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Bamboo Flooring Installation: Choosing The Right Material |
By:
Ernest Jarquio |
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Bamboo Flooring Installation: Choosing The Right Material
by Ernest Jarquio
Bamboo flooring is often the choice of home owners who prefer its look and environmental quality. Being naturally resistant to bugs, it is also durable and adds beauty to the home. If bamboo wood is your flooring choice, here are tips on how to choose, install and maintain them:
Deciding On Your Bamboo Flooring
Before choosing bamboo flooring, find the right color that will be a good match to the room you intend to use it in. Bamboo flooring comes in different colors so to make sure it will be a good fit or complement to the room, it's important to first have an idea of what color would work best.
For the best deal consider different suppliers. Looking at what they have to offer not only in price but also in terms of quality will ensure you get exactly what you want for how much you want.
After determining the color that you want, you need to decide on the style of bamboo flooring that you need. You can choose from 3 different makes. There is engineered bamboo floor, which is in fact the laminate version of bamboo. Secondly, the most durable version is strand-woven bamboo floor. Third is solid bamboo flooring, which is in fact similar to hardwood flooring in that it is made directly from the bamboo material and is available in varying lengths.
Another consideration you need to take is the size of the room where the flooring will be installed. If it's a small room, you will want to go with fine-grained bamboo, also known as vertical grain. For bigger rooms, you will be better off with horizontal grain because this provides wider grain for the bamboo flooring.
Installing Bamboo Flooring
Like any other wood, bamboo contracts and expands with temperature. Therefore when it arrives make sure to let it adjust to your room. Do this for approximately two or three days. Make sure there is no humidity in the environment and regulate the temperature during this time.
Before installing bamboo flooring, make sure that you have a sub-floor. This is usually a concrete or wood surface on which you will be placing the bamboo planks. Keep this surface as smooth and as even as possible. An uneven sub-floor causes installation problems later on. Keep the sub-floor dry to prevent any moisture from seeping through the bamboo planks.
If you prefer, you can also add an underlayment like vinyl to ensure you have a reliable moisture barrier. The sub-floor type will also determine what type of installation method to use. The glue-down installation method will work with a concrete sub-floor while a nail-down will work best with a wood sub-floor. If you have radiant heat floors, the floating installation method will be the best choice.
Before you start affixing your bamboo flooring permanently, lay it out to see which arrangement will look best. Natural fibers often have a slight variation in color and knowing where to put what will help you achieve the look you want. When you have your sub-flooring prepared, choose the straightest wall and start from there.
You will need to leave a gap of about a quarter-inch to a half-inch between the starting wall and the first row of flooring. Mark up this starting line. This gap is provision for any future expansion and will be covered by molding. The first row should be made up of the straightest planks that you can select from your supply, because they will become the guide which will eventually determine how the rest of the planks will line up with each other. Use the drill to create pilot holes that will later be used by the finishing nails - these holes must of course be spaced out evenly. Then face-nail the floor planks through the sub-floor.
Now for the second row, align the planks unevenly from the first. The end of each plank should be at least six inches along from that of the previous one. Drill pilot holes at each end at a forty-five degree angle and then drill spaced every ten inches on the tongue of the plank. Make sure each board fits closely against each other. To do this you need to tap it, but use a piece of tapping wood. If you hit the bamboo directly you may harm it.
Follow the same steps when installing the next planks, being careful to tap them into place to keep them tight against the previous row. Use a pry bar and a block to tap the final row before installing the baseboard molding.
Keeping Your Bamboo Floors In Tip Top Condition
You only need to use common sense to keep your bamboo flooring spic-n-span. Its biggest enemies are sand and grit, for these can result in accelerated wear and tear specially in heavy traffic areas. So use a broom or even a vacuum cleaner to regularly get rid of the dirt and your flooring should last a long long time.
When you do your vacuum cleaning, you should be mindful to get the dirt that insinuates itself between the gaps in the flooring. As they say, a stitch in time saves nine, so immediately wipe up any spills and also do not delay touching up the floor finish as soon as you notice any wear. Floor wax is another good thing that you should use regularly to keep you floor in top shape.
The author: Find great info about bamboo flooring installation and Morningstar bamboo flooring from Ernest Jarquio's site designed for DIY enthusiasts just like yourself. This and other unique content 'bamboo flooring installation' articles are available with free reprint rights.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article54712.html |
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