Replies

1. 
   stinger | Oct 08, 2005 12:55am | #1

   Rosin paper is a good underlayment.  Most flooring contractors use it under a woodstrip floor.  I don't think you need felt.

   I have never seen a prefinished floor without a microbevel.  That little feature is done by the manufacturers to mask any few thousandths of thickness differential in adjacent strips.  A sanded-in-place installation gives you a flat surface, and the board-to-board highs and lows are all brought to the same sanded plane.

   IMHO, the kinds of finishes they can put on at the factory lines cannot be matched in either appearance or durability by the site-done finishes.  They can put ceramic-based suspensions in those finishes that will wear off the metal feet of furniture.

   Go with the factory finished bamboo with microbevel.  You will be glad you did.

   What thickness of strip is available to you?  If full 3/4, you can use a pneumatic flooring nailer to install, and if thinner, you will be using one of the specialty flooring staplers.  Either will yield good results.

2. 
   calvin | Oct 08, 2005 01:15am | #2

   When you go to install, play with the air on the compressor.  Bamboo needs less lbs to properly set the staple.  Start out about 60 lbs on some scrap into the subfloor, increase as necessary.  I purchased a separate regulator to use on my splitter so I could have both 100 lb for the finish gun and the lower pressure for the stapler. 

   The two different grain configurations I don't know if one is "harder" than the other.  They look noticeably different.

   Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

   Quittin' Time

3. 
   Frankie | Oct 08, 2005 04:14am | #3

   IMO - Any floor directly above an unconditioned space requires felt. Pennies more than rosin paper and no add'l effort to install. Why not use it? I do not see a down side if you do use it.

   Prefinished material always has a beveled edge and harder finish. Harder finish means more durable, however the beveled/ eased edge identifies it as prefinished material. These eased edges will be an integral part of the floor pattern - punctuating each strip row. Not my favorite.

   Life is full of trade-offs. The choice is yours.

   F.

   There he goes—one of God's own prototypes—a high powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live and too rare to die.

   —Hunter S. Thompson
   from Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

1. 
   BruceCM | Oct 08, 2005 08:26am | #4

   Thanks to everyone for the great responses.

   A followup question on rosin/felt underlayment. Isn't the purpose of these to prevent updrafts that may occur in a heated space? If so, on a T&G heavilty glued floor, would drafting be an issue?

   Or are these papers for other purposes, such as allowing the floor to expand/contract easily  during humidity changes?

   BruceM

4. 
   Mongo | Oct 08, 2005 09:46am | #5

   Aluminum oxide is a good finish. I put bamboo in a local exercise/aerobics joint eight (?) years ago and it still looks as good as day one. I wouldn't topcoat a prefinished product.

   Structurally, you need to see if the product is solid bamboo or if it is just a bamboo wear layer with softwood plies beneath. I prefer solid bamboo, I've seen warping and cupping with the ply products. If solid, no there's no significant strength difference between vertical and flat. Carbonized is softer than natural.

   No experience with Yanchi.

   Others have already stated that prefinished will akmost always have a microbevel. Not really a factor with good bamboos as visually the bevel gets lost in the long lines of the grain.

   Felt or rosin, arguments can be made for both. I don't use felt due to flooring a lot over radiant floor heat. Rosin paper works well, lays flatter, and the flooring will slide right into place.

   I took a peek at the Yanchi website, the profuct is 5/8ths inch thick. You can use a regular penumatic stapler or nailer to set the product. Most pneumatic staplers and nailers come with a shoe that you add to the base to shim it up for use on stock thinner than 3/4".

   What Calvin said about the PSI. Take a scrap piece of flooring and fire away through the flooring and into the OSB. Tweak til you get it right. Realize that 2" staples fired on an angle won't give you much penetration into the joists. Bamboo is brittle, I prefer 1/2" coated crown staples for bamboo. Coated will give a better grip on the OSB. Not enough pressure through the nailer and you won't set the staple tight on the tongue. Good luck fixing that. Too much pressure and you can fracture the tongue. Not good either.

   If you have to face nail the last row or so, predrill. Hand driving nails through solid bamboo will likely split it. You might be able to get away not pre-drilling on a product with softwood underplys.

   When you choose a product, read their installation instructions then call their tech support and bend their ear a bit. They may be able to give you feedback their getting from the field that hasn't yet made it to the website.

   Edit: Wanted to add that depending on the scale of the room, some manufacturers produce bamboo in 6' lengths. I noticed that Yanchi's bamboo is about 3' but their strand boards are 6'. One of my favorite bamboos is from Terragren and they offer everything in 3' and 6' lengths. 6' strips go down fast and give less waste.

   
   

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   Edited 10/8/2005 12:59 pm ET by Mongo

1. 
   Matt | Oct 08, 2005 04:01pm | #6

   I don't know anything about bamboo flooring, but do know that the Bruce prefinsihed 3/4" solid strip oak flooring that I have had installed in several new construction houses lately did not have a beveled edge.