flooring!
Jan 25th 2008 | 12:26 am
#1
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19
flooring!
Hi all,
We are in the process of building and have got to the stage where we need to decide on air-con and flooring and we need some words of wisdom from the experienced amongst you.
We really love bamboo florring but have done abit of research which says you have to be very caredul as certain types can warp, and there are a whole host of lawsuits pending with people who have been caught out. Now this could be a load of nonsense but as you can imagine we are bit reluctant to go ahead without consulting somone who has had flooring installed and can advise us.
Is there anyone out there who can highly reccomend a company who deals with grade A bamboo and who are trustworthy?
Any words of wisdom would be gratefully received.
Also quickly the same question for fully ducted air-con.
Thanks a bunch
Enjoy the long weekend.
We are in the process of building and have got to the stage where we need to decide on air-con and flooring and we need some words of wisdom from the experienced amongst you.
We really love bamboo florring but have done abit of research which says you have to be very caredul as certain types can warp, and there are a whole host of lawsuits pending with people who have been caught out. Now this could be a load of nonsense but as you can imagine we are bit reluctant to go ahead without consulting somone who has had flooring installed and can advise us.
Is there anyone out there who can highly reccomend a company who deals with grade A bamboo and who are trustworthy?
Any words of wisdom would be gratefully received.
Also quickly the same question for fully ducted air-con.
Thanks a bunch
Enjoy the long weekend.
Jan 25th 2008 | 1:51 am
#2
Banned
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,138
From: Morayfield - The Posh Part
Re: flooring!
Arya goin Timber on Timber or Timber on Concrete?
Jan 25th 2008 | 10:15 pm
#3
Thread Starter
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19
Re: flooring!
Timber on concrete because its a new build. Can you help us?
Jan 26th 2008 | 12:06 am
#5
Banned
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,138
From: Morayfield - The Posh Part
Re: flooring!
I can help you, vocally 
Moisture is your biggest enemy
As with most things in life, the product of a bad result isnt the result of a bad product !
Its usually over eager pressurinsing clients, or ill informed over zealous tradesmen.
You must let the slab dry, and dry out thoroughly. Im not sure on the go in Oz, but in uk, we used to work on 1 month per 1 inch of concrete. So for a 4 inch slab, you would allow say 4 months ( varies during wet season and summer )
The easiest method is to do a Moisture test on the concrete, we have special tooling to do this, and requires a couple of holes to be drilled. We insert a cannister, and seal it, and then measure the humidity within the cannister 24-48 hours later. If you get quotes, ask if they can do a Hydrometer Test.
regarding Bamboo.
Well its not strictly hardwood, as its a grass. Also the fastest growing grass in the world. Straight grained ultra dense and very durable. However, because as you know, Bamboo isnt very thick ( the stems ) then the flooring needs to be finger jointed, when its manufactured, and its done grain on . So that you see the grain. This is in total contrast to hardwood flooring, where the grain is lateral with the floor.
Theis is where the damp issues come in. If the flooring doesnt have a counter balancing layer ( which isnt the case with Bamboo ( it doesnt ) ) then the grain , normally untreated on underside, is left exposed for moisture to ingress.
This causes a few anomalies within the substructure of the flooring. One of which manifests itself immediately, in that the joints open up, and boards are cupped. To a more serious issue, of expansion issues and the bamboo joints having unsightly gaps, and discolouration, and squeaking when you walk on it.
So as with everything, irrespective of wether its bamboo, oak, or canadian rock maple, prepearation is 9/10th's of the law .
The usual method for installation, providing the floor is dry sound and sealed. Is that it is flat.
It doesnt need to be level, but it needs to be flat. Flatness on most glue down installations, has a tolerance of about 2mm per running metre. This is easily checked with a long straight level, and a fag packet !!!
If the level is ok, and the floor ( sub floor ) is dry, then you need to seal the slab. There are proprietary seals, and you need to match the seal with they type of adhesive you are using for gluing the floor down. We use Sikabonds T2 adhesive, not sure on Aussie equivalent.
Anyways.
Check floor is dry. And that means DRY to the core !! Not just oh that feels dry. A trick of the trade, if your scottish, mean with your money or dont have access to a hydrometer, is to take some plastic, and lay it on the floor, about a5 size, must be transparent. Then gaffa tape it all the way round to the concrete floor.
Watch it over a period of say, 7-10 days, make sure it is sealed TOTALLY. If moisture appears on underside, then the concrete is still hydrating, and moisture is still present. Hydration level is about 8% for hardwood type flooring.
Now after sealing the floor, you must keep it dust free, and leave it for a few days. In that time, ensure all flooring is delivered, and stacked off the floor, by a couple of pieces of wood, and adequately supported. Open each pack slightly, and then put spacers between each pack as you stack them and store them.
Do not store near sunshine.
If you are going for amonia treated bamboo, be very careful, sunlight doesnt affect the boards whatsoever during storage.
