Solid strand-woven bamboo over concrete

Just hoping for some guidance and reassurance. I have the bamboo already so most of my concerns are regarding the other elements of my installation.

What I have:
- Solid strand-woven bamboo (1/2" x 3-3/4" x 6') similar to this: Specs - Bamboo Flooring > Strand Woven > Premium > 6ft x 3-3/4" product. It's actually a Premium Green product though.
- We're moving into a 4th floor condo (top floor, 1974 build) with a concrete subfloor.
- I assume the subfloor will be meet vapour requirements (will be testing)
- We'll be repairing any cracks and level where needed
- Floor will be glued down using a Mapei Urethane based glue (like Bostiks Best)
- The glue will also act as a vapour barrier when using a different trowel if needed.
- We are hoping to install a rubber sound-isolating underlayment
- We would glue down the underlayment with the same glue (smaller notch)


Has anyone else done a glue-down hardwood installation with a rubber underlay? I'm focusing on rubber because I need to use a Urethane based glue with the Bamboo. After a lot of research I'm pretty sure foam-type underlay will not be compatible with Urethane.

According to the manufacturer I could float this floor by gluing the tongue and groove but pretty much everyone else says that it would not be a good idea - I tend to agree.

We've not taken possession of the unit yet so I've not directly inspected the underfloor but from what the strata says I can expect concrete with light wear. We're planning to rip up the carpets in the whole suite as well as the lino in the kitchen and the dining room and replace it with the bamboo.

Thank you in advance - I've been happily reading these forums but I could not find anything that quite matched my installation.

[Daris Mulkin]

I'm not a hardwood person even though I have heard a lot of guys saying to use cork for sound. I'm sure there will be someone chiming in on that before long. The one thing that caught my eye was it was on the 4 level and concrete. I'm willing to bet it is gypcrete. Which in case it is if there is any filling of depressions you will want to use a gysum based filler instead of cementious.

Daris

[Chris Mha]

[QUOTE=wreleven;90456]Just hoping for some guidance and reassurance. I have the bamboo already so most of my concerns are regarding the other elements of my installation.

What I have:
- Solid strand-woven bamboo (1/2" x 3-3/4" x 6') similar to this: Specs - Bamboo Flooring > Strand Woven > Premium > 6ft x 3-3/4" product. It's actually a Premium Green product though.

Is it truly a "Green product"? Find out how much formaldehyde it contains.

I have never used the product but I was recently give a sample of a product called Versa-Quiet. It is a 2mm recycled rubber made up of 84% post-consumer tire rubber salvaged from american land fills. They say that it can be installed under laminate, ceramic, wood, rubber, cork, carpet and rugs floating or glued down.

[wreleven]

What I meant was the Brand of the bamboo is Premium Green. Not actually a statement about it's eco friendliness.

The rubber product I'm looking at is called Pro-Base 5mm thick 100% rubber-tires. Offical Website for Impacta-Regupol Rubber Floor Underlayment

It looks to be glue-down compatible though I'm still waiting on a confirmation about whether or not that includes urethane products.

The one thing I have yet to confirm though is whether or not the product urethane glue compatible.

[Barry Carlton]

Thank you for joining wreleven

Now that you have joined as a member you posts and questions should post a lot faster.

[Peter Kodner]

wreleven said To add a bit more detail the rubber product that I have been looking at is Offical Website for Impacta-Regupol Rubber Floor Underlayment which is glue-down compatible. The one thing I have yet to confirm though is whether or not the product urethane glue compatible.

I have known the Dodges, who own Regupol, for quite a few years. Let me know if you have any trouble getting an answer and I can call them and get you the info.

[wreleven]

I'll see what my supplier gets back to me with first but I do really appreciate the offer!

The company I'm planning to get the underlayment from sent me some new information and is getting pricing - sounds like the product specs are in the process of changing.

[Heritage Hardwood]

wreleven,
you sound like you have done your homework. I assume your using mapei ultrabond urethane, great adhesive. and yes you do need to use the same glue for the underlayment. As far as the sound barrier goes I would check with your conco association rules and they will have a minimun/maximun DB or IIC rating for the floors. Your underlayment will also have these numbers. We usually use 1/4" cork as it is pretty cheap and is an excellent sound barrier, i would compare the rubber product you are looking into with the cork and see what the ratings are, then make an educated decision on which is right for your paticular application. Remember the main reason to use a sound barrier is for the benfit of the person living beneath you. Dont go crazy spending money on something that is marketed very well..Find out what the condo assc' requires and get something a little better than that.

[wreleven]

Heritage Hardwood said wreleven, you sound like you have done your homework. I assume your using mapei ultrabond urethane, great adhesive. and yes you do need to use the same glue for the underlayment. As far as the sound barrier goes I would check with your conco association rules and they will have a minimun/maximun DB or IIC rating for the floors. Your underlayment will also have these numbers. We usually use 1/4" cork as it is pretty cheap and is an excellent sound barrier, i would compare the rubber product you are looking into with the cork and see what the ratings are, then make an educated decision on which is right for your paticular application. Remember the main reason to use a sound barrier is for the benfit of the person living beneath you. Dont go crazy spending money on something that is marketed very well..Find out what the condo assc' requires and get something a little better than that.

Yes, I've spent more than a few hours pouring over all the different products and combinations. If I had not gotten such a good deal on the solid bamboo I probably would have gone for another engineered product. Engineered products seem to be much more forgiving.

Indeed that is the glue. All the professionals I've talked to seem to like it as well. I'll do some more serious checking into real cork now. My initial impression was that is was a more expensive option but the "cork" that I had found was actually a foam product that might have touched cork at some point.

My strata doesn't have any specific ratings they're looking for - I was surprised - but they do want us to ensure that we're doing all we can to mitigate any additional impact noise.

[Peter Kodner]

The Regupol folks I mentioned are also the owners of Dodge Cork. After getting into cork flooring (quite a while back!), they branched into other flooring products.

Here is a link to Dodge for cork underlayment.

Dodge Cork: the finest in cork flooring since the mid-1800s