Hello All: We are doing a bamboo install in the near future and are trying to figure out what the proper fastener is. Product is prefinished 5/8″ thick by 3 5/8″ solid tongue and groove. The manufacturer and distributor aren’t much help but indicate that a regular flooring nail will likely split the product. Box instructions and internet searches have provided zilch in information.
Has anyone here had any experience, good or bad, with this type of flooring? What do you recomend?
Gio
prairieHOUSE Restoration
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I've installed it with a Bostitch flooring stapler with no problems.
Jeff in so cal
70 f---56%
Which bostitch flooring stapler did you use - the regular hardwood flooring stapler or one of their models designed for engineered and laminate flooring?
Gio
prairieHOUSE Restoration and Development
The bamboo that I've installed has always been 3/4", so I used the regular one. I think the regular one will work with 5/8"
I take it that you are going to rent a gun?
I would rent it from a flooring wholesaler. Then you can ask them any questions you might have. I'm in a very high end market so I always use Mastic and staples. In my experience bamboo is not that stable (it can cup) so let it acclimate at least a week or more in your house before you install it.
Jeff in so cal
64 f---65%
Mongo has posted bamboo install tips here b/4. Try using the search feature for bamboo floor and even mongo. We installed it with the bostitch stapler, air turned down maybe to 65 to 75 lbs. Stay away from the ends a few inches. Open all the pkgs, the coloring is wild, and oddly, they sometimes pack the darks in a box, the lights in another box. I gotta go, but you should do that search, you'll pick up tips from mongo, he's a good instructor.
__________________________________________
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Thanks Calvin, I did a search but picked up no new info relevant to fasteners. I have heard from a few individuals who say the bostitch stapler works when air adjusted. Can't be good for the tool, though. Others have said that staples are not a good fastener for this product - I don't know who to believe anymore! Anyone else have suggestions? Mongo? Ken Fisher?
Gio
prairieHOUSE Restoration
I don't know how the reduced air would affect the stapler, you keep the air up and it'll drive it to far. And you're only backing it off a bit. The flooring nail seems a little more prone to splitting, I'm thinking the stapler is the way to go. The holding power is good. The narrower gauge keeps splits to a minumum.__________________________________________
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Here's one discussion. I got plenty more using "Bamboo Flooring" in the search, all boards, from the beginning of time. Best of luck.
Energy, Heating & Insulation - flooring over radiant heat
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From:
Mongo
5/2/2002 1:10 pm
To:
ALL
(11 of 22)
19965.11 in reply to 19965.1
Like most things, recognize that not all bamboo is created equal. Some are laminated with all laminations made from bamboo. Some are laminated, with only the show layer made from bamboo and the other plies made from other woods...sometimes a different wood for each ply. My supplier of late is TimberGrass. A good product, with no problems...and umpteen-thousand feet of it installed, with 90% of it over RFH. Their "flat grain" product is a 3-ply, it sounds similar to what Cloud is describing, with all three plies made of bamboo. It has an excellent aluminium oxide finish. Very, very durable. Despite the several thousand feet that I've seen, I've yet to reject a single plank out of the box. Their packing is superior...foam between each plank in the stack, then the entire stack is shrink-wrapped, then boxed in cardboard. Their vertical grain is "solid" vertical grain, if that makes sense. It's not a ply product...it's simply 5/8th-inch strips laminated, like a laminated hardwood (maple strip) countertop. The worst I've seen is from BambooHardwoods. It's a three-ply product, with the show layer being an approximate 3/16ths-inch veneer of bamboo for both their flat and vertical grain flooring. The middle ply is about 3/8ths of rubberwood, and the bottom ply is about a sixteenth-inch of knotty (and sometimes missing knots) pine. Even the samples that they sent me are cupped. Bamboo works very well over RFH. It's great as a glue-down. Care needs to be taken as it is hard and brittle, and can be split if carelessly stapled/nailed. It's not tough to fasten, it's just that you may need to tweak the air pressure to get the staples to set nicely in the crotch of the tongue. Pre-drilling is required if face-nailing the first/last rows of flooring. I think bamboo, on the whole, is a pretty cool product. It's an interesting look...in some ways not as "warm" as a traditional wood floor...kind of slick and clean in my opinion...maybe contemporary looking? I like it, I recommend it, and anticipate using it quite a bit in the upcoming years. Note: edited to change from "WYSIWYG" to "Source" so the links would work.
Edited 5/7/2002 10:50:44 PM ET by Mongo
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__________________________________________
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Gio,
I just had 5/8" bamboo flooring put down and we primarily used a finish nailer with 2" 12ga nails. A PortaNailer was used for a few courses, but the nailer was set up for 3/4" flooring so we went back to the finish nailer (I believe adapters are available for 5/8"). I liked the PortaNails and would have continued with them had I had the proper nailer for the 5/8 flooring.
Good Luck, Jeff
Thanks for the responses:
I finally spoke to the main rep of the distributor who sells this product, and they have offered to lend me the only gun they recommend for this type of flooring, a Portanails 200. Apparently this gun shoots an E-Powercleat nail of special design and gauge that will not split bamboo or engineered flooring. This is of great relief to me, as I was hearing alot of bad stories of installations gone awry. For those that are interested, the gun is http://www.powernail.com/Nailer%20info/200.htm and the nails are http://www.powernail.com/E-Cleats.htm. I am not aware of any other manufacturer that carries a gun or nails similar to this. If there is, please let me know!
Cheers
Gio
prairieHOUSE Restoration and Development
Cant beet that deal. Go for it.
Good luck with the floor.
Jeff in so cal
72 f---51%
I've used the manual rented hardwood Powernailer with a plywood shim (sorry, I'm old and can't remember if it was 1/4" or 1/2") and regular Powercleat nails on Sun brand bamboo. Splits were not a problem...good luck It's okay, I can fix it!