Bamboo flooring that fits any budget
I’ve met a lot of interested and enthusiastic customers in Singapore whose budget unfortunately couldn’t stretch to accommodate bamboo flooring.
After spending a large sum of money on the property, many people didn’t quite leave enough for the renovation.
As a result, they have to settle for cheaper alternatives like laminate flooring. Laminate floors might be cheap, but it lacks the warmth and cosiness of natural wood.
That is a real pity. After all, flooring is usually the first thing that people notice about a new home, office or shop. The look and feel of the flooring sets the tone for the entire room.
Just imagine how much more elegant your place will be with natural bamboo flooring instead of cold ceramic tiles or artificial laminate floors.
Now, there are a few reasons bamboo flooring is priced at a premium here.
Firstly our bamboo flooring comes pre-finished with Treffert UV-finished polyurethane coating, and uses low-formaldehyde glue from Finland in its construction.
Secondly, the installation of pre-finished bamboo flooring requires technically skilled workers. It is different from say, teak parquet floors, which are site-finished. Such floors are more easier to install, so the installation cost is lower.
So now you have two choices of bamboo flooring from Star Bamboo:
- our premium pre-finished bamboo flooring and;
- a more affordable site-finished bamboo flooring.
It is surprisingly affordable, more so than even some laminate floors!
So contact us for more details today, you won’t be disappointed. 
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Marc said,
July 26, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Hi Hun Boon
My parents were fond of the saying “saving pennies, losing pounds”, which I guess means that sometimes cost savings are false and what seems good in the shortrun actually turns out to be bad in the long-run.
I know the materials in our homes are very emotive. We choose things (if we can afford them) because we love them. I’m a lover of the warmth of natural materials, especially wood (and double-especially when it is properly finished to bring out its natural beauty). So, I don’t mean to diminish these kinds of decisions down to economic equations, but perhaps at some stage you can post something and enlighten me on something. I’ve always understood laminates to be a false saving. You might pay less at the beginning, but I’ve always believed it doesn’t have nearly the life-span of the real thing. I’m sure you’ll be able to correct my number here, but I remember hearing that wood floors could be given major overhalls (sanding and refinishing) about 15 times over their lifespan? Does that figure sound right? Is it the same for bamboo flooring?
Another thing I’m curious about, and maybe on a slow-blog day you could help me out with this too… I know bamboo is an extremely hard wood (I’ve tried to drill holes in a piece before… not fun for my drill). Would that make it a good material for hard-traffic purposes? I’m thinking of things like commercial/public buildings, basketball courts and gyms, that kind of thing. I think the yoga studio I go to must take a fair beating.
=) Marc
Hun Boon said,
July 26, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Hi Marc, it could be “penny wise, pound foolish”, but I see it as “you get what you pay for”.
I always advise people not to buy laminate flooring. If they don’t wish to buy bamboo flooring, then at least go for wood flooring. Like you said, it’s the natural beauty and warmth of bamboo and wood flooring that makes it so attractive. Having a picture of wood grains just isn’t quite the same.
As for how long laminate flooring can last for, the major disadvantage is that they can’t be re-sanded. Once the surface is damaged, owners have no alternatives but to change the entire floor. So the length of its warranty doesn’t really matter.
Both bamboo and wood flooring can be re-sanded. The number of times it could be done would depend on its thickness and the amount of material taken off each time. A standard bamboo or wood flooring is 15-18mm thick, and it can easily go through 4-5 sandings without any problem.
To be honest, if the flooring is well taken care of (check out our FAQ for some floor care tips), re-sanding won’t be necessary for many years.
And oh, bamboo is hard indeed! It’s about 20% harder than teak and 12% harder than oak. High traffic commercial areas are not a problem at all. The only visible wear and tear you’ll see is tiny dents left by stiletto heels, but that’s the case for all wood and laminate flooring too.
Yoga is such a low-impact activity, no problem for bamboo flooring.
If your studio wishes to change their flooring, I can work out a nice deal for them. 
Marc said,
July 26, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Hi Hun Boon
I totally believe you on the “harder than teak” statement. I saw what I thought was a bit of bamboo in a cafe in Malaysia with different sized holes drilled in it and lights strung inside and I thought “oh, good idea, I can do that at home”. Seriously, that stuff is like concrete! That’s one tough wood! Later (after my arms had recovered from exhaustion) I thought perhaps what I had seen was actually sugar cane. :p
Thanks for your answers. I think 5 overhauls, given how infrequently they are, makes for a very hard-wearing floor.
There seems to be a rash of “cheap and disposable” in the world and I think that’s got two problems: 1. it’s a false economy and actually in the long run something beautiful, good quality and lasting really is going to be economical and 2. it’s wasting resources in our environment as people buy, replace, buy, replace… each time using noxious chemical glues, non-biodegradable plastics etc
And of course as you point out, the third problem is, what would you prefer to live with? Beautiful, natural materials or a “picture” of it? Pictures might fool you in the shop but they sure don’t fool you when you live with something every day.
I hope people become more savvy about these issues over time, and as they do I hope they come read your blog and see the value. =)
Hun Boon said,
July 27, 2007 at 10:42 am
Hi Marc, perhaps a power drill would be a good investment if you intend to drill holes in bamboo regularly.
