Installing Bamboo Flooring - Comments
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We have purchased bamboo flooring and are wanting to install in our bedroom. It is a concrete slab and we would like to use the plywood and nail down method. Are there any precautions that we should take with the flooring other than laying down a vapor barrier between the concrete and plywood? Is it better to pre-drill holes in to the tongues of the bamboo before nailing to the plywood?
Shannon at August 30, 2007 12:46 PM
Posted by: Shannon at August 30, 2007 12:46 PMThe vapor barrier is a good idea. Another precaution I urge is to acclimate the flooring to your home, and ideally to your bedroom, for a week or more before installing it. Acclimating it involves taking it out of its packaging and separating it as much as possible so air can circulate around each board.
Stapling the bamboo in the tongue is much better than nailing it. It's faster and easier on the wood. Come to think of it, stapling is easier on you too.
Enjoy your new bamboo flooring!
The Flooring Lady at August 30, 2007 02:46 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at August 30, 2007 02:46 PMI'm preparing to install my new bamboo floor but I'm a little confused. Installing a floating floor seems like it would be much easier and economical than a nail down or a messy glue down but everything I have read about installing bamboo says you sould nail it down. I'm installing it over a plywood subfloor with #15 tar paper. Should I rent a staple gun or go for the floating floor?
Jeremy at September 4, 2007 12:47 AM
Posted by: Jeremy at September 4, 2007 12:47 AMFirst, where is the tar paper? Are you using it as a vapor barrier? Tar paper is a moisture barrier but not a vapor barrier.
Now to your question. I've not seen the comment you shouldn't let a bamboo floor float. I know my installer went for the "nail down" approach -- making sure to get short enough staples so as to not penetrate the OSB subfloor and damage the pipes for my in-floor heat -- rather than a floating floor approach. But if you keep reading to not let a bamboo floor float, and your manufacturer advises against it, then go with the "nail down" installation.
And yes, rent a staple gun. It makes the job wonderfully fast and easy.
Enjoy!
The Flooring Lady at September 4, 2007 08:02 AM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 4, 2007 08:02 AMWe've finished with our bamboo floor using the glue-down method, and it looks great. But now I have lots of glue smudges and fingerprints on the surface. Can you recommend a good method of getting that off? I tried the vinegar you recommended, but that didn't seem to cut through it. Maybe acetone?
Matt at September 13, 2007 08:52 AM
Posted by: Matt at September 13, 2007 08:52 AMIt's time for a delicate operation -- cleaning up the glue. With great care, gently dab mineral spirits onto the glue until it comes up. Be careful to not get too much on the flooring surface so you don't damage the finish. Be sure to wash the spots with clear water when you are done to remove all remnants of the mineral spirits.
When the glue in removed you may have to buff the fingerprints with a soft cloth-- if they are just body oil and not glue smudges -- to get the clean surface you want.
The Flooring Lady at September 13, 2007 11:06 AM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 13, 2007 11:06 AMHi-my friend and I are learning how to install floating engineered bamboo flooring, glue required for the joints. We are following the manufacturer's instructions and using the recommended materials, and checked dry fit on several boards from different boxes first to ensure we have a tight fit on all joints (no milling defects, tight boards). We also checked that the plywood subfloor was level, clean, and solid. However, as soon as we start tapping joints together firmly after putting the glue on, it's a constant battle to keep all previously set joints firmly together (as we tap hard to get one joint together tightly, another joint on another board gaps a little). It doesn't happen on every board, just enough to make installation extremely laborious. Any hints or tips on how to beat this? Thanks!
Johanna from Canada at September 23, 2007 06:39 AM
Posted by: Johanna from Canada at September 23, 2007 06:39 AMYou are showing me why my installer chose the nail-down approach. The boards, by nature of being natural products, aren't going to be perfect. That lack of perfection makes for the challenges you are finding.
My suggestion, if you are going to stay with the glue-down method, is to have both of you working on placing a board, finding the happy balance between the two ends being in as tight as they can be before going on to the next board.
If you want to change to nail-down, you'll still have those challenges, but it's at least aided by the fact you are stapling the boards so they stay put.
Good luck. Let us know what you end up doing.
The Flooring Lady at September 24, 2007 09:36 AM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 24, 2007 09:36 AMHI, WE HAD LAMINITE FLOORING ON THE UPPER LEVEL OF OUR HOUSE & WE REMOVED IT. WE WANT TO INSTALL BAMBOO. WE HAVE 3 OR 4 DIFFERENT AREA'S THAT ARE NOT LEVELED. WHAT CAN WE USE TO LEVEL THIS? SHOULD WE USE GLUE OR NAIL DOWN METHOD? THANKS!
STACY at September 25, 2007 08:15 AM
Posted by: STACY at September 25, 2007 08:15 AM
Are some areas not level because the floor is different heights? That can happen when the builder plans for different flooring materials -- like carpet, tile and linoleum -- and wants their surfaces to be the same height, so different thicknesses of subfloor are installed to accommodate the different heights of flooring.
If that's the case in your situation, you need to install thin sheets of subfloor to bring the heights up to the same level across the floor so your bamboo flooring is the same height.
You may have to use something else to float the floor surfaces to the same height if there is a different problem than I've described.
But maybe you meant something else by the floors aren't even. In which case you need to give me more detail so I can respond to that.
I personally am a big fan of the nail-down style of installing bamboo.
The Flooring Lady at September 25, 2007 09:40 AM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 25, 2007 09:40 AMComment Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
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