After 5 days, post floor seal. Then you can begin laying the flooring. With Bamboo, we direct glue, and stitch glue.
Direct glue, is where we apply a bead of sikabond to the concrete, at 100mm intervals, and then lay the flooring into it, using the tack method. That is push flooring gently onto the adhesive and then pull back and then back down. That gives a double tack.
Make sure when you use this method, that flooring is laid within 30 seconds of applying the adhesive, as otherwise it skins up, and is bloody uselarse !!!
Stitch glue, is simple. Using pva wood glue, avail anwhere, bostik etc. Waterbased white woodglue that dries CLEAR. Apply it down groove of next plank, 100mm miss 100mm 100mm miss 100mm you get the picture, then slot it into the piece installed on floor, and away you go.
Trust me, I have had over the years 50 " so called floorers " working for me , most of them know jack shit.
Tell your installer you want all doorways scribed and undercut, and that you want to inspect expansion gaps, before they trim out.
Allow 4-8mm per 4-6m width of flooring expansion. Because it is grain up, the flooring expands across the grain, not with the grain, so bamboo, is susceptable to greater expansion characteristics than other flooring.
Treat your floor with respect, costs a lot to install costs 5 x that to replace !!!
NO high heels whatsoever.
Just a word of advice. Hard doesnt mean it is HARD HARD
Its a generic term for slow growing timber.
Balsa Wood is a Hardwood !!
No stillettoes !!!
Ste good luck
Moisture is your biggest enemy
As with most things in life, the product of a bad result isnt the result of a bad product !
Its usually over eager pressurinsing clients, or ill informed over zealous tradesmen.
You must let the slab dry, and dry out thoroughly. Im not sure on the go in Oz, but in uk, we used to work on 1 month per 1 inch of concrete. So for a 4 inch slab, you would allow say 4 months ( varies during wet season and summer )
The easiest method is to do a Moisture test on the concrete, we have special tooling to do this, and requires a couple of holes to be drilled. We insert a cannister, and seal it, and then measure the humidity within the cannister 24-48 hours later. If you get quotes, ask if they can do a Hydrometer Test.
regarding Bamboo.
Well its not strictly hardwood, as its a grass. Also the fastest growing grass in the world. Straight grained ultra dense and very durable. However, because as you know, Bamboo isnt very thick ( the stems ) then the flooring needs to be finger jointed, when its manufactured, and its done grain on . So that you see the grain. This is in total contrast to hardwood flooring, where the grain is lateral with the floor.
Theis is where the damp issues come in. If the flooring doesnt have a counter balancing layer ( which isnt the case with Bamboo ( it doesnt ) ) then the grain , normally untreated on underside, is left exposed for moisture to ingress.
This causes a few anomalies within the substructure of the flooring. One of which manifests itself immediately, in that the joints open up, and boards are cupped. To a more serious issue, of expansion issues and the bamboo joints having unsightly gaps, and discolouration, and squeaking when you walk on it.
So as with everything, irrespective of wether its bamboo, oak, or canadian rock maple, prepearation is 9/10th's of the law .
The usual method for installation, providing the floor is dry sound and sealed. Is that it is flat.
It doesnt need to be level, but it needs to be flat. Flatness on most glue down installations, has a tolerance of about 2mm per running metre. This is easily checked with a long straight level, and a fag packet !!!
If the level is ok, and the floor ( sub floor ) is dry, then you need to seal the slab. There are proprietary seals, and you need to match the seal with they type of adhesive you are using for gluing the floor down. We use Sikabonds T2 adhesive, not sure on Aussie equivalent.
Anyways.
Check floor is dry. And that means DRY to the core !! Not just oh that feels dry. A trick of the trade, if your scottish, mean with your money or dont have access to a hydrometer, is to take some plastic, and lay it on the floor, about a5 size, must be transparent. Then gaffa tape it all the way round to the concrete floor.
Watch it over a period of say, 7-10 days, make sure it is sealed TOTALLY. If moisture appears on underside, then the concrete is still hydrating, and moisture is still present. Hydration level is about 8% for hardwood type flooring.
Now after sealing the floor, you must keep it dust free, and leave it for a few days. In that time, ensure all flooring is delivered, and stacked off the floor, by a couple of pieces of wood, and adequately supported. Open each pack slightly, and then put spacers between each pack as you stack them and store them.
Do not store near sunshine.
If you are going for amonia treated bamboo, be very careful, sunlight doesnt affect the boards whatsoever during storage.
After 5 days, post floor seal. Then you can begin laying the flooring. With Bamboo, we direct glue, and stitch glue.
Direct glue, is where we apply a bead of sikabond to the concrete, at 100mm intervals, and then lay the flooring into it, using the tack method. That is push flooring gently onto the adhesive and then pull back and then back down. That gives a double tack.
