Getting ready to start...

[KimGI]

Hello everyone!

I've been reading this forum for awhile and decided to register today. The wife has taken the kids off to hockey camp so I am home alone and getting set to install about 1400' of solid bamboo flooring. What I have learned so far before starting.

1. I need to use 15# felt or aquabar for underlay.
2. I should start by doing the stairs first.
3. I should run the boards perpendicular to the floor joists and not parallel.
4. chalk lines are my friend.
5. measure first to avoid narrow rips around the edges
6. cleats or staples are a matter of preference
7. glue, face nail and putty the stair nosing
8. stop at entry ways for each room and measure again and snap contol lines

Please, if there is anything else feel free to educate me, that's why I'm here.

A couple questions I have... I have a 12" sliding compound miter saw for cutting the boards. What is a good blade recommendation so as to get the cleanest cuts? Also I was curious about what all the other DIYers do with all there STUFF while they are flooring. I am planning to install the flooring continuous without thresholds so is it practical for me to move the furniture from room to room as I work or should I try to get the whole floor cleared first?

Anyway, I look forward to hearing from everyone and I will post some pictures as I get them. First step I have to rip out that old carpet.

[barrycarlton]

Very impressive!!!! You have done your homework!!!!

I use a combination blade on my table saw. I have 3 chop saws with varying teeth configurations on them depending on what I am cutting. (if I am doing base or a finished/esposed cut I use my 80 tooth teflon blade)

The others here do far more wood (I know bamboo is not wood) and they probably have far more pointers to give than I .

barry

[Tandy Reeves]

Moisture test, moisture test and then moisture test. Bamboo takes about twice as long to acclimate as does wood. Do not try to rush acclimation. Hope it turns out great for you.

[cproader]

cleats are gonna be better for ya on a solid bamboo.....and yer gonna impress the heck outta yerself when yer done..................ferget felt and use Aquabar....

[kwfloors]

You don't have to have the whole floor at once although I like to do it in stages. like prep it all, pad it all, etc. It will go down the same way one room at a time and you still have to do like you said, measure and figure. Get to work!

[Jerry Thomas]

Welcome KimGI, furniture is an either or but the job is alot less frustrating if the rooms are cleaned out...... closets too up to about 4ft high and tie up that chandelier After the carpets is gone you should be checking the subfloor for flatness and make any needed corrections.

Good luck to you

[KimGI]

Thanks for all the quick replies everyone.
OK so cleats and Aquabar, prep for level. I've had the bamboo in the house acclimating for about a month now. Would this be long enough or should I give it some more. How do I go about testing for moisture? Am I testing the bamboo or the subfloor? What would be an acceptable test result?

[Jerry Thomas]

Don't worry about level , you are checking for flat..... ie: high or low spots.

[Nick Arrera]

Welcome to the site KimGI .. Check both for Moisture .. get a 6' level from HD for $20.00
make sure you don't have any valleys more then 1/8 " in the 6' If the site conditions of your house were not kept at the same temp and Rh for the month nothing has really acclimated ..
You can get a $20.00 electronic hygrometer/thermometer at radio shack , set it on the floor for 1/2 hour and post back the readings along with the moisture of the bamboo and sub floor ..

[KimGI]

Originally Posted by Nick Arrera Welcome to the site KimGI .. Check both for Moisture .. get a 6' level from HD for $20.00 make sure you don't have any valleys more then 1/8 " in the 6' If the site conditions of your house were not kept at the same temp and Rh for the month nothing has really acclimated .. You can get a $20.00 electronic hygrometer/thermometer at radio shack , set it on the floor for 1/2 hour and post back the readings along with the moisture of the bamboo and sub floor ..

Will do. Does it matter that the bamboo has not been removed from the original packaging?

[lesakflooring]

If it's shrink wrapped in plastic you have done nothing except acclimate to temp not to relative humidity. You need to get the bamboo and sub floor within 4-6% of each other. If your floor has an aluminum oxide finish on it you will eat up a blade fast. I put the board against the fench with finished side facing you not up, I have found the blade lasts a bit longer and you could use a combo blade, an expensive finish blade is really a waste for just cutting flooring as most of your cuts will be hidden under trim and door jams. Good luck with your project, it sounds like it will turn out great. Please shoot and post some pics for us to enjoy.

[Peter Kodner]

Good point about shrink wrap. i wood consider bamboo to acclimate the same as an exotic. Flooring and subfloor should be within 2% of each other. You also didn't mention the width of your floor. If wider than 3 1/4 it is considered plank flooring and the 2% difference applies there as well. Personally, I would want the subfloor at 12% or less, depending on your temperature and relative humidity readings.

[KimGI]

Just an update to where I'm at. Things are moving along relatively slowly at the moment. I've hit a couple of unexpected snags. First off I'm having a difficult time locating an inexpensive moisture meter. 2nd I'm having a hard time finding the matching stair nosing for my flooring. The store that I bought the flooring has only 1 piece of the vertical pattern and my flooring is the horizontal pattern and I believe I need 7 of the 6' pieces to complete the stairs. It's also taking me a lot longer to rip out the old carpets and staples then expected (life happens)... and last it appears that the floor joists run the length of the house rather then the width of the house. I was hoping to run the flooring continuously the length of the house. Everything I've read tells me to run the flooring perpendicular to the floor joists...Is this absolutely true or is there a way to run with the joists?

Thanks for all the help to this point.

[KimGI]

Well, I found the answer to my directional question in Babyruthie's thread. I guess I'm going continuous the width of the house. Should actually be easier to install this way since I can now do the rooms individually and join up in the hallway but I still need that stair nosing before I can start half the second floor. Oh ya and that moisture meter... Damned Canadian retailers.

[Jerry Thomas]

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...do?itemid=2757