Bamboo flooring is a beautiful addition to any home and on top of that it is also known to be a long lasting floor material. Its durability can be attributed partially to the fact that it is resistant to insects. It is because of these qualities that it has become a favorite among people who are in the process of building or renovating their homes.

Choosing 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.

Choose what kind of bamboo Flooring you want. There are three separate kinds all with different strengths and features. The solid floor is made from a single stalk of bamboo. The engineered floor is essentially a laminate and the strand floor is made of threads of bamboo woven together to make one flat timber.

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

Like any other wood, bamboo contracts and expands with temperature. Therefore when it arrives make sure to let it adjust to your room. Do this for approximately two or three days. Make sure there is no humidity in the environment and regulate the temperature during this time.

Before installing bamboo flooring, make sure that you have a sub-floor. This is usually a concrete or wood surface on which you will be placing the bamboo planks. Keep this surface as smooth and as even as possible. An uneven sub-floor causes installation problems later on. Keep the sub-floor dry to prevent any moisture from seeping through the bamboo planks.

If you want to take damage protection a step further put down an underlay such vinyl or a similar material. When fixing your bamboo floor to your sub-floor, glue works best for concrete, while a floating installation is good for heated flooring, and nails will work well for a wood sub-floor.

Once you have the sub-floor ready, determine your starting wall. This will help you mark your working line. Make sure the starting wall is as straight as possible. Before installation, try to lay out the bamboo flooring to see how the floor will look like. Natural floor has slight variations in color and knowing which plank to place where will help you maximize the final look of your flooring.

Measure about " or " from the wall and mark with a chalk line. This gap will make room for expansion later on and will be filled out by molding. Choose the straightest bamboo planks and use these for the first row. Drill regularly spaced pilot holes for the finishing nails near the walls and face-nail the planks through the sub-flooring. Blind-nail the first row. Make sure the first row is straight and even. This is a critical point in the installation of the bamboo flooring and will determine whether the next rows are straight or not.

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.

Continue with this procedure to install all the other rows of bamboo planks, always making sure to tap them into place. When you get to the last row, you will need a block and a pry bar for tapping; then the baseboard molding should be ready to be put in.

Keeping Your Bamboo Floors In Tip Top Condition

Treat bamboo flooring as you would other types of wood floors. Regularly clean it with a cotton mop or soft broom to prevent the accumulation of dirt, dust and sand. Sand and other rough dirt can scratch the surface and break the finish, making the bamboo flooring more vulnerable to damage and moisture.

When you do your vacuum cleaning, you should be mindful to get the dirt that insinuates itself between the gaps in the flooring. As they say, a stitch in time saves nine, so immediately wipe up any spills and also do not delay touching up the floor finish as soon as you notice any wear. Floor wax is another good thing that you should use regularly to keep you floor in top shape.