Bamboo flooring is often the choice of home owners who prefer its look and environmental quality. Being naturally resistant to bugs, it is also durable and adds beauty to the home. If bamboo wood is your flooring choice, here are tips on how to choose, install and maintain them:

Deciding On Your Bamboo Flooring

Before choosing bamboo flooring, find the right color that will be a good match to the room you intend to use it in. Bamboo flooring comes in different colors so to make sure it will be a good fit or complement to the room, it's important to first have an idea of what color would work best.

For the best deal consider different suppliers. Looking at what they have to offer not only in price but also in terms of quality will ensure you get exactly what you want for how much you want.

Next, determine which type of bamboo flooring you prefer. There are three types: the solid bamboo flooring , engineered bamboo flooring and the strand woven flooring. The solid bamboo flooring comes in different lengths and as its name suggests, made from one length of bamboo. The engineered bamboo flooring is the equivalent of the laminate while the strand woven flooring is made with woven bamboo strands to produce a highly durable plank.

The grain of the bamboo flooring is also important. If the grain is very fine, it's a vertical grain. If the grain is wider, it's a horizontal grain. Usually, you might want to use horizontal grain in larger, wider rooms while smaller rooms will look best with vertical grains.

Installing Bamboo Flooring

Once the bamboo flooring has arrived, place the planks in the room where you will be using them and let them air for about 2 to 3 days. Acclimatization is important in most natural flooring to make sure they adjust properly to the room's temperature and humidity level. The bamboo can then shrink or swell accordingly, so you will be ready for any warps or gaps later. Make sure the room temperature is maintained during the acclimatization period and that no moisture is present in the room.

One of the most important factors in how successful your flooring installation is going to be is: how well did you prepare the sub-floor - that is, the surface on which your new flooring will be laid. The basic requirements for the sub-floor are: (1) It should be not have high-moisture content, and (2) It should not have any bumps or pock-marks that will interfere with the alignment of the floor.

If you prefer, you can also add an underlayment like vinyl to ensure you have a reliable moisture barrier. The sub-floor type will also determine what type of installation method to use. The glue-down installation method will work with a concrete sub-floor while a nail-down will work best with a wood sub-floor. If you have radiant heat floors, the floating installation method will be the best choice.

After you've done all the preparations, decide which wall is going to be your "starting wall". This should be the wall in the room which is the most straight and has the least curvature. Then do a dry run by laying sample pieces of the bamboo flooring along the sub-floors. This will give you a good idea how the flooring will eventually look after you've finished the installation. This is an important step because there will always be subtle variations in color among the planks even if they came in the same batch.

You will need to leave a gap of about a quarter-inch to a half-inch between the starting wall and the first row of flooring. Mark up this starting line. This gap is provision for any future expansion and will be covered by molding. The first row should be made up of the straightest planks that you can select from your supply, because they will become the guide which will eventually determine how the rest of the planks will line up with each other. Use the drill to create pilot holes that will later be used by the finishing nails - these holes must of course be spaced out evenly. Then face-nail the floor planks through the sub-floor.

For the next row, drill 45-degree pilot holes through both ends of the tongues in the planks and every 10" along the length of the flooring. Make sure the end joints of adjacent rows are not aligned. They should be at least 6" away from each other. Drive finishing nails to fasten. Using a short piece of tapping block, tap this row tightly next to the first row. Avoid hitting the bamboo floor directly because this will damage the wood.

Follow the same steps when installing the next planks, being careful to tap them into place to keep them tight against the previous row. Use a pry bar and a block to tap the final row before installing the baseboard molding.

How to Maintain Bamboo Flooring

You only need to use common sense to keep your bamboo flooring spic-n-span. Its biggest enemies are sand and grit, for these can result in accelerated wear and tear specially in heavy traffic areas. So use a broom or even a vacuum cleaner to regularly get rid of the dirt and your flooring should last a long long time.

Vacuum regularly, making sure to use a brush attachment to clean up any gaps. If spills occur, wipe with a dry, soft cloth immediately. Repair finishes as soon as wearing begins and keep the beauty of your bamboo flooring by using paste wax to protect the finish and keep the shine.

Article Source: http://www.energyefficienthomearticles.com

About the author: Ernest Jarquio's website features informative articles on bamboo flooring installation and Morningstar bamboo flooring.
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