Bamboo Buying Guide Flooring Accessories

Trims and Moldings

Bamboo trims and moldings perform various functions and help to give you flooring a finished or completed look. The most common trims and moldings:

• T–Molding: Bamboo T–moldings are used where floors of similar height meet up, in areas like doorways. T–moldings are also used as expansion joints on large floating floor installations.
• Reducer: Reducer moldings help to transition between bamboo flooring on an upper level, to a lower room that has a different floor surface (such as concrete or vinyl).
• Stair Nose: Bamboo flooring can be used to create stair treads by using a floor trim piece called a stair nose. This rounded molding creates the leading edge of the stair tread while the flooring completes the rest of the tread.
• Quarter Round / Base Shoe: Quarter rounds are wall trims primarily used on baseboards to disguise the expansion gap between the wall and floor. They can also be used on stairs where the tread and riser connect in order to minimize gapping. Base shoe trims are a little narrower and taller then quarter round, and are available for smaller expansion gaps.
• End Cap: This bamboo floor trim, also called the threshold or end molding, helps to transition from bamboo flooring to rooms and areas with carpet or in entrance ways such as patio doors, doorways. End caps can also be used at areas such as fireplaces to give the floor a clean cut border appearance.
• Wall Base / Baseboard: Bamboo wall base or baseboard, is used to continue the look of the flooring up the base of the wall. In addition, wall base helps to disguise the expansion gap left during installation between your walls and flooring. For extra expansion gap coverage, quarter round or base shoe is used with wall base.

Underlayments

An underlayment can help minimize sound transmission and/or provide added moisture protection as a barrier between your subfloor and bamboo. While there are underlayments that can act as both a sound and moisture barrier, some underlayments can only do one or the other.

• Moisture protection: When it comes to bamboo flooring, a moisture–protective underlayment is highly recommended. Visqueen (plastic sheeting), popular for its thickness and durability, is one of the most commonly used moisture barrier underlayments for hardwood and bamboo floors.
• Noise reduction (sound/noise abatement): When bamboo flooring is installed on upper levels of a home, the noise from the floors being walked on can be transmitted to the lower floors. There are several types of acoustical underlayments available that can help dramatically reduce the bamboo flooring noise within your home. Cork underlayment is great for reducing sound and pairs well with bamboo (both are considered green flooring types). While cork is a great choice, it tends to be thicker than other types of underlayments, which could add to the height of your floor. Before installing, make sure that this height will work with your doors and trims and note any adjustment you may need to make.

Adhesives and Fasteners

When installing bamboo floors, it's important to use the adhesive recommended by the manufacturer or another top–of–the–line product. This is important because a tightly installed bamboo floor will increase your floor's longevity by helping to prevent moisture damage. In addition, certain adhesives contain a small amount of water, which is highly discouraged with bamboo flooring installation.

When it comes to bamboo adhesives, there's no such thing as one size fits all. Certain types of glues are applied to the sub–floor while others are designed specifically for joining tongue and groove bamboo planks. Follow the manufacturer's guidelines or ask your local flooring professional what their recommendations are for the type of bamboo floors you plan to install.

Engineered flooring is most commonly installed using the floating method, in which no adhesive is used between the bamboo and subfloor. However, for traditional tongue and groove engineered bamboo flooring, adhesive may be required in the groove to hold each piece of flooring together. Click and lock engineered bamboo floors can be assembled without requiring any adhesive.

Many flooring adhesives have different drying times, so it's important to read the instructions before beginning installation. Certain flooring adhesives may allow you to apply an entire coat in one section prior to laying down the planks; others may have faster drying times and require application in small sections at a time.

Solid bamboo flooring is generally nailed or stapled down to the sub–floor. In some cases it can also be glued down. Always check manufacturer's guidelines before installing a floor to ensure the method you choose is covered by their warranty. There are many types of staple and nail guns (fastener equipment) currently available on the market. Each type of floor fastening equipment is available in either nail or staple application and is powered either manually (you) or by an air compressor (pneumatic).

• Manual: You apply force using a rubber mallet hammer with which moves internal springs to push staples or nails into the flooring.
• Pneumatic: Like the manual equipment, you use a rubber mallet to apply pressure to the springs that drive the staple or nails into the floor. The big difference is that you don't have to apply a lot of pressure to the equipment as you are assisted by an air compressor. If installing the bamboo flooring as a do–it–yourself project, do yourself a favor and buy/rent a pneumatic device. Your muscles will thank you later.

It's important that the plate size (the area that makes contact with the bamboo flooring) of the fastening equipment matches the style and width of the floor you're installing. The wrong plate size could damage your floors.

In addition to varying types of fasteners, there are also multiple choices when it comes to nails (called cleats in the flooring industry) and staples. Refer to the manufacturer's guidelines or speak with a floor covering professional for nail and staple recommendations specific to bamboo flooring.

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