Bamboo Floor Installation

As with all do-it-yourself home improvement projects, proper bamboo floor installation begins with preparation.

Bamboo flooring has been growing in popularity in recent years because it's more environmentally friendly than other traditional wood floors such as oak and maple. Here are a few facts about Bamboo:

• Bamboo trees only take four to five years to mature – Oak and maple trees can take up to 50 to 100 years to mature. While trees like oak, maple and cherry do eventually grow back, so technically, they are a renewable resource, they aren't realistically sustainable.
• Bamboo yields more usable biomass – Bamboo yields up to 25 times more usable product than hardwoods.
• Bamboo flooring expands and contracts less than hardwood – This means the risk of your flooring buckling or bowing due to changes in heat and humidity are far less.

If you've been looking for bamboo flooring and have found that your local home improvement store doesn't carry it or doesn't have a wide enough selection, here are some other places to give a try:

• Simple Floors
• iFloor
• Teragren
• Duro Design

Once you've decided on the color and design you like for your bamboo floor, it's time to begin installation. Here are a few prep tips before you begin laying down your bamboo planks:

• Acclimate the flooring – Once you get the boxes of flooring planks home, you need to lay the boxes of planks flat and let them acclimate to the temperature of your home for 24 to 72 hours. Doing so allows the flooring to adjust to the room temperature by expanding and contracting before installation.
• Go over the subfloor carefully – Make sure the subfloor is free of dirt and debris and is level. Also be sure to check for any nails or staples left behind from the previous floor installation.

Now that all the prep work is complete, it's time to begin the installation process:

Floating floor systems lock into one another via tongue and groove and are not attached to the subflooring.

1. Lay down the underlayment – Underlayment's help to protect the floor against moisture. Choose the recommended underlayment product that the manufacturer suggests.
2. Do a dry run – Lay a few planks against the longest wall of the room to decide how you want the overall layout to look.
3. Click and lock the floor into place – Insert the tongue into the groove, locking the floor panels together. Be sure to leave at least 5/16ths of an inch gap between the wall and the floor panels to allow for expansion.
4. Install baseboards – Once the floor is complete, install the baseboards to cover the gap between the flooring and the wall.

This type of flooring system is nailed or stapled to the subfloor.

1. Lay down the underlayment
2. Snap a chalk line – You need to begin your bamboo floor layout on the longest wall of the room. Once you've determined this, snap a straight chalk line to guide you when installing the first row of floor planks.
3. Do a dry run – Since these floor planks are permanently attached to the floor, lay out two to three complete rows before you begin nailing them down.
4. Install the first row – This row is the most important, if you get the first row of planks wrong, the entire floor will be off. The first row has to be "face nailed" to the subfloor, meaning, the nail heads are exposed. Space the nails about one foot apart, using at least two nails per board.
5. Install subsequent rows – The remaining rows are nailed at a 45 degree angle to the other boards. Be sure to leave at least 1/4 of an inch gap between the flooring and the wall for expansion.

Just as with the nail down method, these floors are permanently attached to the subflooring:

1. Snap a chalk line.
2. Do a dry run – Remember, you need the first row to be straight.
3. Install the first row – Using a trowel (like those used for mortar) spread the manufacturer's recommended adhesive on the subfloor and begin laying down the planks. Most floor adhesives have a 45-minute working time, so be sure to spread the only enough glue in which you can install flooring over within that time.

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