Make sure when you use this method, that flooring is laid within 30 seconds of applying the adhesive, as otherwise it skins up, and is bloody uselarse !!!
Stitch glue, is simple. Using pva wood glue, avail anwhere, bostik etc. Waterbased white woodglue that dries CLEAR. Apply it down groove of next plank, 100mm miss 100mm 100mm miss 100mm you get the picture, then slot it into the piece installed on floor, and away you go.
Trust me, I have had over the years 50 " so called floorers " working for me , most of them know jack shit.
Tell your installer you want all doorways scribed and undercut, and that you want to inspect expansion gaps, before they trim out.
Allow 4-8mm per 4-6m width of flooring expansion. Because it is grain up, the flooring expands across the grain, not with the grain, so bamboo, is susceptable to greater expansion characteristics than other flooring.
Treat your floor with respect, costs a lot to install costs 5 x that to replace !!!
NO high heels whatsoever.
Just a word of advice. Hard doesnt mean it is HARD HARD
Its a generic term for slow growing timber.
Balsa Wood is a Hardwood !!
No stillettoes !!!
Ste good luck
took me ages to type that lol. !
Jan 26th 2008 | 12:37 am
#9
Banned
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,138
From: Morayfield - The Posh Part
Re: flooring!
For me a good hour, at least!
Fair play to ya altho this'll prob be the last post on this thread! ... http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/awman2-1.gif
Hope the curry was good. REALLY wanted to come along but other half is a bit under the weather so blew out ...
Next time! ...
Fair play to ya altho this'll prob be the last post on this thread! ... http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/awman2-1.gif
Hope the curry was good. REALLY wanted to come along but other half is a bit under the weather so blew out ...
Next time! ...
Jan 26th 2008 | 3:29 am
#10
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 914
From: Back in bonnie Scotland
Re: flooring!
I can help you, vocally
Moisture is your biggest enemy
As with most things in life, the product of a bad result isnt the result of a bad product !
Its usually over eager pressurinsing clients, or ill informed over zealous tradesmen.
You must let the slab dry, and dry out thoroughly. Im not sure on the go in Oz, but in uk, we used to work on 1 month per 1 inch of concrete. So for a 4 inch slab, you would allow say 4 months ( varies during wet season and summer )
The easiest method is to do a Moisture test on the concrete, we have special tooling to do this, and requires a couple of holes to be drilled. We insert a cannister, and seal it, and then measure the humidity within the cannister 24-48 hours later. If you get quotes, ask if they can do a Hydrometer Test.
regarding Bamboo.
Well its not strictly hardwood, as its a grass. Also the fastest growing grass in the world. Straight grained ultra dense and very durable. However, because as you know, Bamboo isnt very thick ( the stems ) then the flooring needs to be finger jointed, when its manufactured, and its done grain on . So that you see the grain. This is in total contrast to hardwood flooring, where the grain is lateral with the floor.
Theis is where the damp issues come in. If the flooring doesnt have a counter balancing layer ( which isnt the case with Bamboo ( it doesnt ) ) then the grain , normally untreated on underside, is left exposed for moisture to ingress.
This causes a few anomalies within the substructure of the flooring. One of which manifests itself immediately, in that the joints open up, and boards are cupped. To a more serious issue, of expansion issues and the bamboo joints having unsightly gaps, and discolouration, and squeaking when you walk on it.
So as with everything, irrespective of wether its bamboo, oak, or canadian rock maple, prepearation is 9/10th's of the law .
The usual method for installation, providing the floor is dry sound and sealed. Is that it is flat.
It doesnt need to be level, but it needs to be flat. Flatness on most glue down installations, has a tolerance of about 2mm per running metre. This is easily checked with a long straight level, and a fag packet !!!
If the level is ok, and the floor ( sub floor ) is dry, then you need to seal the slab. There are proprietary seals, and you need to match the seal with they type of adhesive you are using for gluing the floor down. We use Sikabonds T2 adhesive, not sure on Aussie equivalent.
Anyways.
Check floor is dry. And that means DRY to the core !! Not just oh that feels dry. A trick of the trade, if your scottish, mean with your money or dont have access to a hydrometer, is to take some plastic, and lay it on the floor, about a5 size, must be transparent. Then gaffa tape it all the way round to the concrete floor.
Watch it over a period of say, 7-10 days, make sure it is sealed TOTALLY. If moisture appears on underside, then the concrete is still hydrating, and moisture is still present. Hydration level is about 8% for hardwood type flooring.
Now after sealing the floor, you must keep it dust free, and leave it for a few days. In that time, ensure all flooring is delivered, and stacked off the floor, by a couple of pieces of wood, and adequately supported. Open each pack slightly, and then put spacers between each pack as you stack them and store them.
Do not store near sunshine.
If you are going for amonia treated bamboo, be very careful, sunlight doesnt affect the boards whatsoever during storage.
After 5 days, post floor seal. Then you can begin laying the flooring. With Bamboo, we direct glue, and stitch glue.
