I am having a 3 season porch framed on Cape Cod, MA. It will have a gable roof with batt insulation. I am finishing the inside myself and want to finish the ceiling with wood planks. I want a light color wood but I’d like to do something different from natural v-groove pine which was my initial thought. One of the things I’m thinking of is bamboo flooring. Would this work for a ceiling application? There will be no substrate, it would be nailed directly to the rafters. I would use a finish nailer with two nails driven in diagonally for each rafter.
What do you think?
Thanks, George
Replies
Bamboo flooring is tough stuff. If it is solid, I think you may have trouble getting a finish nail through, particulaily if you are nailing at a angle. It is also relatively heavy at about 6 lb / board ft.
Engineered flooring with a bamboo veneer may be more easly installed.
George
If you're thinking bamboo flooring, know that much of what is sold comes random lengths,. These are not usually made to match up with 16 or 24" framing layouts.
As others have mentioned, bamboo is hard to nail through. It's one thing to use a flooring nailer, and quite another to use a finish nailer. If you chose the latter, go with 15GA nails as smaller dia. nails may bend. I worry about two things: 1) you want to install the bamboo strips directly onto ceiling joists and 2) bamboo is typically installed in a moisture-controlled environment.
Even though your porch may be enclosed, it is not conditioned space. It may be prone to flunctuations in the air's moisture content. Bamboo flooring is typically installed on a flat substrate (subfloor), and a vapor barrier is laid on top of the substrate. If you absolutely insist on proceeding, at least make sure that the back and the cut ends of your b-strips are sealed. My recommendation: don't use bamboo...stick with a proven wood such as pine!
Mel froscarpentry.com
There is bamboo decking available -- stuff one would assume is suited to outdoor use.