How Much Does Bamboo Flooring Cost?

Common Range: $6 – $18 Per Sqft. Installed

National Average: $11.80 Per Square Foot Installed

Updated: November 17, 2023. Written by: Steve Hansen

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Bamboo Flooring Cost Range

The cost of bamboo flooring is most often between $6 to $18 per square foot, when installed by a local flooring company. The cost varies depending on the type of bamboo, the amount of flooring being installed, and the complexity of the installation.

Average Bamboo Flooring Cost

The average cost to have bamboo flooring installed is $5.70 – $8.95 per square foot for most homeowners. DIY installation with just the cost of bamboo flooring and installation supplies is $1.90 – $8.00, showing the wide range of quality available.

Professional installation cost of $5.70 – $8.95 includes the bamboo flooring, thin pad underlayment if necessary and removing/disposing of old flooring. New plywood subflooring or installing bamboo on stairs will raise these costs.

Average Do It Yourself Cost
$15,250
Average Contractor Installed Cost
$29,450
Typical Cost Range
$20,700 – $38,000
bamboo flooring installed in a modern livingroom
Bamboo Flooring Installed in a Modern Livingroom
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Overview of Wood Bamboo Floors

Though bamboo is a species of grass, it is considered a hardwood flooring. Like hardwood flooring, it is available in engineered flooring with a cross-grain plywood base and in solid bamboo.

Most bamboo flooring, to the surprise of some homeowners, can be refinished – at least once for engineered bamboo flooring and multiple times for solid flooring.

This bamboo flooring cost estimate includes retail bamboo flooring prices from cheap to premium plus installation costs and factors. These factors will give you a clear idea of the numbers you’ll hear when getting bamboo flooring estimates from contractors.

See our Costs Submitted by Homeowners and Pros for actual project costs. Whatever type of flooring you choose, please consider bookmarking Costimates and returning to share your flooring cost for the benefit of other readers!

Bamboo has several looks

Stalks are cut lengthwise with the grain for most flooring, so you see the interior grain of the wood and the “knuckles,” or the joints that connect stalk segments. This is called Horizontal.

Affordable brands like Home Depot’s Home Decorators Collection and premium flooring like Cali Bamboo are manufactured with this in a range of colors, plank widths and treatments such as textured hand-scraped planks.

End-cut bamboo flooring is produced by cutting the stalks into short sections, squaring them and gluing the flooring together. The result looks a little like butcher block and can be made into parquet styles. Cost is lower to mid-range for this type, aka Vertical flooring.

A third type features shredded stalks with strands mixed with resin and formed into planks. While the toughest type, some of it cannot be refinished, so check with the retailer if that is a concern. It is often called Strand flooring. With most products, you have the option to float it or fasten it with glue or nails.

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Bamboo Flooring Installation Cost Factors

Here are the factors that contribute to total cost of bamboo flooring installation.

  • DIY vs Pro Installation – Click-together floating floors are a good do-it-yourself option for saving money. Nailed and glued options take a little more experience. See our DIY or No section below for details and our recommendation.
  • Flooring Thickness – Solid bamboo flooring features 1/2″ to 3/4″ of material and, on average, costs slightly more per square foot than engineered with a bamboo surface layer of 3/8”.
  • Flooring Hardness – The Janka Hardness scale is used in the wood flooring industry. Bamboo ranges from a relatively soft 1300-1500 to 5000 and above. Most is in the 3,000 – 4,000 range. To attain hardness, techniques called carbonization and fossilization are used. Harder generally means costlier, but not always.
  • Water-resistant Treatment – Some solid and engineered bamboo flooring is treated for greater moisture resistance. Cali makes engineered bamboo with a waterproof core. If you plan to use flooring in a bathroom, laundry area or basement, we recommend a water-resistant product.
  • Stylistic Treatment – Hand-scraped, wire-brushed, antiqued, bleached flooring typically costs more.
  • Top Coatings – Flooring with 7-10 coatings, especially with a scratch-resistant aluminum oxide wear layer, costs more than those with fewer or inferior coatings.
  • Warranty – The warranty usually reflects quality. Most cheaper options are backed by warranties of 15-20 years, but there are a few high-priced options in this range. Most midgrade flooring has a warranty around 30 years; premium flooring is backed with a 50-year or Lifetime warranty.
  • Where you Buy – Big box home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes have a good selection of lower-cost and midrange options with a few premium choices. Online prices tend to be average, such as at Build Direct, to expensive like many options on Wayfair – where some of the flooring is overpriced, in our opinion.
  • Old Flooring Removal/Disposal – Cost varies based on flooring type, but this is a good place to save money.
  • Installation Factors – Tight and crowded rooms, like a bathroom or den with a hearth to trim around, cost more per square foot for installation than open spaces. Stairs are difficult and often estimated separately at up to $100 per stair. Finally, the more square feet installed, the lower the cost per square foot for most jobs.
  • Moving Furniture – Charges range from about $15 for moving a few pieces to $50 for crowded rooms.
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Bamboo Flooring Materials and Supplies Cost Factors

Material and installation supplies cost is one half of the equation. Labor charges are discussed below.