Direct glue, is where we apply a bead of sikabond to the concrete, at 100mm intervals, and then lay the flooring into it, using the tack method. That is push flooring gently onto the adhesive and then pull back and then back down. That gives a double tack.
Make sure when you use this method, that flooring is laid within 30 seconds of applying the adhesive, as otherwise it skins up, and is bloody uselarse !!!
Stitch glue, is simple. Using pva wood glue, avail anwhere, bostik etc. Waterbased white woodglue that dries CLEAR. Apply it down groove of next plank, 100mm miss 100mm 100mm miss 100mm you get the picture, then slot it into the piece installed on floor, and away you go.
Trust me, I have had over the years 50 " so called floorers " working for me , most of them know jack shit.
Tell your installer you want all doorways scribed and undercut, and that you want to inspect expansion gaps, before they trim out.
Allow 4-8mm per 4-6m width of flooring expansion. Because it is grain up, the flooring expands across the grain, not with the grain, so bamboo, is susceptable to greater expansion characteristics than other flooring.
Treat your floor with respect, costs a lot to install costs 5 x that to replace !!!
NO high heels whatsoever.
Just a word of advice. Hard doesnt mean it is HARD HARD
Its a generic term for slow growing timber.
Balsa Wood is a Hardwood !!
No stillettoes !!!
Ste good luck
Moisture is your biggest enemy
As with most things in life, the product of a bad result isnt the result of a bad product !
Its usually over eager pressurinsing clients, or ill informed over zealous tradesmen.
You must let the slab dry, and dry out thoroughly. Im not sure on the go in Oz, but in uk, we used to work on 1 month per 1 inch of concrete. So for a 4 inch slab, you would allow say 4 months ( varies during wet season and summer )
The easiest method is to do a Moisture test on the concrete, we have special tooling to do this, and requires a couple of holes to be drilled. We insert a cannister, and seal it, and then measure the humidity within the cannister 24-48 hours later. If you get quotes, ask if they can do a Hydrometer Test.
regarding Bamboo.
Well its not strictly hardwood, as its a grass. Also the fastest growing grass in the world. Straight grained ultra dense and very durable. However, because as you know, Bamboo isnt very thick ( the stems ) then the flooring needs to be finger jointed, when its manufactured, and its done grain on . So that you see the grain. This is in total contrast to hardwood flooring, where the grain is lateral with the floor.
Theis is where the damp issues come in. If the flooring doesnt have a counter balancing layer ( which isnt the case with Bamboo ( it doesnt ) ) then the grain , normally untreated on underside, is left exposed for moisture to ingress.
This causes a few anomalies within the substructure of the flooring. One of which manifests itself immediately, in that the joints open up, and boards are cupped. To a more serious issue, of expansion issues and the bamboo joints having unsightly gaps, and discolouration, and squeaking when you walk on it.
So as with everything, irrespective of wether its bamboo, oak, or canadian rock maple, prepearation is 9/10th's of the law .
The usual method for installation, providing the floor is dry sound and sealed. Is that it is flat.
It doesnt need to be level, but it needs to be flat. Flatness on most glue down installations, has a tolerance of about 2mm per running metre. This is easily checked with a long straight level, and a fag packet !!!
If the level is ok, and the floor ( sub floor ) is dry, then you need to seal the slab. There are proprietary seals, and you need to match the seal with they type of adhesive you are using for gluing the floor down. We use Sikabonds T2 adhesive, not sure on Aussie equivalent.
Anyways.
Check floor is dry. And that means DRY to the core !! Not just oh that feels dry. A trick of the trade, if your scottish, mean with your money or dont have access to a hydrometer, is to take some plastic, and lay it on the floor, about a5 size, must be transparent. Then gaffa tape it all the way round to the concrete floor.
Watch it over a period of say, 7-10 days, make sure it is sealed TOTALLY. If moisture appears on underside, then the concrete is still hydrating, and moisture is still present. Hydration level is about 8% for hardwood type flooring.
Now after sealing the floor, you must keep it dust free, and leave it for a few days. In that time, ensure all flooring is delivered, and stacked off the floor, by a couple of pieces of wood, and adequately supported. Open each pack slightly, and then put spacers between each pack as you stack them and store them.
Do not store near sunshine.
If you are going for amonia treated bamboo, be very careful, sunlight doesnt affect the boards whatsoever during storage.
After 5 days, post floor seal. Then you can begin laying the flooring. With Bamboo, we direct glue, and stitch glue.
Direct glue, is where we apply a bead of sikabond to the concrete, at 100mm intervals, and then lay the flooring into it, using the tack method. That is push flooring gently onto the adhesive and then pull back and then back down. That gives a double tack.
Make sure when you use this method, that flooring is laid within 30 seconds of applying the adhesive, as otherwise it skins up, and is bloody uselarse !!!
