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jak1_gw

Some photos....

jak1
15 years ago

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The new bamboo floor in TCS's room.

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Our garden shed

{{gwi:182548}}The Wine Deck

Comments (15)

  • gardenbug
    15 years ago

    Are those the new stairs off the wine deck?

    Everything looks so neat and trim...Sigh. I need a month of Molly Maids.

  • woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
    15 years ago

    I like the pattern on the back of the chair on the deck.

    What are the pros and cons of bamboo flooring? That must be a fairly new product - I don't remember it coming up in our list of possibilities when we did the renovation here in 1999.

    We need some garden pictures too....

  • Marian_2
    15 years ago

    Nice pics, Julie, and as Marie said..everything looks neat and trim. I like the blue on the garden shed.

  • jak1
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Woody, bamboo flooring has several pros: as it is a grass, it regenerates completely in three years, so it is truly a renewable resource. It is laid down like laminate flooring - the click thing, and does not require nails or glue. With a high quality underlay it does not have that hollow sound that some laminates have. It is durable and hard and does not scratch or damage easily, and is easily cleaned. IMO, it also looks nice. It can be found in a number of colours, made darker by some kind of heat treatment which caramelizes something - sugar maybe? It is less expensive than hardwood but a bit more expensive than some laminates. So...

    The cons: my DS who has done many floor says it is a B**ch to work with. It is hard and inflexible during installation, and if you are not careful you can break the little tongue thing that goes into the groove. We have had no luck yet obtaining thresholds so the transition from the oak floor to the bamboo is yet to be completed - and we ordered the thresholds a month ago. I am concerned about its resistance to water, and I sure am watching to be sure that the cat doesn't pee on it! The underlay was more expensive than most, but the sound difference is worth it. I also have found it to be so smooth as to be slippery - furniture with little felt pads is easy to move - almost too easy so a slip out of a chair of off a stool is possible IMO. I also wonder how it would be on the feet and legs if you had to stand on it all day because it seems to be so hard. Ours is in bedrooms so that is not really an issue for us.

    Anyway, we've done it! So far, so good!

    Cheers,

    Julie

  • jak1
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Yes indeedy, those are the "new" stairs to the Wine Deck. They are actually the old stairs relocated - they used to be where the chairs are now: take a look:

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    You can see on the right where the two patio stones are - that was where the stairs came down before. You can also see the discolouration on the base of the deck floor there. I had a lovely little pond where the steps are now, so next Spring we will reinstall the pond to the right of the stairs - your right that is. The blue tarp that you just see on the right is the base for TCS's pool.

  • denisez10
    15 years ago

    The floor came out beautifully, Julie, and it sounds like you really did your homework on the bamboo flooring. I wouldn't mind being tied by a rope to your wine deck either ;)

  • dodgerdudette
    15 years ago

    Hmm, so how come Julie has a 'wine deck' and I don't ? I do however have a wine closet (a poor mans wine cellar)..

  • woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
    15 years ago

    Thanks for the info on the bamboo flooring Julie. It looks very good in the picture. If it's slippery though it wouldn't be a good choice for me, so that's good to know.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    15 years ago

    Julie...we may need to do over some floors and we were considering bamboo. I hadn't thought of the fact that they may not stand up as well to water as wood. We have a new bamboo cutting board, that we absolutely love! I would enjoy hearing what you think of it after you have lived with the floor awhile. Very pretty planters on your shed. :-)

  • deanneart
    15 years ago

    Love that new floor Julie! Would love to sip a glass or two on the 'wine deck'.

    Deanne

  • Jerri_OKC
    15 years ago

    Add me to the list of Idylls curious about the bamboo floor. We are strongly considering it here, but it needs to be able to stand up to occasional pet accidents! :)

    It's just lovely. Thank you for the photos.

    Jerri

  • michelle_zone4
    15 years ago

    Great job on the floor. I like your wine deck, what a great idea! I like the things hanging on the lattice it adds nice interest. I need to see more pictures of your garden shed.

    Michelle

  • jak1
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I am going to keep a few scraps of the bamboo aqnd try some tests with respect to water and stains etc. I will keep you all in the loop....it seems easy to clean - a quick once-over with the Swiffer seems to work just great - the dust doesn't seem to "cling". I'll let you know (and see) what happens with water....

    Cheers,

    Julie

  • chelone
    15 years ago

    What a fun thread to read this morning while waiting for my hair to dry. I love the bamboo flooring, Julie, it looks sensational. I like the light color of it, reminds me of a dancefloor.

    Since it's a "prefab." product doesn't it come treated for spills? BIL has a Pergo floor over a concrete slab in his entryway and it's tough stuff. I'll bet your bamboo floor will wear like iron, bamboo is tough enough to be used for scaffolding.

    The wine deck is great, cozy and private, moving the stairs probably improved traffic flow in a small space, too. Those chairs are right up my (formal) alley, too. Very pretty. But doesn't it become a whine deck when Ajax runs out of things to chew?

  • jak1
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Well, I took a scrap of bamboo and put a teaspoon of water on it and left the little pool for eight housrs. Wiped it off, no damage of any kind! Then I took two pieces and tongue and grooved them together and put them in a pan of water about an inch deep - the bamboo was fine, but the wood that it is laminated to swelled up and made a mess. I guess this stuff would not survivie a flood but would certainly survive spills and maybe pet accidents if cleaned up so nothing got between the jpoints. DS says he makes sure that the joints are as tight as possible when he installs the floors so it would likely be fine. Anyway, if the PHILS (grrrr) would hurry up and finish the quarter round I could have my house back!!!