The buy-and-throw mentality is another thing I’m quite against. It’s wasteful and creates a vicious circle of deteriorating quality. Take mobile phones for example, I use mine until it stops working. Then I’ll buy a new one, and only because it’s more expensive to repair. Manufacturers have no incentive to make phones long-lasting because they know most customers are going to change them every few months. Result: phones become more fragile.
Some shops go for laminates because they want to refurbish regularly to keep the look fresh and the customers coming back. But they forget that bamboo floors can be re-sanded and even dyed a different colour, and at a cheaper price too!
Jenna Chin said,
January 4, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I agree on the strength of bamboo, as we had several large clumps of it growing in our South Florida backyard. I am very interested in having Bamboo flooring put throughout my entire home (except kitchen and baths). I don’t want laminate. Had it and just don’t see the beauty that real woods have. I have seen bamboo flooring (in the darker color I am looking for, and I see that color is not added at all to the bamboo); for prices ranging from $2/sq. ft. up to over $5./sq. ft. What are the prices for your horizontal carbonized bamboo flooring? Thanks much in advance, Mrs. Jenna Chin
Hun Boon said,
January 4, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Hi Mrs Chin,
Thanks for dropping by. I’ll email you directly regarding your query.
And yes, laminates are artificial and totally different from bamboo flooring. Glad you could appreciate its natural beauty!
Hun Boon
Ollie Ong said,
January 16, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I am also looking to re floor my new place with natural wood for the halls and bedrooms. I am impressed with the bamboo flooring. What will be the cost of the carbonised vertical flooring?
Hun Boon said,
January 16, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Hi Ollie, thanks for dropping by.
Bamboo flooring is most popular for the very areas you mentioned - bedroom and halls.
I’ll be dropping you an email shortly to find out more about your needs.
Val said,
January 29, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Hi Hun Boon
I am interested to find out more about about the bamboo flooring as i am looking into re floor my new place as well. Please assist to advise on the cost and the different types of bamboo flooring available? Please drop me an email. Would like to arrange too for an appointment to understand more about the product?
Thanks!
Hun Boon said,
January 30, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Hi Val,
Nice talking to you over the phone last evening, I’ll be happy to show you the samples at your convenience.
Do feel free to contact me if you have any more queries.
Cheers!
James said,
February 1, 2008 at 7:39 am
I agree completely! Bamboo is an excellent flooring material that is far superior to laminate. You just have to show people what it looks like because they usually don’t have any idea.
Hun Boon said,
February 1, 2008 at 11:01 am
Hi James,
Thanks for popping by.
Yes I do wish that people would stop comparing bamboo flooring to laminate floors (artificial! plastic!), but it’s really up to us to show them the differences.
Our photos here can’t really show the natural beauty of bamboo flooring, and people are still surprised when they see the real thing.
jonathan said,
March 7, 2008 at 10:59 pm
hi,
i just got my new hdb flat and interested to know more about bamboo flooring. however,i ve budget constraint and if possible may think of do it myself. pls email me the prices for the bamboo as well as the charges for the workmanship so that i can do my costing.
thanks
Hun Boon said,
March 8, 2008 at 10:19 am
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for dropping by. I’ll be emailing you with more information on our bamboo flooring products.
Cheers
Hun Boon
Mahi said,
March 17, 2008 at 10:49 am
hi
i am considring bamboo flooring for my kitchen. do you think it will work. kindly advise on the cost and per sq ft.
thanks
Hun Boon said,
March 17, 2008 at 11:03 am
Hi Mahi,
That’s an interesting question. We have used bamboo flooring for the kitchens in some of our overseas projects.
One main factor you have to consider is how oily and wet is the environment going to be. If you’re going to do a lot of heavy-duty cooking and stir-frying, it might not be such a practical choice.
On the other hand, if all you do is heat up the occasional meal in the microwave, then why not? Bamboo flooring would be a lovely choice.
I’ll also drop you an email on this.
Thanks!
John C A said,
March 18, 2008 at 12:58 am
Hai,
I am getting my house huilt in Kerala(India). The nearest port is Cochin. I am interested to have bamboo flooring and require about 1400 square feet of it. However I have some budgetary constraints. Also to make it economical I would like to do the laying job myself. So the knowhow is also required. Horizontal carbonised bamboo flooring may be suitable for my purpose.
With regards.
John
Hun Boon said,
March 18, 2008 at 9:11 am
Hi John,
We do export our bamboo flooring to many countries around the world, including India. Our bamboo flooring has been used in various hotel projects in New Delhi.
However it might not be economically feasible to ship just 1400 sqft of flooring over.
I’ll email you the contact of an Indian flooring company that we work with, they might be better placed to advise you.
Thanks very much.
jvelasco said,
August 22, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Wow it looks fantastic!
you can’t even determined that’s made of bamboo…its do really works to have a bamboo flooring in the kitchen?
Nice blogs! Best regard…..
Hun Boon said,
August 22, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Hi jvelasco,
Thanks for the feedback. Yup, that’s bamboo alright!
Bamboo flooring is suitable for the kitchen if you don’t do heavy cooking, the concern is the oil and smoke.
They’re still great for restaurants and cafes, check out our latest project over here!
http://www.starbamboo.com/2008/08/18/star-bamboo-flooring-in-les-amis-groups-the-canteen-shaw-centre/