Stitch glue, is simple. Using pva wood glue, avail anwhere, bostik etc. Waterbased white woodglue that dries CLEAR. Apply it down groove of next plank, 100mm miss 100mm 100mm miss 100mm you get the picture, then slot it into the piece installed on floor, and away you go.
Trust me, I have had over the years 50 " so called floorers " working for me , most of them know jack shit.
Tell your installer you want all doorways scribed and undercut, and that you want to inspect expansion gaps, before they trim out.
Allow 4-8mm per 4-6m width of flooring expansion. Because it is grain up, the flooring expands across the grain, not with the grain, so bamboo, is susceptable to greater expansion characteristics than other flooring.
Treat your floor with respect, costs a lot to install costs 5 x that to replace !!!
NO high heels whatsoever.
Just a word of advice. Hard doesnt mean it is HARD HARD
Its a generic term for slow growing timber.
Balsa Wood is a Hardwood !!
No stillettoes !!!
Ste good luck
Jan 26th 2008 | 12:11 pm
#11
Account Closed
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 899
Re: flooring!
I can help you, vocally
Moisture is your biggest enemy
As with most things in life, the product of a bad result isnt the result of a bad product !
Its usually over eager pressurinsing clients, or ill informed over zealous tradesmen.
You must let the slab dry, and dry out thoroughly. Im not sure on the go in Oz, but in uk, we used to work on 1 month per 1 inch of concrete. So for a 4 inch slab, you would allow say 4 months ( varies during wet season and summer )
The easiest method is to do a Moisture test on the concrete, we have special tooling to do this, and requires a couple of holes to be drilled. We insert a cannister, and seal it, and then measure the humidity within the cannister 24-48 hours later. If you get quotes, ask if they can do a Hydrometer Test.
regarding Bamboo.
Well its not strictly hardwood, as its a grass. Also the fastest growing grass in the world. Straight grained ultra dense and very durable. However, because as you know, Bamboo isnt very thick ( the stems ) then the flooring needs to be finger jointed, when its manufactured, and its done grain on . So that you see the grain. This is in total contrast to hardwood flooring, where the grain is lateral with the floor.
Theis is where the damp issues come in. If the flooring doesnt have a counter balancing layer ( which isnt the case with Bamboo ( it doesnt ) ) then the grain , normally untreated on underside, is left exposed for moisture to ingress.
This causes a few anomalies within the substructure of the flooring. One of which manifests itself immediately, in that the joints open up, and boards are cupped. To a more serious issue, of expansion issues and the bamboo joints having unsightly gaps, and discolouration, and squeaking when you walk on it.
So as with everything, irrespective of wether its bamboo, oak, or canadian rock maple, prepearation is 9/10th's of the law .
The usual method for installation, providing the floor is dry sound and sealed. Is that it is flat.
It doesnt need to be level, but it needs to be flat. Flatness on most glue down installations, has a tolerance of about 2mm per running metre. This is easily checked with a long straight level, and a fag packet !!!
If the level is ok, and the floor ( sub floor ) is dry, then you need to seal the slab. There are proprietary seals, and you need to match the seal with they type of adhesive you are using for gluing the floor down. We use Sikabonds T2 adhesive, not sure on Aussie equivalent.
Anyways.
Check floor is dry. And that means DRY to the core !! Not just oh that feels dry. A trick of the trade, if your scottish, mean with your money or dont have access to a hydrometer, is to take some plastic, and lay it on the floor, about a5 size, must be transparent. Then gaffa tape it all the way round to the concrete floor.
Watch it over a period of say, 7-10 days, make sure it is sealed TOTALLY. If moisture appears on underside, then the concrete is still hydrating, and moisture is still present. Hydration level is about 8% for hardwood type flooring.
Now after sealing the floor, you must keep it dust free, and leave it for a few days. In that time, ensure all flooring is delivered, and stacked off the floor, by a couple of pieces of wood, and adequately supported. Open each pack slightly, and then put spacers between each pack as you stack them and store them.
Do not store near sunshine.
If you are going for amonia treated bamboo, be very careful, sunlight doesnt affect the boards whatsoever during storage.
After 5 days, post floor seal. Then you can begin laying the flooring. With Bamboo, we direct glue, and stitch glue.
Direct glue, is where we apply a bead of sikabond to the concrete, at 100mm intervals, and then lay the flooring into it, using the tack method. That is push flooring gently onto the adhesive and then pull back and then back down. That gives a double tack.
Make sure when you use this method, that flooring is laid within 30 seconds of applying the adhesive, as otherwise it skins up, and is bloody uselarse !!!
Stitch glue, is simple. Using pva wood glue, avail anwhere, bostik etc. Waterbased white woodglue that dries CLEAR. Apply it down groove of next plank, 100mm miss 100mm 100mm miss 100mm you get the picture, then slot it into the piece installed on floor, and away you go.
Trust me, I have had over the years 50 " so called floorers " working for me , most of them know jack shit.
