How to Install a Bamboo Floor

It may be hard to believe, but bamboo is now being used as a replacement for hardwood flooring. Bamboo floors can be installed above or below grade as well as on top of wood or concrete. Not only are bamboo floors versatile and attractive, they're environmentally friendly. Bamboo is actually a grass that grows to maturity in less than five years and the same plant can be harvested repeatedly without damaging the mother plant. Hardwood, on the other hand, takes 20 to 25 years to grow to maturity and once a tree is cut down, it's gone forever. Bamboo flooring is available in a wide range of formats. Boards that are installed just like hardwood or as manufactured planks similar to a laminate floor, which are installed by either gluing them together or creating an interlocking floating floor.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape and pencil
• Bamboo flooring
• Dust mask and eye protection
• Knee pads
• Hardwood hammer and rubber mallet
• Ring shank nails, hammer and nail set
• Miter saw or miter box and hand saw
• Tapping block

Instructions

Preparation

1. Measure the room where you plan to install the bamboo flooring. Determine how much flooring you'll need based on the coverage provided in each box of flooring; (add 10% for contingencies and wastage).

2. Clear everything out of the room. Remove moldings, baseboards and heat registers. It's also a good idea to remove any closet as well as entrance doors.

3. Prepare the underlying surface for the new flooring. Screw any loose floorboards into the underlying floor joists and fill any seams with leveling compound.

4. Bring the boxes of laminate flooring into the room and open them. Spread the flooring around the room in small piles so the bamboo flooring is open to the air.

5. Allow the bamboo boards to acclimate for at least 3 days (72 hours).

Layout and Installation

1. Determine how you want the flooring to run. In long rooms it's typical to have the flooring run the length of the room. However, in rooms with large windows, you may prefer to have the flooring run parallel to the sunshine.

2. Measure the width of the room to calculate how many full boards will fit into the area and how much space will need to be covered by partial boards. Divide the remaining space by 2 to figure the width of the partial boards. (If you need to have partial boards, you want to have partial boards of approximately the same width on each side of the room (rather than just a skinny piece on one side of the room).

3. Install your underlay, laying it out in strips, butting (but not overlapping) one piece against the next. The underlay will help soften the floor and reduce noise.

4. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for installing the flooring. In general this requires nailing the first two rows (through the bottom of the interlocking groove) and setting the nails. Subsequent rows are installed using a hardwood hammer (available at tool rental outlets). Use ring shank nails and space them every 8 to 10 inches.

5. Offset the seams between rows. When you cut the last board in a row to length, use the remainder to start the next row.

6. Work slowly; examine each board before you put it in place.

Tips & Warnings

• It's important that you give your flooring time to acclimate to your home. Don't skimp on the time required for this adaptation.

• Protect your new flooring during installation by putting your saw onto a sheet of plywood or large piece of cardboard. Also ensure the bottom of your hardwood nailer is smooth and clean (put tape on the bottom if it isn't).

• Although bamboo is a hard, long wearing surface, it will dent or scratch, just like wood. Treat your new floor with care.