Installing Bamboo Flooring in Kitchen

[cwsmith]

We're in the final stages of a kitchen remodel and now the LOML wants bamboo flooring. Looks good, price is right, and all the indicators for good wear, moisture resistance, etc. makes this look like good choice.

But the store is telling me I need a special nailer as the standard floor nailers are designed for 3/4-inch hardwoods and will not work with the thinner bamboo. Also that the bamboo is even harder than oak and may present a problem with some nailers.

So, can anyone share some thoughts and experience about this. I've never put in a hardwood floor, but I am under the impression that it should (not) be too difficult. I also thought that most floor nailers had and ajustable shoe (or cleat) for various material thicknesses. (Don't recall where I got that from, so I may very well be wrong.) Also, what's the best way to nail this stuff down, with a flooring nailer or stapler?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated before I take the plunge and purchase this stuff.

Thanks,

CWS

[HarmsWay]

A buddy at work is 3/4 through doing one entire floor of his house except bathroom in bamboo. I helped him a couple of days early on. I do believe it was a particular nailer and was a little picky. Special shoe for sure. And a very narrow range of air pressure that worked. I think it was a staple though. I'll ask him tomorrow. It's a nice look and will be very durable.

[Tequila]

I put the 5/8" thick bamboo t&g flooring that Home Depot sells in my bathroom about a month ago. I rented the Bostich pneumatic flooring nailer from the HD rental shop. I had heard about the different thicknesses as well, but figured I'd give it a shot.

I had no problems at all, once I got the hang of the nailer.

[cwsmith]

Harmsway and Tequila,

Thanks to you both for your replies. The 5/8" stuff from HD is what I am planning to do. But neither the Binghamton store or Corning-area store rent tools. I checked with three different rental centers in the Binghamton area and none of them recommend using the standard 3/4-inch flooring nailers and they don't have anything smaller (or with adjustable shoes or blocks). I wouldn't think an 1/8" would make a difference, but never having done it, what do I know.

I checked the local Wilson Rental Center here in Corning, and they recommend a stapler which they have for $10... so the price is right if it will work. I'll try first, and then go with a rented Bostitch if I can find one. So, your advice is greatly appreciated. If I can't find one, I think I'm just going to buy a Grizzly floor nailer for $200 and go from there. At least they tell me that the shoe is adjustable and it will easily adjust to various floor thicknesses. Hey, I can always sell it after the project is done... or hang on to it in case my neighbors ever need it.

Again, thanks! Your help is very much appreciated.

CWS

[radhak]

I put the 5/8" thick bamboo t&g flooring that Home Depot sells in my bathroom about a month ago. I rented the Bostich pneumatic flooring nailer from the HD rental shop. I had heard about the different thicknesses as well, but figured I'd give it a shot.

I had no problems at all, once I got the hang of the nailer.

I thought the T&G Bamboo flooring in HD was the click-and-fit types : ie, did not need nailing; so am I wrong...? Is Laminate the only type of flooring to offer the no-nails-or-glue type of flooring?

I had decided on going for hardwood flooring for our bedrooms for this weekend, now it looks like I have to do a rethink. I don't own any nailer/compressor, and was not planning on buying any, hoping for a easy way out.

[HarmsWay]

CWS, maybe too late but I'd go with Joe Tequila's recomendations as mine are second hand. I spoke Friday with the guy I had helped. His flooring is 5/8 but not from HD so that may be the difference. He tried a standard (?) flooring nailer one day when the one he'd been using wasn't available to rent and couldn't get it to work successfully. A brad nailer wouldn't work properly either. It was very critical to have the nailer register on the tongue to ensure the proper depth, angle, etc. On the other hand maybe he's just not very good at it.

Bob

[beerdavis]

I used this to staple my bamboo floors in my kitchen.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93197
Home Depot wanted $35 a day to rent the bostich. I used this and took my time. I am now going to put bamboo down in another down and will sell the stapler on Craigslist when I am done. I bought my bamboo from an ebay store called simplefloors. $2.69 a square foot and no sales tax and I could pick it up from a warehouse in North Atlanta. A lot cheaper than home depot and I could get 6 foot peices not just the 3 foot ones. Don't get the carbonized finish because it is a lot softer get the natural finish or a stained finish.

[cwsmith]

Well I'm still stumbling around with this. I got everything delivered this past Tuesday and it is now sitting in my living room. Going in on Sunday to prep the floor, and start to lay the flooring out prior to installation.

The stuff is made/marketed by US Floors, is 4 ft lengths T&G with 5/8 thickness. At $2.99 a sq.ft., I figured that was a great price (plus I got 10% off of that).

I still have no concrete opinion from the local folks on how to install it. The staplers that I've looked at will only drive a 1-inch staple (not long enough) and the nailer rental guys all tell me that standard flooring nails will split this stuff. I'm also a bit hesitant on doing a lot of pounding using a flooring nailer in the 2nd floor bedrooms as there's a rather large ceiling area in the living room that I'm worried about cracking.

I thought a flooring stapler would be perfect, since they are "triggered" rather than "malleted". Obviously I'm a bit confused with the fact that a flooring staper will only handle a 1" staple, but a regular hand-held, crown stapler will handle up to a 1-1/2 inch staple. Seems to me that the longer staple capability woud be more suited for a flooring stapler. Oh well?

So, at this point I've got a call into the distributor for their advice. The instructions read that I can use an adhesive (Bostic's Best) and perhaps that's the way to go. The stuff is unbelievably expensive though as my local retailer tells me it has to be special ordered and will cost me $500 t0 $600 for 10 gallons of the stuff. I think that needs futher investigation on my part!

Thanks for all the input, as I certainly am appreciative. I am a bit disappointed that with bamboo allegedly being so popular, suppliers like Lowes and Home Depot don't have a definitive answer and the tools to carry out the project.

CWS

[radhak]

CWS,

Dunno if this helps : Lowes has a in-store clinic today : "Install Hardwood Flooring" at 11 am. You could go to their website and signup to attend. I am sure this is not just local to me.

check this out http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...SchedProcessor

I am sure they should be able to answer simple (!) questions like yours, at the very least?

[Tequila]

One thing that might help you out. For the last few courses where it was impossible to use the flooring nailer, I used a standard brad nailer at an angle through the tongues. I wouldn't want to use it for the whole floor, but if you have no other options, it might work out.

Joe

[radhak]

CSW,

I might be late with this, but still - I went in and attended the clinic at Lowes on saturday and asked some (!) questions. The gist is :

Bamboo flooring is sold in 3"+ and 5" wide planks.

The 5" ones can be installed 'floating', ie, like laminates, just on a foam subflooring. I saw that Lowes sells those at around $3.97 per sq. ft. (about 30% more for the convenience, i guess).

The 3" ones need to be glued or nailed/stapled. The glue could be the Bostich one, but for engineered flooring it is an overkill (it's recommended for the thicker natural hardwood flooring). Lowes sells it at $175 for the 5 gallon. But they also sell the Bruce Everbond @ $70 for the 4 gallon, which is good enough for engineered wood.

If you are not glueing, then he said stapling is preferrable to nailing. He said any 1" stapler is adequate for bamboo.

Hope that helps.