Tropical Treatment: Bamboo Flooring in any Climate!
Along with being highly durable, bamboo flooring is a versatile surface suitable for a range of climates. For many home or commercial flooring projects, bamboo might be the best solution for your renovation.
Moisture levels and bamboo
A big concern with all flooring options is the moisture level in the space where you want to lay your floor. Compared to other wood flooring types, bamboo flooring has a significant advantage due to the regions where the bamboo plant thrives; namely, the tropics.
Due to its origins, bamboo flooring is often appropriate in moist areas like kitchens and laundry rooms – locations where other wood floors aren’t suitable. In this sense, bamboo is an incredibly flexible material to consider for nearly every room in your home or office if you are looking for an all-around flooring surface.
How to get your bamboo flooring ready for installation
One of the first things to do once you’ve chosen and received your bamboo floor is to allow the product to acclimate in the space where you want to install it. This simple process requires you to:
- Open the boxes of bamboo flooring and lay them flat in the room where they are to be installed
- Adjust the thermostat to normal room temperature
- Let the bamboo flooring sit for 72 hours
This acclimation process will allow the bamboo to adapt to the humidity levels that characterize the space where you’re installing it.
Installation basics
As with any flooring installation, it’s also important that your subfloor is clean, level and dry before laying the floor. After proper preparations have been made, you can install your new floor. A couple installation methods include nailing the bamboo floor to a wooden subfloor, or gluing the bamboo floor directly to a concrete subfloor using an appropriate adhesive. Adhesives will also act as a vapor barrier to protect the bamboo. Glue down bamboo flooring is generally available with tongue-and-groove locking edges, which allows do-it-yourselfers to install with relative ease, depending on their skill level.
Once your bamboo flooring installation is complete, you will appreciate this sturdy, tropically derived flooring option – equal to many hardwoods – for both its natural beauty and strength.
