Bamboo Wood Flooring Is Hot
Shane Hester
What a great choice. Bamboo is one of the hottest wood flooring trends at
the moment and with good reason. It's durable, low maintenance, very
pleasing to the eye and it's not too precious to live with. Aside from those
qualities, it's also a wonderful material in terms of sustainability, the
latest environmental buzz word.
Since it's actually a grass, and can be harvested time and again from the
same plant, it produces a crop every 3 to 4 years, making it very handy
indeed. Even the manufacturing processes are environmentally friendly, so
jump on the bandwagon and tell your friends!
Now, as for the best method to install bamboo wood flooring, well it all
depends on your skills level, how much you really want to do it yourself and
whether saving money is a big factor to you.
Concrete slab floor
You also have to be aware that there are some preliminaries that need to be
observed before you even choose a method to install bamboo flooring.
Firstly, what kind of floor do you have? A concrete slab will need to be
absolutely flat and clean, not to mention dry. Bamboo is excellent for
resisting moisture, but a dry surface is the best starting point for any
flooring installation.
Do a moisture test by taping a plastic bag on to the cement and leave it
there for 24 hours. When you remove it, if there is moisture on the plastic,
then you will need to take steps to remedy it. Gluing is necessary for
installing bamboo flooring to a cement slab and it's vital that you use an
adhesive recommended for this material.
Wood sub floor
If you have a wood sub floor, it too must be clean, flat and dry. Sheets of
ply of a minimum thickness of 5/8" are most commonly used for wood sub
floors. Remember that if you're installing the sub floor over a crawlspace,
a moisture barrier of 1/4" polyurethane sheeting is advised to go over the
soil.
Glue down installation
After acclimating the bamboo you'll be using on your floors for 2 to 3 days
before installation, you can then set to work. Manufacturers recommend glue
down as the best method to install bamboo wood flooring, though it can also
be installed using nails or staples. Nailing and stapling require more
expertise and specialized equipment so unless you're keen to go the
difficult route, gluing is far preferable for these reasons.
Before you begin any type of remodeling work, you need to determine how you
will go about it. Some graph paper will help you to create a diagram of your
floor to scale. Mark in all the measurements and from those you can
calculate how many bamboo planks you'll require to finish the job.
Figure a 1/2" expansion space between planks and walls into your
calculations otherwise they'll be incorrect. Installing the bamboo flooring
itself is relatively easy but if your measurements are out, you will make
the job harder.
Also before you start, it's a good idea to spread out the bamboo flooring
planks to get a good look at the natural variations in color. This will help
you determine how to distribute them in a way that allows the contrasts to
work successfully. Otherwise you could wind up with dark boards all in one
area and lighter ones elsewhere; no balance at all.
The right glue for the job
Always use manufacturer recommended adhesives when you install bamboo wood
flooring. Using an inferior product or one that is not intended for this
kind of flooring will bring costly results. It would be a great shame to
install your flooring then have to pull it all up and start again.
In summary, the best method to install wood flooring is the glue down
method. For nailing or stapling, call in professional wood flooring
contractors, who have all the expertise and tools needed for the task.
Shane Hester has been helping website owners increase online profits through
exclusive webdesign and marketing services at WebFirstCreations.
See his latest creation: Wood Flooring Contractors, at
http://www.flooring-nc.com/contractor.htm or contact him directly at
http://www.webfirstcreations.com
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