The floor can be laid on a board sub floor such as three quarter inch CDX underlayment graded plywood using nails and/or oil based glue (water based glue may make the boards swell if they absorb the moisture). The base surface/subfloor must therefore be flat, clean, dry, and strong/sturdy enough to support nails and glue.
The floor will be more stable if fully adhered or hidden/secret nailed to the board sub floor. Although it is possible to float it on to a wood floor underlay, this is considered a bit of a risk as any movement in the floor will cause the boards to drift and/or the glued joint to break down.
Bamboo flooring boards should be nailed in directly above the tongue at a 45 or 50 degree angle. Make a hole before nailing to ensure you do not crack the board or tongue (the same method as used for wood flooring).
Do not place nails closer than 2 inches from the end of the plank to avoid splitting it. You need to fasten each plank in minimum of two places and with a spacing of 8-10 inches being ideal.
Once you have secured a starter row, the use of a quality professional floor nail gun at the correct settings is recommended for blind nailing additional rows. Splitting and/or cracking of tongues and planks results from the use of improper equipment. Always test on a scrap piece first!
Lay the floor planks square with the walls and parallel to the longest dimension of the space. Leave a gap of 1/2 and inch around the perimeter to allow for expansion and determine a suitable space, or gap, between lacquered floor boards according to your localised weather conditions. For example, if you live in a humid region it is advised to install the boards with enough gap between them to allow for possible expansion.
The boards are cut to size on site and PVA glue is used when fitting the tongues and grooves of the boards into place. Any excess glue can be easily wiped off with a damp sponge. Certainly do not leave excess glue to dry on the boards.
It is possible to install bamboo flooring in a day in most cases. Pre-finished boards can then be walked over immediately.
