Laminate vs cork vs bamboo -- and the weight of a grand piano

DrRod · May 25, 2016

Greetings,

I suddenly need to replace the flooring in my semi basement [hot water tank split open big time]. The floor is a cement slab and while cool it stays nicely dry. I have a baby grand piano with a player mechanism in it and it is heavy -- probably four hundred pounds or more. I have nice caster cups made for pianos to help spread the weight. Moving it out of the room for the flooring installation would require taking the legs off, wheeling it on a dolly someplace, etc. and I want to avoid that. Flooring people say that to lay carpet they need everything out of the room so it can be stretched properly, which makes sense, but this eliminates carpet [which I wasn't that interested in anyway]. So this brings me to the other "value priced" options.

Would you recommend laminate or cork or bamboo given that a heavy piano will be resting on it? I fear the planks will spread or shift under the weight and would like your opinion of this.

Thanks,

Rod

kcflhrc · May 25, 2016

I don't think I would do any of those in a basement

tcartwri · May 25, 2016

If you stand on one foot, that is more pressure than your piano... for a point load.

rgr33 · May 25, 2016

I put laminate in our beach house, which has the slab floor. It's been 8 years and still looks great. Be sure to put in a vapor barrier before installing the floor. I also considered bamboo, but wasn't confident it would hold up to moisture as well. Both are tough as heck to normal use though.
Another very tough flooring I have used is Designer Vinal Tile. I put it in our mud from and bathroom off the garage, really like it, easy to clean, very durable.

reb · May 25, 2016

We installed bamboo in the living/dining room of my FIL's house. After a couple of months it had shrunk to the point that there were gaps around the edges. He had stored it for several weeks in an adjacent room. Maybe that was his problem--the mfgr recommends storing it for some time in the room where it is to be installed.

My place has had laminate flooring in four rooms for about 16 years with no problems. I would be cautious about installing it where it is likely to see water, tho.

Before we selected the laminate flooring, we got some samples of cork flooring. The substrate looks to me to be susceptible to water damage, too.

jrclark · May 25, 2016

We had done bamboo upstairs in our old house. There was no central air or humidity control and we never had an issue with shrinkage or expansion/buckling. I dropped tools on it, and 2 full sized German Shepherds wrestled and slid over the surface daily. There were absolutely no discernible scratches or dings when we moved out. If you're worried about scratches, get a lighter finish. You will not find a harder substance at a lower price than stranded bamboo. Don't buy the super cheap stuff, a good stranded bamboo is already reasonably priced compared to hardwood alternatives.

Luke'sScreenName · May 25, 2016

I've put laminate over waterproof underlayment over slab in 4 basements and have been very happy with the results.

None of your options will survive beng submerged (maybe vinyl?) although I saw a big box store ad for a laminate designed for damp area instalation.

TractorGuy · May 25, 2016

I put laminate throughout my slab home about 18 years ago and it has held up great. There is one spot by the back door where we had a leak I didn't catch till it warped some from getting water underneath. I fixed the leak and we already kept a rug at that door anyways. As stated it won't survive submersion but I'm hoping if anything happens to cause that my home owners insurance will cover it.

BigCountry1689 · May 25, 2016

I have stranded bamboo through the whole house except the kitchen and dining room. It holds up to kids and dogs great, my only issue that it will bubble the finish under heavy pressure (Couches, beds, desk) but as far as liquids my 3 year old is always spilling something and never leaves a water mark. I should mention the couches are rockers and heavy and the beds are adjustable bases with foam mattress so they are very heavy too, plus adding my a** and the wife.

CalG · May 25, 2016

I put down cork on the slab when I added to the walk out basement.

It's the pre finished interlocking "big" tiles 1'X2' IIRC. The entire finish floor floats over a heavy poly vapor barrier. There is radiant water pipe in the slab, but I have yet to hook it in to a circulator. Haven't needed to.

The floor has been great!. not very costly either.