Bamboo Flooring - Comments
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We just bought bamboo flooring for our kitchen and I plan to install it this week. Can it be done without a nail gun? Or is it simply too hard to be done with a manual hammer?
Arlene at August 5, 2007 04:55 PM
Posted by: Arlene at August 5, 2007 04:55 PMTo answer your "asked" question, I highly recommend a nail gun because it's faster and easier than a hammer. It's been a long time since I've seen wood floors laid with a hammer instead of a nail gun.
An issue you didn't ask about relates to letting the flooring acclimate before installing it. You didn't mention where you live, but if you are in a dry climate, as I am, you'll want more than a few days for the bamboo to dry out to match your climate. If you don't, the wood will shrink in place as it dries, and that could cause cracking and splitting.
Good luck. You'll love your bamboo flooring.
The Flooring Lady at August 5, 2007 05:06 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at August 5, 2007 05:06 PMAre some brands of engineered floating bamboo better than others? Do you have a recommendation? Thanks!
RG at August 29, 2007 09:59 PM
Posted by: RG at August 29, 2007 09:59 PMA designer in my area who's chemically sensitive promotes Plyboo products to her clients. Her Plyboo floors are beautiful.
I have Natural Cork bamboo floors. They installed nicely and look good. I don't like the pre-finished surface though. If I had it to do again I'd go with an unfinished bamboo flooring material and finish it in place.
The Flooring Lady at August 30, 2007 02:40 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at August 30, 2007 02:40 PMI live in a waterfront condo with concrete floors.Would bamboo be suitable and if so what type of installation would be recommended ? Thank you
H G at November 23, 2007 01:30 PM
Posted by: H G at November 23, 2007 01:30 PMAs long as you acclimate the bamboo to your home then it would be a fine flooring for your condo. Be sure with the concrete floors to have a good vapor barrier to protect the bamboo from any moisture the concrete would want to wick.
A vapor barrier can be provided through a film you lay on the concrete before installing the bamboo or the glue you use to glue it down. I am partial to the glue-down method.
The vapor barrier company I like is Raven Industries.
The glue I like is Bostik's Best flexible urethane adhesive .
Enjoy that bamboo!
The Flooring Lady at November 23, 2007 02:36 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at November 23, 2007 02:36 PMWould like to take out carpet and refinish our floors in Colorado Springs house with wood floors. Due to relative cold weather am concerned about floors being too cold. Have been looking into cork floors but we have small children (high traffic) and antique furniture (heavy with wheels or thin legs). Will the low Janka rating of cork stand up to the weight of the heavy antique furniture? Colorado Springs has extremely arid/dry air, will the dry climate increase the flaking of the cork rendering it a poor choice for that area? If so what would you recomend instead? Also redoing floor in master bath (currently carpeted as it connects to the master bedroom without wall or door). Any suggestions there? Thank you! Lynn
Lynn at November 29, 2007 10:06 PM
Posted by: Lynn at November 29, 2007 10:06 PMInteresting you would ask a cork question on the Bamboo Flooring article. I'm going to answer this from both a bamboo and cork perspective, and the cork answer will be found on the Cork Flooring article.
I also live in arid Colorado and have had both cork and bamboo flooring. I love them both. The cork, a defective batch, taught me a lot about flooring issues in Colorado. Let me share my bamboo lessons with you here.
We have bamboo (we had cork at one time) throughout our home. You are right in wondering if it's warm enough: even with in-floor radiant heat, the floor can feel cool at times, especially compared to a carpeted floor. But it cleans up so much more easily than carpet does.
If you go with bamboo, my suggestion is to go with an unfinished product and finish it in place. That will let the T&G grooves that happen naturally between each plank be filled in and covered with the sealant. That keeps dirt and food particles from lodging between your floor planks.
My bamboo floor has an aluminum-oxide UV cured finish that isn't as durable as I would like. I can see all the marks left by the dining room chairs where they roll around -- not my favorite look. I don't think I'd have that issue with a finish put on in place after installation. I would use Diamond Coat Varathane polyurethane to finish my floors.
The most important thing you can do for your wood is to let it acclimate to your house and climate before installation. It's inconvenient, but open the boxes and plastic wrap so air can circulate around the boards, spread the packages about the areas to be floored, and let them dry out for several weeks. Bamboo is grown and manufactured into flooring in humid climates, so it's that much more critical for the wood to dry out before being installed. The shrinkage that happens as it dries won't impact your floor; shrinking in place (after installation) could cause cracks in the planks and separation between planks.
Once the wood is dry, your flooring installer can check the moisture content, you should be able to proceed with your installation.
Area rugs used on the bamboo floors will look great and give you the comfort you want, where you need it. The bamboo floor is so wonderfully easy to take care of and keep clean!
And your friends and company will love the look of the bamboo flooring in your home.
The Flooring Lady at November 30, 2007 01:52 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at November 30, 2007 01:52 PMWill bamboo hold up in a summer home where there is no heat on during the winter. (New Jersey where the temperature can drop to the freezing area) I have been told that it is not a good because of this.
Kmg at January 19, 2008 05:06 PM
Posted by: Kmg at January 19, 2008 05:06 PM
I haven't ever experienced freezing my bamboo flooring, other than my bamboo flooring scraps being in an unheated shed. I don't know why bamboo wouldn't hold up any differently than wood. Temperature extremes are hard on any natural material like bamboo and wood. But we use wood all the time outdoors -- in fencing, decking, benches and steps.
Bamboo flooring is engineered which adds dimensional stability to it. Before it's made into flooring lots of the moisture of the bamboo stalks is dried out of it, but you still need to acclimate it to your location before installing it.
Check with the manufacturer to see what they say about it, though they probably don't know anything about freezing temperatures and their bamboo flooring. And then proceed according to your wishes and knowledge of what your warranty covers.
The Flooring Lady at January 19, 2008 10:22 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at January 19, 2008 10:22 PM(Read the article that everyone's commenting on.)
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