Morning Star Bamboo Flooring: What LL Flooring’s Closure Means for Buyers

Morning Star is the private-label strand-woven bamboo flooring brand of Lumber Liquidators (renamed LL Flooring in 2020). LL Flooring filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2024 and closed all of its roughly 442 stores after failing to find a buyer, so new Morning Star flooring is no longer sold through its original retail channel.

That single fact changes what “before you buy” even means for this brand in 2026. Most people researching Morning Star today either already own it and need repair or matching-plank advice, or they’re looking at remaining liquidation stock, resale listings, or a different retailer’s private-label bamboo entirely. Below is what’s actually documented about this flooring — including a real class-action history that’s directly relevant if you already have it installed — plus the general bamboo flooring facts that still apply regardless of brand.

What Morning Star Actually Is

Morning Star bamboo flooring was manufactured in China and sold exclusively through Lumber Liquidators/LL Flooring stores as their house bamboo line, most commonly as strand-woven bamboo — a manufacturing process where bamboo fibers are shredded, mixed with resin, and compressed under high heat and pressure into a dense plank. That process is also used by other flooring brands; what made a plank “Morning Star” was the retailer’s own branding, not a proprietary manufacturing method.

Bamboo flooring generally comes in three constructions:

• Horizontal grain: shows the wide, flat face of the bamboo stalk, giving a visible knuckle/node pattern.
• Vertical grain: thin strips stood on edge and laminated together, giving a more linear, uniform look.
• Strand-woven: the densest and hardest of the three, made by compressing shredded fibers rather than laminating strips.

The Class-Action History (Real, and Relevant if You Own This Floor)

Lumber Liquidators settled a class-action lawsuit in 2020 covering Morning Star Strand Bamboo flooring purchased between January 2012 and March 2019, over allegations of structural defects — including cupping, warping, and separation problems reported by a significant number of buyers. The settlement provided a combined roughly $28 million in cash and store vouchers to affected customers. A separate proposed class action followed, alleging the company continued selling similar allegedly defective flooring after that settlement.

This history doesn’t mean every plank of Morning Star flooring is defective — millions of square feet were sold without issue. But if your floor is showing cupping, gapping, or a spongy feel underfoot, it’s worth knowing this isn’t a purely hypothetical manufacturing risk for this specific brand; it’s the same failure pattern the 2020 settlement was about.

Durability: What’s True for Any Strand-Woven Bamboo

Strand-woven bamboo genuinely does score harder than red oak or maple on the Janka hardness test in most published comparisons, thanks to the compression manufacturing process. That translates to real dent resistance. It does not make the floor scratch-proof — grit tracked in on shoes, unprotected furniture legs, and pet nails will still mark the finish, since scratch resistance depends mostly on the wear layer (aluminum oxide finishes hold up best), not the hardness of the bamboo underneath.

Moisture is the real weak point, and it always has been for bamboo generally, not just this brand. Standing water can seep between planks and cause swelling or discoloration, and humidity swings cause the natural expansion and contraction that leads to the cupping and gapping described in the lawsuit above. Keeping indoor humidity in a stable 35–55% range reduces this risk significantly.

Installation and Cost, in General Terms

Bamboo flooring installs one of three ways: floating (click-together planks over underlayment, the most DIY-friendly), nail-down (for solid planks, over a wood subfloor), or glue-down (works over concrete or wood). Acclimating the boxes in the installation room for a few days before laying them down reduces post-installation movement.

Material costs for bamboo flooring generally range from $2–$4 per square foot for horizontal or vertical grain up to $4–$7+ for strand-woven, before installation. Professional installation typically adds $2–$5 per square foot depending on region and job complexity, plus underlayment and trim. Budget an extra 10% material for waste and cuts.

Caring for an Existing Morning Star Floor

Sweep or vacuum with a soft brush attachment (skip beater bars, which grind grit into the finish), damp-mop rather than wet-mop, and wipe up spills immediately — standing liquid is what actually causes discoloration and swelling, not brief contact. Felt pads under furniture legs and doormats at entrances prevent the majority of everyday scratches. For a full product-by-product cleaner comparison that won’t void a bamboo finish, see our best bamboo floor cleaner guide.

Since LL Flooring Closed: What Are Your Options?

• Matching existing planks: check flooring liquidators, resale marketplaces, and remaining box-store or independent distributor stock for the closest match by color and width; an exact discontinued match may not be findable, in which case a transition strip between old and new sections is the practical fix.
• Warranty and defect claims: with the original retailer closed, warranty support through Lumber Liquidators/LL Flooring itself is no longer available; if you believe you have a claim related to the 2020 settlement’s defect pattern, that’s a legal question for an attorney, not something a flooring guide can resolve.
• Buying bamboo flooring new today: look at current strand-woven bamboo from established manufacturers (not resold Morning Star stock), and check the specific product’s own warranty and Janka rating rather than assuming brand history carries over.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Morning Star bamboo flooring still available in 2026?

Not through its original retailer. LL Flooring (formerly Lumber Liquidators), the exclusive seller of Morning Star, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2024 and closed all of its stores after failing to find a buyer. Any Morning Star flooring available now would be existing retailer or reseller stock, not new production from the original supply chain.

Was there a recall or lawsuit for Morning Star bamboo flooring?

There was a class-action settlement, not a formal government recall. Lumber Liquidators settled a lawsuit in 2020 covering Morning Star Strand Bamboo purchased between 2012 and 2019, over reported structural defects like cupping and warping, for roughly $28 million combined in cash and vouchers. A follow-on class action later alleged continued sale of similarly defective flooring.

Is Morning Star bamboo flooring good quality?

It varied by product line and manufacturing batch, which is exactly what the 2020 class action was about. Strand-woven bamboo as a construction method is genuinely hard and durable when made well; the documented complaints were about specific batches failing to meet that standard, not a claim that all bamboo flooring underperforms.

Can you refinish Morning Star bamboo floors?

Solid bamboo can typically be sanded and refinished like hardwood. Engineered bamboo with a thin wear layer often cannot be refinished without going through the surface layer. Strand-woven bamboo’s density makes refinishing more difficult regardless of construction type — a flooring professional should assess the specific wear layer thickness before sanding.

Conclusion

Morning Star was Lumber Liquidators’ house bamboo brand, made in China, sold until the retailer’s 2024 bankruptcy closure. It carries a real, documented class-action history over structural defects in some batches, which matters if you already own it and are seeing cupping or gapping. The general bamboo flooring facts — hardness, moisture sensitivity, installation methods, and cost — apply whether or not the specific brand is still on the market, and they’re the numbers worth researching before buying any strand-woven bamboo floor today.