Tell your installer you want all doorways scribed and undercut, and that you want to inspect expansion gaps, before they trim out.
Allow 4-8mm per 4-6m width of flooring expansion. Because it is grain up, the flooring expands across the grain, not with the grain, so bamboo, is susceptable to greater expansion characteristics than other flooring.
Treat your floor with respect, costs a lot to install costs 5 x that to replace !!!
NO high heels whatsoever.
Just a word of advice. Hard doesnt mean it is HARD HARD
Its a generic term for slow growing timber.
Balsa Wood is a Hardwood !!
No stillettoes !!!
Ste good luck
Moisture is your biggest enemy
As with most things in life, the product of a bad result isnt the result of a bad product !
Its usually over eager pressurinsing clients, or ill informed over zealous tradesmen.
You must let the slab dry, and dry out thoroughly. Im not sure on the go in Oz, but in uk, we used to work on 1 month per 1 inch of concrete. So for a 4 inch slab, you would allow say 4 months ( varies during wet season and summer )
The easiest method is to do a Moisture test on the concrete, we have special tooling to do this, and requires a couple of holes to be drilled. We insert a cannister, and seal it, and then measure the humidity within the cannister 24-48 hours later. If you get quotes, ask if they can do a Hydrometer Test.
regarding Bamboo.
Well its not strictly hardwood, as its a grass. Also the fastest growing grass in the world. Straight grained ultra dense and very durable. However, because as you know, Bamboo isnt very thick ( the stems ) then the flooring needs to be finger jointed, when its manufactured, and its done grain on . So that you see the grain. This is in total contrast to hardwood flooring, where the grain is lateral with the floor.
Theis is where the damp issues come in. If the flooring doesnt have a counter balancing layer ( which isnt the case with Bamboo ( it doesnt ) ) then the grain , normally untreated on underside, is left exposed for moisture to ingress.
This causes a few anomalies within the substructure of the flooring. One of which manifests itself immediately, in that the joints open up, and boards are cupped. To a more serious issue, of expansion issues and the bamboo joints having unsightly gaps, and discolouration, and squeaking when you walk on it.
So as with everything, irrespective of wether its bamboo, oak, or canadian rock maple, prepearation is 9/10th's of the law .
The usual method for installation, providing the floor is dry sound and sealed. Is that it is flat.
It doesnt need to be level, but it needs to be flat. Flatness on most glue down installations, has a tolerance of about 2mm per running metre. This is easily checked with a long straight level, and a fag packet !!!
If the level is ok, and the floor ( sub floor ) is dry, then you need to seal the slab. There are proprietary seals, and you need to match the seal with they type of adhesive you are using for gluing the floor down. We use Sikabonds T2 adhesive, not sure on Aussie equivalent.
Anyways.
Check floor is dry. And that means DRY to the core !! Not just oh that feels dry. A trick of the trade, if your scottish, mean with your money or dont have access to a hydrometer, is to take some plastic, and lay it on the floor, about a5 size, must be transparent. Then gaffa tape it all the way round to the concrete floor.
Watch it over a period of say, 7-10 days, make sure it is sealed TOTALLY. If moisture appears on underside, then the concrete is still hydrating, and moisture is still present. Hydration level is about 8% for hardwood type flooring.
Now after sealing the floor, you must keep it dust free, and leave it for a few days. In that time, ensure all flooring is delivered, and stacked off the floor, by a couple of pieces of wood, and adequately supported. Open each pack slightly, and then put spacers between each pack as you stack them and store them.
Do not store near sunshine.
If you are going for amonia treated bamboo, be very careful, sunlight doesnt affect the boards whatsoever during storage.
After 5 days, post floor seal. Then you can begin laying the flooring. With Bamboo, we direct glue, and stitch glue.
Direct glue, is where we apply a bead of sikabond to the concrete, at 100mm intervals, and then lay the flooring into it, using the tack method. That is push flooring gently onto the adhesive and then pull back and then back down. That gives a double tack.
Make sure when you use this method, that flooring is laid within 30 seconds of applying the adhesive, as otherwise it skins up, and is bloody uselarse !!!
Stitch glue, is simple. Using pva wood glue, avail anwhere, bostik etc. Waterbased white woodglue that dries CLEAR. Apply it down groove of next plank, 100mm miss 100mm 100mm miss 100mm you get the picture, then slot it into the piece installed on floor, and away you go.
Trust me, I have had over the years 50 " so called floorers " working for me , most of them know jack shit.
Tell your installer you want all doorways scribed and undercut, and that you want to inspect expansion gaps, before they trim out.
Allow 4-8mm per 4-6m width of flooring expansion. Because it is grain up, the flooring expands across the grain, not with the grain, so bamboo, is susceptable to greater expansion characteristics than other flooring.
Treat your floor with respect, costs a lot to install costs 5 x that to replace !!!
NO high heels whatsoever.
