bamboo floating floors.

[bluesman]

Is anyone else having problems with bamboo floating floors coming apart threw out the floor and cracking around vents. I have let the floor acclimate in the house for a week , left plenty of expansion around the edges and still I get calls after a month saying that the floor is coming apart

 

[Floorist]

We have a couple members who know a lot about bamboo, they should be along later. Meanwhile, where do you live? Local conditions can affect flooring.

 

[Ken]

Dont be blue, man. Sorry, I couldnt help myself. I do a ton of bamboo but floorist is right, totally depends on where you are located. Im down here at the Jersey shore with lots of moisture. Most of the problems I hear about are in much drier climates with checking and shrinkage. I did just have a locking floater pop apart along the longside of the planks which ive never seen before. The company sent a rep out to look at it and he said that the planks shrank and the they would pay to replace the materials as well as the labor to do the repair. That was the only issue Ive had though. Your main issues with bamboo are going to be proper expansion and deflection in the subfloor. Make sure you drop that straight edge. You also have to educate the customers on how to properly maintain that bamboo! They may need a dehumidifier to keep the RH at a good range. Good Luck!

 

[ernie]

Ken is spot non about that rh thing. The heat and ac will drop the moisture content of the bamboo and walla, it unlocks.

 

[bluesman]

Dont be blue, man. Sorry, I couldnt help myself. I do a ton of bamboo but floorist is right, totally depends on where you are located. Im down here at the Jersey shore with lots of moisture. Most of the problems I hear about are in much drier climates with checking and shrinkage. I did just have a locking floater pop apart along the longside of the planks which ive never seen before. The company sent a rep out to look at it and he said that the planks shrank and the they would pay to replace the materials as well as the labor to do the repair. That was the only issue Ive had though. Your main issues with bamboo are going to be proper expansion and deflection in the subfloor. Make sure you drop that straight edge. You also have to educate the customers on how to properly maintain that bamboo! They may need a dehumidifier to keep the RH at a good range. Good Luck!

thanks for the advice.

 

[bluesman]

We have a couple members who know a lot about bamboo, they should be along later. Meanwhile, where do you live? Local conditions can affect flooring.

I live in Norfolk Va. and I do a lot of work both the ocean front and farther inland.