Applications

Bamboo Flooring can be installed on concrete slabs, tiles, existing timber floors, plywood or particle board as long as the floor is structurally sound, clean, level and dry. Bamboo Flooring is recommended for internal use only, and should not be installed in wet areas like bathrooms, laundries and outdoors where it will be exposed to the elements. The Maganda™ Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring incorporates a click system and it is designed to be floated on a timber underlay only.

Pre-Installation

Important: Please inspect all flooring materials carefully before installation.

Pre-finished Bamboo Flooring should only be installed in the final stages of completion of a construction project with all trades people having left the site. All work involving water or moisture should be completed prior to installation (cement work, plastering, painting, plumbing, and tiling etc). Should this not be the case, installation should be delayed to avoid damage to the coating of the Bamboo Flooring.

The building should be roofed and enclosed with the temperature and humidity as close as possible to in-service conditions including the use of air conditioning. Flooring should be delivered at least 2-3 days prior to installation and the boxes opened to allow the Bamboo Floor to adjust to normal room temperature and humidity. Avoid installing Bamboo Floor in very damp or humid conditions. Bamboo floor should be installed in room temperature (15 to 28 degrees Celcius, humidity levels 40-70%) , Note: We make no warranty or guarantee of the quality of the chosen installer’s work. We disclaim all liability for any errors or improprieties in the installation of its product by an installer.

Nail down glue Method over plywood or yellow tongue

Flooring can be laid over plywood or yellow tongue sheeting. Flooring can be installed by using secret nailing with a finishing gun and gluing with construction adhesive. Always test your equipment and gauge size and air pressure on a few samples before laying the actual floor. Start rows should be held firmly in place by wedging, secret nailing or adhesive. Once start rows are secure, apply a bead of construction adhesive to the sub floor running 20-30cm apart running perpendicular to the laying direction of the boards. Lay the rows, additional rows should be secret nailed using a finishing gun directly above the Tongue at a 45 degree angle to the face. Fasteners should be spaced at 20-30cm intervals per plank. Where the slab is greater than ± 3 mm out of level over any 1500 mm length, a concrete topping (leveling compound), grinding or packing should be used. Slabs on ground should be constructed with a continuous under slab vapour barrier (e.g. 0.2 mm thick polyethylene). Bamboo floors should not be installed until the concrete slab has a moisture content less than 5½% (generally achieved after slabs have cured for approximately 4-6months). In old slabs, moisture contents should be below this level and if not, care should be exercised. Methods available to test the moisture content of concrete include resistance meters, capacitance meters and hygrometers. Flooring is usually laid square with the space and parallel to its longest dimension. Place a 12mm spacer against the starting wall or skirting board. Floating Installation

If required, remove any skirting, quarter round or doorway thresholds that may be in place. Doorway architraves should be undercut to allow the flooring to fit neatly when installed. This is best done using a hand saw. A piece of underlay and flooring placed against the architrave will act as a guide for height. Unroll the underlay so that all ends and sides fit neatly against the wall. Seams between lengths should also butt together so that no overlap occurs. Tape all ends, sides and seams with waterproof tape to ensure the water vapour barrier properties of the underlay are maintained. The underlay should be laid parallel to the intended direction of the flooring. Start planks square with the room and parallel to the longest dimension but leaving 12-15mm expansion space from all sides of the wall for every 8m span. Start with the groove facing towards you. With the tongue facing the wall, trim off the tongue on the long side.When starting the second row, we suggest the first board be a minimum of 600mm shorter than the original board to achieve a brick or random pattern. The last row will probably need to be cut to the required width. A small crow bar can be used to gain leverage against the wall when trying to ease the last of the boards together. Remember to seal any cut edges of the Bamboo Flooring. Important: Only the click system floor board may be floated. Moisture protection is required over any subfloor when floating the floor.