I know many have asked about what glue to use for bamboo, but we are getting fibrestrand bamboo. It is 5/8" and 2x harder than traditional bamboo (to hold up to kids). So, I'm not exactly sure what "category" it fits in. I don't think many people have much experience with this type of flooring because it is fairly new. We are gluing to concrete, and will prep it very well.

So, what type of glue should we use? The place we bought it from ---- ----recommended APAC 757, but it is VERY expensive ($140 for 4 gallons). They recommend it for the low VOCs. Are the others really that much worse? We do have kids, so that is an issue. I'm thinking we will use Bostik BST, but if there is something out there that is just as good and cheaper, that would be even better. I know many people like Taylor 2071 for engineered wood, but would our bamboo be considered engineered? Someone else used Bruce Everbond, and it was much less expensive, but I want to make sure it is just as good. I don't mind spending the $1000 it will cost us to do our 1300 sf downstairs (the upstairs will be nail down) with Bostik, but I also don't want to throw money away. Is 40 sf per gallon a good estimate for coverage?

Last question is where is the best place to get the glue? I know Home Depot only had one kind. Would I go to a flooring store or should I look something else up in the phone book? Thanks!

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With all due respect kdhughes, we all prefer that you do the job right with the proper adhesives and forget about price or what's cheaper. Peace of mind is what's more important here. Forget about Home Hepot, forget about Bruce. You are not throwing money away using Bostiks. Try a flooring supply store in the yellow Pages, or Austin Floorguy may have a contact for you.

Hope not to see you in the "Yikes I Have Problems" forum at a later date.

You will definitely NOT see me in the problem area. We do lots of research to do all of our projects right. That's why I'm here to double check our adhesive choice.

We have decided on Bostik, as we know it is a good adhesive. We are not ones to skimp to save money. We'd rather spend more and do the job right. Every home improvement project we have done was done better than a professional would have done it because we are perfectionists. My husband is an engineer as well. It may take us longer, but we do it right. We are all about quality. We've done tile, remodeled an entire bathroom (including installing a Jacuzzi tub with a tile wall built in front instead of the cheezy skirt, shower doors, glass block window, sheetrock texture, paint, new toilet, tile, etc...), built decks, painted our entire house, etc... I've just read about so many other adhesives that other people like on here that it starts to get confusing, and none of them are laying the type of floor we have. I just didn't know if there was an adhesive that was just as good as Bostik that costs less. I guess the answer is no? I also wanted to know about the difference in VOCs in Bostik and APAC 757. Is there a huge difference to where it would be worth the extra money for the APAC? It would be about a $100+ difference. I know water-based adhesives are a big no no with our floors, so we're not going to make that mistake. I just want the easiest adhesive to work with that will get the job done for a reasonable price. If Bostik is it, then that's fine. This project is going to take us several weekends (we've already spent 2 weekends pulling up 550 sf of tile!), so we don't want to waste any time. I want wood floors, not concrete (which is what I have right now)

Kelli

Sounds like they should be recommending the U-984 because that one is urethane based which important for solid installations. This is the first time I've heard of the stuff. Best to go with proven brands.

http://www.apacadhesives.com/wood.html

5/8" sounds like solid. Does it look like any of the pics at the link below?

http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... styles.htm

Yes, it is solid. That is where I get confused. I have read that you shouldn't use water-based adhesives with bamboo flooring, BUT ours is different than traditional bamboo flooring. Fibrestrand bamboo is where they shred it and compress it into the 5/8" plank making it more dense. So, is that considered solid or more like engineered? It looks like a solid piece with the 3 thick layers, not like engineered with a thin layer on top. It doesn't even really look like bamboo. It looks more like hardwood (which is what we like)

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There is a description of the fibrestrand (also called "strand" by other manufacturers) at the bottom of the page.

So, maybe I'm wrong about the water-based adhesive since they recommended APAC 757. They only recommend it for the low VOCs. I just don't know which adhesives are urethane and which are water-based. I guess now the question is which should I use? I know urethane costs more, but do they work better? I'm leery about using water-based on bamboo, even though this is a different type. Too bad more people don't have experience with this type of bamboo.

Kelli

I used Bruce Everbond from my local H*. Don't know why people seem to think it's junk. I didn't have any problems with it and we glued bamboo in my last townhome in it. It's not exactly cheap @ 70-75 for a big bucket. The bostiks is 110 or so. Never heard or seen Taylor brand.

Call Trinity Hardwood Distributing, they are the Bostiks distributor, here. But Lumber Liquidators, has it for a lower cost.

C&C Wholesale has Parabond Urethane adhesive

Thanks Floorguy! We were going to check at PFS Distributors (I think you mentioned them on another thread) on Rutland since my husband works on the Pickle Research Campus, but if Lumber Liquidators has it cheaper, we'll just go there. It is so nice just knowing where the cheapest price is instead of driving all around town. We used to live down the street from a contractor, so he got us all our stuff at contractor prices (NICE!), but we don't have that luxury anymore. We're in Cedar Park (moved here 2 years ago from Wells Branch), so we have to drive a little ways anyway. I've seen the stuff from about $110 for 5 gallons to $160 for 5 gallons. Crazy! Do you by chance know what it runs at LL? We're just trying to budget this all out. Our flooring is being shipped tomorrow (it's paid for, though), so it will be here late next week. All we have to do now is finish getting this darn thinset up and level (hoping it is pretty level, but we'll make sure). I can't wait to get these floors down because they are going to look fabulous (WAY better than the white tile and white carpet we had!)

Kelli

PFS is the Taylor adhesive distributor. I wouldn't use Taylor with bamboo.

DriTac is one of the best out there too.
I don't know how easy it is to spread, but installers always suggest an easy spread adhesive...........

Dri Tac USED to be only a latex rubber based. Now, they have urethanes and other types of adhesives. The great thing about Dri Tac for engineered floors was IF you got a hollow spot, you could get it to rebond sometimes by adding weight to the area. Plus the clean up was a breeze.

Thanks again for clarifying Floorguy. No, we aren't going to use Taylor. We'll go to LL.

I don't know much about DriTac, but I have heard people say they like it. I did ask the place we bought our bamboo from about the adhesive again. She said many of their clients have used water-based (APAC 757) with no problems, but I think I'd rather go with urethane. It just seems to be better. She also said the strand bamboo would be considered more of an engineered wood, though it is still bamboo. It is also kind of like a solid because it is 5/8" thick. It just makes things hard. It sounds like going with Bostik BST would probably be the best, but I'll look into DriTac as well.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

Kelli

It sounds like this consumer is thinking of installing a Woven/Stranded Bamboo?
My suggestion is to RE-think that decision.

Why?

I've heard some things about formeldehyde (mabe I didn't spell that right) off gassing with this new strand woven bamboo. Don't know if it's true or not, but it's something to consider and do a little more research on.\

This stuff is coming from the Asian and Chinese markets, so don't expect them to use the best quality glues in their products.