Hardwood and Bamboo Flooring

Make a note of what the adjoining rooms are and what flooring is currently in those areas.
Make a note about how much natural sunlight enters the room, which direction the room faces, and any sliding patio doors.
Check what is under the existing flooring.
Whenever possible take along any furniture, wallpaper, and drapery fabrics from the room.
Decide what you want done with existing skirting boards.
Consider these important points to decide the suitability of different types of flooring:
How much traffic does this room get each day.
What is the room used for.
Will the room be used by pets.
Do you have a certain color in mind.
What are your personal expectations for the flooring.
How long do you want it to last.
Be sure to ask if the flooring price quoted includes:
All subfloor preparation, all installation costs, removal of existing flooring, if needed moving of all furniture and appliances, all necessary materials for installing your new floor.
Questions to ask:
Are theflooring installers independent or do they work for the store.
Who's insurance covers installation errors.
Are all the flooring installation materials the manufacturer's recommended products, so the warranty will not be voided.
Before choosing flooring have the salesperson review with you the manufacturer's warranty information as well as the manufacturer's care and maintenance procedures.
Keep a copy of all documents for your reference.
Be sure to get all quotes in writing, including the amount needed, and a rough diagram of how they will install the flooring and where all seams will fall.
Be sure to understand who is responsible for removing toilets, portable dishwashers and any other room fixtures.
Make a note about what groups, or organizations the store be associated with.
Always get all product information in writing including the manufacturer's name, product name, style, color, and how the product will be installed.

Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring has an elegant look which can add warmth and charm to any room in the home and the natural characteristics of wood add depth and a rich appearance. As the demand for hardwood flooring has grown so has the manufacturer's ability to produce better quality finishes and superior construction techniques. With these advancements wood flooring can now be installed throughout the home and over a wide variety of subfloors. Hardwood floors are offered in a variety of wood species. Besides the popular and well known North American hardwoods, many flooring companies now offer a wide variety of exotic hardwood floors as well from Australia, Brasil, Africa and the Far East. Today, homeowners looking to use wood floors have the option of purchasing three different types of wood flooring. Although the end results may look the same there are distinct advantages for using each type under different situations.
22mm Solid Wood Flooring
Engineered Plank Flooring
Longstrip Plank Flooring
Once installed it is extremely difficult to tell the difference between solid wood flooring and the other wood flooring. Both the engineered and the longstrip have thin layers of wood that are glued together. By gluing the plies together you get better dimensional stability within the plank itself, which allows these floors to be used on floors that have a higher percentage of moisture content than normal. This includes basements and over concrete slabs where solid strip wood floors are considered off limits. Another choice you have today is whether to go with pre-finished wood flooingr, or an unfinished wood floor that is finished in your home. Pre-finished flooring offers a wider variety of wood species and saves hours of labour. Unfinished wood flooring allows you to have a site finish and a completely smooth, uniform surface. You also get an extended factory finish warranty with pre-finished flooring, but not with site finishes.

Bamboo Flooring
This is an alternative to hardwood flooring.
Because bamboo is a grass, no natural hardwood trees are cut down in its production. There are over 1000 species of bamboo available which harvests for 3 to 5 years. Because of bamboo's extensive root system that continually grows underground, it replenishes itself naturally, as grass does. New growth, which springs out of the ground can mature up to 24" in 24 hours. It is thinned out and used for products such as chopsticks, doors, plywood sheeting, flooring, furniture, scaffolding, window blinds and countless other uses. China is the major source of Bamboo and has seen no signs of depletion and so it does does not deplete the earth's limited resources.