Bamboo and Exotic Wood Floors - Bamboo Installation
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Sheddy
05-27-08, 10:32 AM
Hi,
I live on the 7th floor of a 20 year old apartment building.
We've just brought some T&G bamboo to install as the flooring in our condo.
Currently there is carpet on the floor, we plan on ripping this up on the weekend then seeing how level the floor is before we decide to to do next.
We are considering gluing down the floor, but the condo board requires us to use a muffler under any flooring.
1) What products are good for removing carpet glue and underlay? - just soapy water and a stiff brush?
2) How do you fix up not so level floors? just patch fix with compound, or would we need to add self levelling compound over the whole condo?
3) When we are gluing down the floor - what glues would you recommend and how do you determine the 'airing' time for the glue?
4) Do we need to glue the muffler down, let it dry (ie wait a couple of days) then glue down the bamboo?
Thanks :)
I live on the 7th floor of a 20 year old apartment building.
We've just brought some T&G bamboo to install as the flooring in our condo.
Currently there is carpet on the floor, we plan on ripping this up on the weekend then seeing how level the floor is before we decide to to do next.
We are considering gluing down the floor, but the condo board requires us to use a muffler under any flooring.
1) What products are good for removing carpet glue and underlay? - just soapy water and a stiff brush?
2) How do you fix up not so level floors? just patch fix with compound, or would we need to add self levelling compound over the whole condo?
3) When we are gluing down the floor - what glues would you recommend and how do you determine the 'airing' time for the glue?
4) Do we need to glue the muffler down, let it dry (ie wait a couple of days) then glue down the bamboo?
Thanks :)
redfury
06-20-08, 07:12 PM
What kind of bamboo are you using exactly, a laminate or stacked, glued and milled into 3/4" board style? What are you gluing too? Considering you are above grade, if you are gluing to concrete, you should be fine as long as you get all the old glue off the floor. Not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. You can rent a floor sander ( belt type ) and some 16 grit sand paper and eat it off that way. You'll have to clean the machine obviously, as it will make a mess, but will be quicker and less toxic than trying to dissolve it and clean it up. You can get an air assist scraper and scrape it off that way, or you might be able to rent a full size buffer and an adheasive removal plate. Anyway you go at it, it isn't going to be fun.
If you are dealing with a wood floor with glue, then you should just go with the belt sanding period. You can level the floor by cutting at 45 degrees each direction. You'll know by the feel of it. To be honest though, if that is the route you are best suited to go, instead of renting, you may just get better results and just slightly more expensive by hiring a floor sanding company out to prep the floor for your install. Lot less headache for you , and less mess.
One thing to consider about Bamboo if you haven't found out through your own research already is that it loves moisture being that it's essentially a grass, so it has the potential to move ( expand and contract ) more than, for example- oak.
Good luck though!
PS. if it's a laminate, usually you use a padding to take up any slight variations in the floor to keep it from sounding hollow when you walk across it, so you're padding requirement would be met, but you'd be gluing the boards together, not to the floor.
If you are dealing with a wood floor with glue, then you should just go with the belt sanding period. You can level the floor by cutting at 45 degrees each direction. You'll know by the feel of it. To be honest though, if that is the route you are best suited to go, instead of renting, you may just get better results and just slightly more expensive by hiring a floor sanding company out to prep the floor for your install. Lot less headache for you , and less mess.
One thing to consider about Bamboo if you haven't found out through your own research already is that it loves moisture being that it's essentially a grass, so it has the potential to move ( expand and contract ) more than, for example- oak.
Good luck though!
PS. if it's a laminate, usually you use a padding to take up any slight variations in the floor to keep it from sounding hollow when you walk across it, so you're padding requirement would be met, but you'd be gluing the boards together, not to the floor.