Install tips 5/8" bamboo flooring?

[tadink]

Naturally, when installing a bamboo floor - the first place to look for advice is the Porsche site - my wife just shakes her head - but I KNOW that this is the most valuable source for any information on anything on the whole interweb!!

SO - I've got a bedroom, removed the flooring down to the plywood flooring which looks and feels solid and ready for the flooring.

The bamboo is solid, vertical grain, 5/8" unfinished, tongue n groove -

I'm putting down the tarpaper water barrier today, and will start on the bamboo flooring itself later or in the morning. (The wood has been indoors getting acclimatized, although Napa is not a very radical area for relative moisture, particularly during a drought!).

So, from the brain trust, what are the HOT TIPS to get this done right?

pix to follow -

thanks all -

td

[PetrolBlueSC]

I installed Cali Bamboo a few years ago. They told me to glue the groove and push together. After a couple years the planks started to separate. I am about 3/4's finished with redoing the downstairs. I am pulling up 6 rows and then nailing them back down. The bamboo is really tough and I have only messed up a couple of pieces that couldn't be put back down. The key to nailing bamboo is having the right nailer. I am using a Model 50P Powernail with 1 1/2 inch cleats. You can rent the nailer from a Homedepot tool rental. They have cleats for sale also. Nailers for less wood (oak and such), may not work on bamboo. The bamboo is much harder.

My wife has been helping me, and has actually become more impressed with the bamboo after tearing it up and nailing it back down. We have abused it, and it still looks great.

[rick-l]

5/8"? not sure if they make a plate that will put the cleats in the right spot above the tongue.

Screw some scrap down on your chalk line to put in the first row. Screw it down good because the nailer will move it.

If you have to reverse direction to go into a closet etc. glue a spline in the groove.

What underlay did they recommend?

This is what I used

Bostitch MIIIFN Flooring Cleat Nailer, M111FN
This would probably work just as well

2-in-1 Flooring Air Nailer/Stapler

[Bugsinrugs]

Make sure you undercut the door jams. Looks professional and is much easier to install at the jams.

[rick-l]

Originally Posted by Bugsinrugs

Make sure you undercut the door jams. Looks professional and is much easier to install at the jams.

I forgot about that. Put a piece of flooring under the blade and cut it flat.
Oscillating Multifunction Power Tool
the blade that will cut through nails is $8 unfortunately. Go easy on the saw or you may need two


EDIT :Before you go off on Harbor Freight that tool is only $20

[Hawkeye's-911T]

The key to nailing bamboo is having the right nailer. - The bamboo is much harder.

^^^^^ This & a load of patience

Cheers
JB

[Bugsinrugs]

Bamboo is surprisingly hard so if you top nail you might have to per drill. Have new blades in your saws and if you use a jig saw get blades that cut on the downward stroke. Bamboo splinters easily if the blade teeth are facing upward.

[Christien]

I did this bamboo last year: Teragren® - Synergy® MPL

Looks like it's 1/2", not 5/8. I used the Bostich nailer rick-l recommended, with a nail every 18" or so. We did a lot, probably 1000 sq. feet and it went down very easily. No glue. We used it on almost the entire main floor, including the kitchen, so it's had a lot thrown at it in the last year, including a leaky fridge that cupped all the boards in front of it. I was super pissed about that, but what do you know, after they dried out over a few days they returned to perfectly flat.

I was surprised how quickly and easily it went down, especially considering I'd never done flooring before (though I did have an experienced friend helping me). Cutting it was easily the hardest part. We cut to run it underneath the baseboard so we didn't have to be absolutely precise down to the 1/16". If you're butting up against another surface and need to leave room for a transition strip, just be sure to leave enough space, because cutting it once it's down is a pain. Not 40-year-old 911 exhaust nuts pain (that's become my benchmark for miserable work ) but definitely irritating.

[rick-l]

Are you supposed to leave a 3/4" gap around the perimeter in case the room gets flooded?

[Bugsinrugs]

1/2 inch is plenty. 3/4 inch gap and most baseboard won't cover it. It's not because of flooding,it's because wood expands and contracts with the seasons. If your room floods the wood will cup and heave.

[rick-l]

The directions in the Bruce flooring says 3/4. I thought that was a lot and I asked the guy at the flooring store and he said if it gets wet it will push the walls off the framing. He could have just made that up however. The trim is usually the baseboard and a quarter round.

[Bugsinrugs]

The directions in the Bruce flooring says 3/4. I thought that was a lot and I asked the guy at the flooring store and he said if it gets wet it will push the walls off the framing. He could have just made that up however. The trim is usually the baseboard and a quarter round.

I have yet to see a wood floor push framing out of the floor.
The wood will buckle long before it gets to the point of pushing framing. I do lots of hardwood flooring and believe me 3/4 of an inch gap is way too much.
Did you get this product at Home Depot or Lowes?
The reason I ask is through my experience the people there don't know a lot about installations.

[rick-l]

I asked the question at Lumber Liquidators where the guy said he was an installer. All the oak flooring I saw said 3/4 in the instructions. My case, most of the time it might have been closer to 1/2

[Christien]

Yikes, lumber liquidators? Hope you haven't already made your purchase. If not, definitely look elsewhere. We did extensive research and the horror stories from LL made us buy elsewhere, at not much more $$.

[brianvb]

Let the stuff sit for at least 3 weeks in your house. It was probably make in China, and Cali is bone dry. It will want to shrink. This a very important for a tight fit.

[rick-l]

Originally Posted by Christien

Yikes, lumber liquidators? Hope you haven't already made your purchase. If not, definitely look elsewhere. We did extensive research and the horror stories from LL made us buy elsewhere, at not much more $$.

They don't sell Bruce hardwood flooring there (and the same thing was cheaper at Lowes) but how are they going to screw up 3/4 inch solid hardwood flooring?

[MBAtarga]

Wonder if that site sells Spam too?
...reported...

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

Wonder if that site sells Spam too?
...reported...

Got it. Probably should have gotten your post as well. Next time...

[BReif61]

I did bamboo floors at my last house. Tongue and groove, floating over a concrete floor. Vapor barrier, foam noise pad/insulation, wood. No nails. Pulled the baseboard off, left ~1/2 to 3/4 around the perimeter (varied based on walls). I did use glue on the transition strips where the floor ended.

Make sure you have a sharp blade on whatever saw you end up using. And an oscillating cutter will make trimming door jambs a BREEZE.

[andits1992]

I am going to renovate my home and thinking to install bamboo floors. So is it a good option tgo install bamboo floors in my home?

Please give me some suggestions?

Thanks in advance.