Hello,
I recently purchased some click and lock Cali bamboo flooring and am having a professional installer do the job. I bought the click and lock (paid more $ for this feature) because it's supposed to be easy for do-it-yourselfers and I like the idea of not having glue or nails. I stacked it like they recommended to let acclimatize for almost a month now. I was so excited to get this floor in! Problem is, the click and lock is not so easy as they say it is. The boards aren't locking together. I contacted the company who insists that it's an installation issue and has given some tips like to tap it. The customer service rep claims these floors aren't as easy to click and lock. WHY DO THEY ADVERTISE IT AS EASY? We tried their suggestions and the same thing happens. The board just pops out at the moment it's supposed to lock together. It's like there's too much wax in the grooves. It also has some bowing where the ends lift off the ground. Cali Bamboo is telling me to wait and it will flatten. Is this true? I hope so because I need to get some floors in this house! Please help!

See my response to you in my thread..

I've practice click locked the worst of the planks (about 3-4 together) and they seem to lock so I'm surprised to hear yours don't click lock.

They pop out in the locking stage. Many people have tried and no one can get them to go in without a struggle (well, my installer's the only one who could get them to go in). Cali bamboo doesn't think it's a product failure. They don't think a month is long enough for acclimatization and I wish I knew about this before I bought the floors and spoke with their sales rep for hawaii. I thought I was dealing with a good company but it turns out they just wanted the sale. I just read some experiences people had with them on some website about ripoffs and what those people say doesn't surprise me at all. I might just have to add to it but want to believe those boards will straighten like they say or the company will step up and take responsibility. Maybe too optimistic but I don't like negativity unless its the truth and to protect others from headache and wasting money, time and energy.

How much did you dry it down to? Like whats the rh in your house? It may be too dry and that stuff bows which makes it exceedingly difficult to click. I also tap it when I install it just to make certain it is together.

Hi Stephen,

I don't think dryness is a problem as I live on the wet side of Hawaii Island. The boards are pretty flat although they do bow a little though I don't think bowing is the problem. Another guy on this forum said even his worst bowed boards locked together. Mine dont won't even click. They just pop out when you try to get them attached flat. The company blamed my installer and then told me to wait longer even though they've been acclimating for nearly 5 weeks now. I'm so frustrated because they aren't answering my emails or returning my phone calls and time is money as I have a construction schedule and loan. I think they just hope ill go away. Haha. I laugh but I really want to cry. Thanks for your help. I really appreciate knowing that there are people who care.

What are the moisture content readings? Are they as stated in the instructions? If so the bamboo is properly acclimated!
Many times the product is perfect out of the box. This can only be determined with moisture content readings otherwise you are only guessing.
I use a Lignomat Versa Tec meter and they have settings for vertical, horizontal and strand bamboo. You will need to know which you have for accurate readings.

The current theory about the moisture content of strand is that the only way to be certain of the moisture content is to oven dry method. The manufacturers do not use meters when making it. Basically meaning you cannot accurately measure the moisture content because of all the glue in it.

I have a Ligno SDM which has the same setting's as Jim Decker's, but I have lots of samples inside my office which is controlled rh and temp wise, plus samples outside that I can reference before I go out and check the MC of a shipment. Even then it's a crap shoot.

Well, I ended up returning the Cali Bamboo. I think it has saved my installer and I some really expensive trouble in the future. After hearing stories from people who did install this product, I think I would have had the same problem. The company and flooring inspector most likely would have ruled against my inspector and the environmental conditions. We would have been innocent victims. I just found the samples I got in December and there's mold growing all around it. I do live in an area where things mold (Hawaii), but nothing else has mold on it around here and things have been here a lot longer than the Cali Bamboo sample. Gross.

One would think Hawaii would be an optimum zone for bamboo since it is tropical. I'm kinda conflicted about why it was having issues. But good decision in any case if your having issues from the get go.

Hi Stephen,

Yes, I thought bamboo would be great here too. When I called the company they said it performs wonderfully in hawaii, but after researching and looking further into it, I think the fact that the product has not even been on the market a year and a half and is not consumer nor time-tested might be a source of our confusion. It seems that the gamut of bamboo products on the market range significantly in quality and type and most are quite new. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending how I choose to look at it), I was a guinea pig in this Cali Bamboo debacle and it cost me a lot of money, time and energy. I still believe that my installer and I were saved from even greater misfortune down the road and I still can say that there are good people out there in the world (like you!) who go above and beyond to make this world a better place--and they do it with no expectation of something in return. That is integrity. Thank you for your help and please wish me luck with the engineered floors I chose.