Pricing irregularity: The cost ranges given below generally apply, but bamboo pricing and what you get for the money is more unpredictable than it is for manufactured flooring types like laminate flooring and carpet.

  • $1.80 – $3.25 per square foot | Entry-level bamboo flooring with a warranty up to 30 years and Janka hardness from 1500-3000 psi. Up to 7 coatings.
  • $2.80 – $5.50 per square foot | Midrange bamboo with warranties of 25-50 years and hardness of at least 3,000. This flooring typically has 7+ coatings including aluminum oxide.
  • $4.75 – $8.00+ | Midrange to premium bamboo with warranties of 30 years to Lifetime. Most is carbonized or otherwise treated to produce Janka hardness of 5,000-5,500. Most is coated with up to 10 coatings plus aluminum oxide.
  • $10.00 – $12.00 per roll | 100 square feet of 6-mil Vapor barrier underlayment required for installing bamboo over a concrete subfloor.
  • $28 – $50 per gallon | Flooring adhesive (optional). Coverage ranges from 100 square feet per gallon when installing 5/8” and 3/4″ bamboo to 200 square feet for 3/8” flooring.
  • $5.00 – $10.00 | V-notched residential-grade trowel for spreading adhesive.

Some sites estimate maximum material cost under $5.00, but there are many bamboo options that cost up to $8.00. Consequently, sites like Home Guide, with a top cost of $10.00 per square foot come in lower than most.

Example Project Costs with Bamboo Flooring

How much does bamboo flooring cost? Let’s turn bamboo flooring cost per square foot into actual project costs. Remember that installation labor tends to go down per square foot as flooring volume goes up.

  1. Installing $4.00 bamboo in a 150 square foot bedroom and closet will cost $8.50 to $10.00 per square foot.
  2. Installing the same flooring in an open, 1,000 square foot space might cost $7.50 to $8.75 per square foot.

Here are cost ranges from typical-sized jobs using bamboo flooring with a retail cost of $3.50 – $4.50 per square foot.

  • 100 square feet: $825 – $1,100
  • 200 square feet: $1,550 – $2,050
  • 400 square feet: $3,200 – $3,750
  • 600 square feet: $4,650 – $5,200
  • 1000 square feet: $7,400 – $9,000

Old Flooring Removal and Disposal Cost

Carpet removal and disposal costs about $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot for most jobs. It’s about the same for floating hardwood, LVP and laminate flooring and perimeter-glued vinyl sheet flooring.

Flooring that is full-glued or nailed takes longer to remove and may require power tools, so cost is $2.50 to $5.00 per square foot. Most tile removal is in this range.

There are significant savings with DIY flooring removal. We’ve gone in with a few neighbors to share the cost of dumpster rental to dispose of flooring and other items. This makes disposal costs quite affordable.

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Permits, Inspection, Labor Costs and Installation Time

Permits and Inspection Cost

  • $0 | No permit is needed for flooring installation.

Labor Costs and Installation Time

DIY installers save on labor costs – as long as they do the job properly.

  • $3.00 – $6.00 per square foot | Installation labor cost to install bamboo flooring.

Bamboo Flooring Install Time

An experienced hardwood floor contractor installs +/- 20 square feet per hour depending on how open or tight the space is.

A 2-person crew will get the jobs done in half the time.

  • Up to 1 Day | Installation up to 150 square feet
  • 1-2 Days | Installation of 200 square feet
  • 1.5-2 Days | Installation on a set of 13 stairs
  • 2-3 Days | Installation of 400 square feet
  • 2.5-4 Days | Installation of 600 square feet
  • 5-6 Days | Installation of 1000 square feet
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Are You a Pro Bamboo Wood Flooring Installer?

If so, head over to our Costimates Pro’s page, and help us make this page better and more accurate for both our visitors and your future customers.

DIY or Hire a Pro?

Floating the flooring is the easiest install method. Gluing, as long as you get the adhesive thickness correct for the thickness of the flooring, is moderate in difficulty.

Nailing the flooring, in our opinion, is most difficult because the technique takes a little time to learn so you don’t split planks or mis-nail them.

Keys to keep in mind are:

  • Bring the cartons of flooring indoors for 3-4 days prior to installation to allow it to achieve the same humidity and temperature as your home – acclimate it.
  • When you’re ready to install the floor, open several boxes, and mix up planks to blend them. Small color variations are found from box to box, and mixing planks prevents patchy floors or those that are visibly lighter on one side than the other side of the room.
  • Find a good set of instructions or video tutorials, and follow the pro advice carefully. Popular brand Cali Bamboo offers this guide.
  • Wear a mask and safety goggles when cutting bamboo.
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Reviewed and edited by Steve Hansen of Costimates

steve hansen of costimates-sm Steve Hansen, that's me, the Senior Editor of Costimates. (Learn more about myself and our team) I'm an avid home improvement professional with more than 37 years experience working on all types of residential new home building, upfits, repairs and remodeling.

"Like most homeowners, I was frustrated with the lack of quality information available on specific home improvement repairs and renovations. In 2015, Costimates was formed to help homeowners learn as much as possible about various projects and their costs so they could make better financial decisions."