Just a word of advice. Hard doesnt mean it is HARD HARD
Its a generic term for slow growing timber.
Balsa Wood is a Hardwood !!
No stillettoes !!!
Ste good luck
Jan 26th 2008 | 12:30 pm
#12
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 474
From: where else but Queensland
Re: flooring!
Geez Ste that was some reply! Good on ya
Jan 26th 2008 | 12:44 pm
#13
Banned
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,138
From: Morayfield - The Posh Part
Re: flooring!
pmsl, have i surprised some of yas or what?? lol
Jan 26th 2008 | 1:42 pm
#15
redlion
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,743
From: Livin it large in the lovely Perth!!!
Re: flooring!
I can help you, vocally
Moisture is your biggest enemy
As with most things in life, the product of a bad result isnt the result of a bad product !
Its usually over eager pressurinsing clients, or ill informed over zealous tradesmen.
You must let the slab dry, and dry out thoroughly. Im not sure on the go in Oz, but in uk, we used to work on 1 month per 1 inch of concrete. So for a 4 inch slab, you would allow say 4 months ( varies during wet season and summer )
The easiest method is to do a Moisture test on the concrete, we have special tooling to do this, and requires a couple of holes to be drilled. We insert a cannister, and seal it, and then measure the humidity within the cannister 24-48 hours later. If you get quotes, ask if they can do a Hydrometer Test.
regarding Bamboo.
Well its not strictly hardwood, as its a grass. Also the fastest growing grass in the world. Straight grained ultra dense and very durable. However, because as you know, Bamboo isnt very thick ( the stems ) then the flooring needs to be finger jointed, when its manufactured, and its done grain on . So that you see the grain. This is in total contrast to hardwood flooring, where the grain is lateral with the floor.
Theis is where the damp issues come in. If the flooring doesnt have a counter balancing layer ( which isnt the case with Bamboo ( it doesnt ) ) then the grain , normally untreated on underside, is left exposed for moisture to ingress.
This causes a few anomalies within the substructure of the flooring. One of which manifests itself immediately, in that the joints open up, and boards are cupped. To a more serious issue, of expansion issues and the bamboo joints having unsightly gaps, and discolouration, and squeaking when you walk on it.
So as with everything, irrespective of wether its bamboo, oak, or canadian rock maple, prepearation is 9/10th's of the law .
The usual method for installation, providing the floor is dry sound and sealed. Is that it is flat.
It doesnt need to be level, but it needs to be flat. Flatness on most glue down installations, has a tolerance of about 2mm per running metre. This is easily checked with a long straight level, and a fag packet !!!
If the level is ok, and the floor ( sub floor ) is dry, then you need to seal the slab. There are proprietary seals, and you need to match the seal with they type of adhesive you are using for gluing the floor down. We use Sikabonds T2 adhesive, not sure on Aussie equivalent.
Anyways.
Check floor is dry. And that means DRY to the core !! Not just oh that feels dry. A trick of the trade, if your scottish, mean with your money or dont have access to a hydrometer, is to take some plastic, and lay it on the floor, about a5 size, must be transparent. Then gaffa tape it all the way round to the concrete floor.
Watch it over a period of say, 7-10 days, make sure it is sealed TOTALLY. If moisture appears on underside, then the concrete is still hydrating, and moisture is still present. Hydration level is about 8% for hardwood type flooring.
Now after sealing the floor, you must keep it dust free, and leave it for a few days. In that time, ensure all flooring is delivered, and stacked off the floor, by a couple of pieces of wood, and adequately supported. Open each pack slightly, and then put spacers between each pack as you stack them and store them.
Do not store near sunshine.
If you are going for amonia treated bamboo, be very careful, sunlight doesnt affect the boards whatsoever during storage.
After 5 days, post floor seal. Then you can begin laying the flooring. With Bamboo, we direct glue, and stitch glue.
Direct glue, is where we apply a bead of sikabond to the concrete, at 100mm intervals, and then lay the flooring into it, using the tack method. That is push flooring gently onto the adhesive and then pull back and then back down. That gives a double tack.
Make sure when you use this method, that flooring is laid within 30 seconds of applying the adhesive, as otherwise it skins up, and is bloody uselarse !!!
Stitch glue, is simple. Using pva wood glue, avail anwhere, bostik etc. Waterbased white woodglue that dries CLEAR. Apply it down groove of next plank, 100mm miss 100mm 100mm miss 100mm you get the picture, then slot it into the piece installed on floor, and away you go.
Trust me, I have had over the years 50 " so called floorers " working for me , most of them know jack shit.
Tell your installer you want all doorways scribed and undercut, and that you want to inspect expansion gaps, before they trim out.
Allow 4-8mm per 4-6m width of flooring expansion. Because it is grain up, the flooring expands across the grain, not with the grain, so bamboo, is susceptable to greater expansion characteristics than other flooring.
