Different wood floor types between levels?

Question

Alright... my rehab managers had trusted this hack contractor to buy a cheap bamboo. It looks pretty nice actually and I liked it, but after installing the upstairs my managers noted that it dents very easily and was soft. Turns out it has a Janka of 1400ish. It isn't stranded. We bought at $1.7/sqft. Now they've decided to go to this Coretec product at $3.2/sqft that supposedly is fully waterproof, needs no moisture barrier, can go in kitchens and bathrooms, floating floor no glue required. So my managers are claiming it will save me money in installation regard.

I'd rather not lose the 1k in materials I spend on the upstairs plus the probably 1k in labor to install, but I really don't see it being correct to have two different types of hard wood floors in the house.

What do you think?

See pictures of installed floor and new floor for downstairs and steps..

https://goo.gl/photos/Gq8SYVKujzyd3MaU9

I'd rather not lose the 1k in materials I spend on the upstairs plus the probably 1k in labor to install, but I really don't see it being correct to have two different types of hard wood floors in the house.

What do you think?

See pictures of installed floor and new floor for downstairs and steps..

https://goo.gl/photos/Gq8SYVKujzyd3MaU9

JD Martin · Answer

Depends on what you are doing with the house. I have seen plenty with material changes down to up, including different woods. If you have to deal with a staircase, cover most of it with a runner, just leaving a small spot on either side exposed.

Jeff Berg · Answer

Hi Leland,

Different wood species and color is perfectly fine on different floors... it actually can add interest. It was very common in older homes to have a more expensive wood in the downstairs public area, and a different, cheaper grade in the upstairs bedrooms, etc.

You might consider doing a different but complementary color as well. You can blend the transition by having the treads of the stairway matching the dowstairs, and the risers same as the second floor, or vice-versa. You can also combine colors on the balustrade.