of flooring you choose. For example, strand-woven bamboo flooring is difficult to stain, so it's important to choose a professional with experience in this type of flooring.
Generally, you can expect to spend about $3 per square foot to refinish your bamboo floors, depending on the professional you choose.8
Bamboo flooring is very durable. In fact, strand-woven bamboo is one of the most durable types of hardwood available. Still, any flooring can become damaged with improper treatment.
Here are some reasons you might need to replace bamboo flooring:9
- Deep scratches or dings
- Damage and discoloration from pet urine
- Damaged finish from spills like acetone or bleach
- Water damage
The cost of a bamboo flooring project can be high, but there are several ways you can pay for the project:
- Personal line of credit. This is an unsecured loan in which you have an available credit limit you can access and repay again and again.
- Home equity line of credit. This line of credit is secured by your home, is readvanceable and offers some of the lowest available interest rates.
- Credit card. While credit cards may have high interest rates, they can be a good resource for short-term spending projects. Just make sure you have a plan to pay off your credit card promptly.
You can shop for your bamboo flooring option using the Synchrony HOMETM Credit Card, which offers a variety of promotional financing options plus take advantage of special offers from Synchrony HOMETM partners.
Bamboo flooring is an eco-friendly and durable type of flooring that is attractive and can last decades. Whether you choose to DIY your bamboo flooring project or hire a pro, it's essential to have an accurate sense of the cost of your renovation project before getting started.
Learn more about the benefits of the Synchrony HOMETM Credit Card today.