Treat your floor with respect, costs a lot to install costs 5 x that to replace !!!
NO high heels whatsoever.
Just a word of advice. Hard doesnt mean it is HARD HARD
Its a generic term for slow growing timber.
Balsa Wood is a Hardwood !!
No stillettoes !!!
Ste good luck
Moisture is your biggest enemy
As with most things in life, the product of a bad result isnt the result of a bad product !
Its usually over eager pressurinsing clients, or ill informed over zealous tradesmen.
You must let the slab dry, and dry out thoroughly. Im not sure on the go in Oz, but in uk, we used to work on 1 month per 1 inch of concrete. So for a 4 inch slab, you would allow say 4 months ( varies during wet season and summer )
The easiest method is to do a Moisture test on the concrete, we have special tooling to do this, and requires a couple of holes to be drilled. We insert a cannister, and seal it, and then measure the humidity within the cannister 24-48 hours later. If you get quotes, ask if they can do a Hydrometer Test.
regarding Bamboo.
Well its not strictly hardwood, as its a grass. Also the fastest growing grass in the world. Straight grained ultra dense and very durable. However, because as you know, Bamboo isnt very thick ( the stems ) then the flooring needs to be finger jointed, when its manufactured, and its done grain on . So that you see the grain. This is in total contrast to hardwood flooring, where the grain is lateral with the floor.
Theis is where the damp issues come in. If the flooring doesnt have a counter balancing layer ( which isnt the case with Bamboo ( it doesnt ) ) then the grain , normally untreated on underside, is left exposed for moisture to ingress.
This causes a few anomalies within the substructure of the flooring. One of which manifests itself immediately, in that the joints open up, and boards are cupped. To a more serious issue, of expansion issues and the bamboo joints having unsightly gaps, and discolouration, and squeaking when you walk on it.
So as with everything, irrespective of wether its bamboo, oak, or canadian rock maple, prepearation is 9/10th's of the law .
The usual method for installation, providing the floor is dry sound and sealed. Is that it is flat.
It doesnt need to be level, but it needs to be flat. Flatness on most glue down installations, has a tolerance of about 2mm per running metre. This is easily checked with a long straight level, and a fag packet !!!
If the level is ok, and the floor ( sub floor ) is dry, then you need to seal the slab. There are proprietary seals, and you need to match the seal with they type of adhesive you are using for gluing the floor down. We use Sikabonds T2 adhesive, not sure on Aussie equivalent.
Anyways.
Check floor is dry. And that means DRY to the core !! Not just oh that feels dry. A trick of the trade, if your scottish, mean with your money or dont have access to a hydrometer, is to take some plastic, and lay it on the floor, about a5 size, must be transparent. Then gaffa tape it all the way round to the concrete floor.
Watch it over a period of say, 7-10 days, make sure it is sealed TOTALLY. If moisture appears on underside, then the concrete is still hydrating, and moisture is still present. Hydration level is about 8% for hardwood type flooring.
Now after sealing the floor, you must keep it dust free, and leave it for a few days. In that time, ensure all flooring is delivered, and stacked off the floor, by a couple of pieces of wood, and adequately supported. Open each pack slightly, and then put spacers between each pack as you stack them and store them.
Do not store near sunshine.
If you are going for amonia treated bamboo, be very careful, sunlight doesnt affect the boards whatsoever during storage.
After 5 days, post floor seal. Then you can begin laying the flooring. With Bamboo, we direct glue, and stitch glue.
Direct glue, is where we apply a bead of sikabond to the concrete, at 100mm intervals, and then lay the flooring into it, using the tack method. That is push flooring gently onto the adhesive and then pull back and then back down. That gives a double tack.
Make sure when you use this method, that flooring is laid within 30 seconds of applying the adhesive, as otherwise it skins up, and is bloody uselarse !!!
Stitch glue, is simple. Using pva wood glue, avail anwhere, bostik etc. Waterbased white woodglue that dries CLEAR. Apply it down groove of next plank, 100mm miss 100mm 100mm miss 100mm you get the picture, then slot it into the piece installed on floor, and away you go.
Trust me, I have had over the years 50 " so called floorers " working for me , most of them know jack shit.
Tell your installer you want all doorways scribed and undercut, and that you want to inspect expansion gaps, before they trim out.
Allow 4-8mm per 4-6m width of flooring expansion. Because it is grain up, the flooring expands across the grain, not with the grain, so bamboo, is susceptable to greater expansion characteristics than other flooring.
Treat your floor with respect, costs a lot to install costs 5 x that to replace !!!
NO high heels whatsoever.
Just a word of advice. Hard doesnt mean it is HARD HARD
Its a generic term for slow growing timber.
Balsa Wood is a Hardwood !!
No stillettoes !!!
Ste good luck
I dont even need a floor laying but i almost threw one off the wrist at that reply, best reply ive seen on this site to anything asked
some large beers your way!!Nev
