Is EcoFusion bamboo flooring a marvel of green building manufacturing or just another overhyped and overpriced flooring product?
With all the bamboo flooring options on the market, it can sometimes be tough to tell what sets apart a high-quality heirloom floor from a cheaply-made bamboo hot mess you may as well just have left as panda bear food.
Here, we look at some of the features and benefits of this durable and eco-friendly floor that also boasts an impressive color range and a DIY option to boot.
Appearance and Style
EcoFusion bamboo flooring comes in a variety of natural bamboo colors as well as grey, carbonized, and tiger striped tones. The depth of tone and color seen here depends largely on the texture and strand orientation.
Texture options are limited to hand scraped and smooth. Which you choose depends on where you plan on installing it. The hand scraped styles tend to fare better in high traffic areas where the texture hides wear and tear and minimal damage.
It’s also important to note that bamboo is naturally a high-variation floor, meaning one plank may vary widely in color to the next. This may not be for you if you prefer a more uniform and predictable look. In that case, consider a manmade material such as a laminate or vinyl plank where you can have more control over the finished look of the floor.
Construction and Durability
EcoFusion offers solid tongue and groove, solid click, and engineered bamboo flooring options.
The solid tongue and groove planks are a full ¾” thick and are available in horizontal and vertical strand construction as well as strand woven. This type can only be installed with nails or glue.
The solid click is a more DIY-friendly version of the solid plank. This type is ½” thick and has a click and lock mechanism for a fast installation without fasteners or adhesives.
The engineered bamboo plank features a 3-ply poplar core with a 1/8” sliced bamboo veneer. This type of construction offers the most versatility for installation. It can be nailed, stapled, glued, and floated.
Bamboo is well-known for being exceptionally dimensionally stable as its construction makes it less susceptible to temperature and humidity fluctuations, but it’s not waterproof. The click and engineered types can be installed at, above, or below grade.
This means it’s just as suitable for your finished attic as it is for your finished basement. Who doesn’t want to add more livable square footage to their home?
EcoFusion finishes each plank with a highly durable, super dense, abrasion-resistant coating made of UV-cured acrylic urethane embedded with aluminum oxide. It’s not bulletproof, but this finish can handle just about anything you can throw at it…except things like knives — don’t throw sharp stuff at it, please.
EcoFusion stands behind their bamboo products and offers an impressive warranty package. If you purchase your flooring through an authorized retailer, you can enjoy both a lifetime construction warranty and a 35-year finish warranty.
The construction warranty covers things like product failure, as long as you installed it properly. The finish warranty covers “wear through” and delamination. These warranties do not cover damage or failure due to improper installation, cleaning, or attempts at refinishing.
Eco-Friendliness
Bamboo flooring is beloved for being one of the eco-friendliest interior finishes available. While there are varying degrees of eco-friendliness when it comes to flooring, EcoFusion tops the charts. Everything about this product is “green” to the fullest.
Bamboo itself is a naturally renewable resource. Manufacturers can harvest this woody grass every five to six years without harvesting the root structure. This is in stark contrast to a typical hardwood that takes fifty years to mature and people must replant it.
EcoFusion uses Moso bamboo that is raised without pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. Moso bamboo is a hearty and woody variety — not the type pandas eat.
Even the coloring is eco-friendly. EcoFusion uses a dye-infusion method to create their stylish colors. This is where the bamboo is dyed first with a unique coloring process using all-natural plant-based pigments.
In addition, EcoFusion bamboo flooring is non-toxic and safe for the chemically sensitive. There is no added urea-formaldehyde adhesives and the finish is zero-VOC.
Ease of Installation
The ease of installation depends on which type you choose. The solid and engineered types are probably best left to the professionals while the solid click type is fantastic for the DIYer.
The solid strand bamboo flooring has a tongue and groove construction that you can only install with fasteners or glue. This option is for you if you want a solid hardwood floor and have the subfloor to support it such as strand board, plywood, or a vintage T&G subfloor.
The engineered type is the most versatile. You can install it on any level of your home. People install it with nails, staples, glue, or floating with glue. Customers commonly confuse this with a click-lock type.
You can click the solid click option together and “float” it over an underlayment. This is the option you’ll want to go with if you have a particle board subfloor or other considerations where you’d rather not nail or glue. This is also the easiest to DIY with minimal tools and training.
If you plan on hiring a pro, make sure they have experience working with bamboo. This is especially true of the solid type. It can be a bit trickier to install than your average hardwood due to the plank density that makes using fasteners troublesome.
Cost
Bamboo flooring is very budget-friendly when you compare it to other hardwoods thanks to its status as a rapidly renewable resource.
EcoFusion bamboo flooring is available for purchase from online retailers such as greenbuildingsupply.com and wayfair.com. This is a premium bamboo product that ranges from $5-$8 per square foot plus shipping.
Matching trims and transitions are also available for these products. Bamboo is notorious for being difficult to mill into small and thin items, so trims can be pricey. Expect to pay $25-$75 per piece and more for anything custom.
Freight for heavy and bulky items like flooring is expensive. So, look for deals that offer free shipping with a minimum square footage or bulk order.
Another bamboo cost to consider is installation. You can opt to DIY this flooring, specifically with the solid click option. This will save you a bundle on labor costs.
However, should you choose to hire a professional, you can expect to pay around $4 to $7 per square foot just to install the floor. Items like removal and disposal of your old floor, subfloor preparation, and removing and reinstalling your baseboards cost extra.
The Verdict
EcoFusion bamboo flooring is in the upper echelon of quality.
Even though it has a higher price tag, it is well worth it if you want a floor that will stand the test of time. This is a product for your “forever home” and not something that you’d put in with the intent to sell.
The solid click option is a bonus for the intrepid DIY homeowner and the versatility of installation formats means something for every room of your home.
In addition, it is eco-friendly through and through. Everything from the bamboo itself down to the natural pigment dyes and the zero-VOC finish make this floor non-toxic and clean enough to eat on — not that we’re suggesting you ever should.
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