hey guys,
I am about to undertake about 1000 sq ft of 1/2 inch stranded bamboo flooring. I am getting conflicting advice on how to install this type of flooring and hope you all could sort me out.
I have laid a few thousand sft of flooring in the past but this stranded stuff seems to be a whole new beast.
I am also going to have to buy a new fastner and have been leaning toward the primatech 550, I am not familiar with that gun, but i seems to be an ideal match.

project specs
1/2 stranded bamboo 3 3/4 x 72
subfloor 1 1/4 osb ,2 5/8 glued and screwed
project is in wash dc so i don't think expansion is going to be a Major problem, but am not sure
My skill level in hardwood is a bit above your typical jack of all trades. I am not looking forward to this project with all this uncharted territory. I have laid a few thousand sft of flooring in the past but this stranded stuff seems to be a whole new beast.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated, from the gun to the fun
thanks

The Primatech 550 is a good choice. Very versatile, and rugged. Allows for micro adjustment to accomodate any thickness from 3/8th inch to 5/8th inch with varying tongue positions as well. Tranfers the impact to the tongue edge rather than along the upper edge of the floor board, so gone is the surface bruising as well.
Bamboo, whether oriented strand, vertical or horizontal, should be acclimated for longer periods than solid wood products.
Remember too, that since you are dealing with uniform lengths (6 ft.) you will need to take greater care in randomizing your end joint pattern.

good advice,thanks
I have the bamboo in packaging, it has been here for 5 weeks @55-65- degrees, do ineed to pull it out? I plan on starting in about a week or so
I undestand that pieces along the walls may be a little tricky to top nail and fill. I was thinking about using glue for those pieces, any opinions on that?
By the way No one would consider me a "neat worker", the jobs end up nice but I always have more cleanup than most.
Are there any other differences that i will have to finesse through with this stranded flooring?
Any preference over rosin or tar paper?

Ya, the "Strand Bamboo" is one tough cookie to nail through. You could glue your final boards in place using a urethane adhesive. If you are dealing with a Chinese product, and most Bamboo floors are; you may find that the bottom of the boards are finished as well as the top. so it may be a good idea to check the adhesion of the glue you plan to use.
I am of mixed thought about opening the cartons prior to install, better to check with the manufacturer for the right answer to that question. You will at least be following their guidelines and therefore not jeopardizing the warantee.

thanks buddy,
I am all ready starting to feel a bit more confident.
I just purchased the 550, almost 500 us$delivered, but i think it will save me a lot of frustration over a cheapie

Ay suggestion on proper fastner

how or where do i get the splines for when i reverse directions,
are they field cut from the bamboo or another material?

On my second floor I will run a 15 ft hallway with stairs and into two bedrooms with closets.

I am not sure where to start my run on this floor. hall or bedroom ,the hallway has the longest "strait" wall but i am not sure how that run will transfer into the bedrooms
I am thinking I should run it leghtwise in the hall way and continue into the bedrooms, and hope for the best

In the hall i have one 15 ft stardard drywall wall where trim will be going, and a 4 ft wall at top of stairs that is exposed brick with an irregular face. ther won't be anytrim here,is this material workable with a jigsaw to scribe the edge?

Thanks for the insight it is greatly apreciated

spud

Use the 1 1/2 inch (18 gauge) cleat for the 1/2 inch floor.
If your supplier doesn't have ready to use splines, make them in the field with any hardwood strips you may have. Don't use plywood for splines for 1/2 inch flooring, they will not be sound.
Strike a parallel lime along 15 foot hall wall, and reverse in the doorways. Check your start line to make sure it is parallel to the outside walls in the bedroom. If it isn't; make minor adjustments in the doorway(s) or leave "cheater spaces" as needed to straighten out the line.
Work away from the bricks. You CAN do an adequate cut with a jigsaw, but use "down-cutting" blades to avoid chipping the strands.
I would also put a slight vertical back angle on those cuts so that the top edge hits near the edge of the bricks but leaves more expansion available through the thickness of the boards. Remember that this product reacts in all directions, not just across the face.

Great advice.
I will begin laying the floor in the next day or so and upon inpection of the subfloor ihave noticed that while it is generally level there are a few issues.
In on or two places there are "dips" in the subfloor" or valleys of about 1/4inch to 3/8 inch over a 4 ft span.
The floor is solid and there is very little if any flex,just these 2 valleys.
The subfloor is two layers of osb 3/4 t&g ,glued and screwed to 1/2 inch

Any advice on how to fill in these valleys
I don't feel like shims are a good idea

Also can splines be made from a pine 2x4, and what is the best tecnique and saw to use
THANKS Again

Ya, the pine should be fine for the splines. My preference for packing low areas in cork underlay, but you can use anything I guess, back in the day, if no one was looking, I've used the cartons the material came in.

I am getting dimples where the cleats are shot into the flooring
you can only see them in certain lighting conditions.
Is there any way to avoid these bumps or is that the nature of 1/2 inch bamboo?
What type of nails should i use to blind nail this stuff?
I was using #8 finishing nails but i could not get the next board to seat properly

thanks
spud

What gage cleats and what gun are you using?

Try turning up the pressure or hiring a pro.

i have a primatech 550 with 1 1/2 L style 18g cleats.
I have the nailer adjusted so the cleat sinks perfectly in the insde corner of the tongue.

The cleats are setting flush if not a little more
the psi to set flush is 103, sounds high but i ended up grinding off 30% of the cleats with it set lower the subfloor is

The place where the pimples are the most visable is in a 35 ft hallway with natural light coming from one end only

I am thinking about switching to glue down, will that be an issue this late in the game. I have about 25% of this floor all ready laid.

Which is where they usually show is in reflective light.

any way to fix the bumps and to aviod further bumps

I take my solid plastic tapping block, turn it on its side, put it over the bump and give it a good whack with the hammer. It gets most of them out but am not sure what it will be like long term but have never had a complaint yet.