Floating your Bamboo Floor

All of the principles regarding expansion as set out in the guide to gluing over concrete apply also when "floating" the bamboo floor. The bamboo can be floated over almost any surface as long as it is stable, completely flat and reasonably smooth.
When the floor is being floated over a concrete or tiled subfloor it is necessary to incorporate a moisture barrier type underlay. Generally the underlay comes in rolls with stick down edging. Bamboo Brisbane is now importing high quality underlay manufactured to our exacting standards and for use with Bamboo floors.. When your floor is being "floated" over a ply subfloor it is not necessary to use the underlay with the moisture barrier and the other underlay is less expensive.

Normally it is best to run the planks length ways along your longer wall since expansion is more pronounced across the floor than in the length run of planks. Only place sufficient underlay to get started and as the job progresses add a further run of underlay as you go. Our flooring is the Tongue & Groove variety and the T&G is glued together using a PVA glue.

We use a Cross linked Aquadhere glue for this purpose. I recommend you purchase it in a 1 litre plastic bottle then fill smaller more easily used squirt bottles to run a fine bead of the glue on the UNDER side of the tongue right around the plank. You don't need much of the glue to fix the planks together, and the excess glue will only be extruded when you tap the planks together. That is the reason you place the glue on the underside of the tongue since if you do so on the upper side any excess glue will be deposited on the upper finished surface causing considerable problems with cleaning it off.

If for some reason you do get the glue onto the upper surface it is necessary to immediately remove it from the surface. Next day the glue will be almost impossible to remove without damaging the finished surface of the floor. Therefore it is prudent to only install three or four Sq M of flooring, then check that section before moving on.