Can I DIY bamboo flooring

misskool

If you haven't yet noticed, I'm doing the kitchen :rotfl:

We've bought the bamboo flooring. It's tongue and groove and the room is small and square. The floor has just had self-levelling screed on it. I'm guessing I need some sort of underlay.

Can I lay my own flooring and what would be best for it?

I would much rather have a joiner do it but we can't find one that will do the work in a week (our planning skills aren't great :rolleyes: )

Thanks all

Chippy_Minton_2

misskool wrote: »

Can I lay my own flooring and what would be best for it?

There are no regulations to stop you, it's all down to your diy skills.

underlay_guru

IMO Be patient and leave it to the pro's.....Why would you want to spend £££££'s on the flooring then wreck it by fitting it badly?

wallbash

Take your time , do it yourself .

misskool

But how does one actually lay the flooring. presuming you start in one corner and work your way through it.

And underlay, can I use this one?
http://www.wickes.co.uk/High-Performance-Underlay/invt/191372

And presuming as it's a concrete sub floor, it would need to be laid as a floating, glueing the tongue and groove together?

Do I need to allow for expansion of the bamboo? Do I glue the planks with space to expand or tight and then leave some space at the edges?

misskool

underlay_guru wrote: »

IMO Be patient and leave it to the pro's.....Why would you want to spend £££££'s on the flooring then wreck it by fitting it badly?

I'd love to but I can't get someone (who I can trust and has been recommended) to do it this week/early next week.

Chippy_Minton_2

Concrete floor use a membrane/polythene sheet then underlay. Lay as a floating floor with the expansion gap round the edge.

I have a feeling you may be better having this fitted for you.

underlay_guru

misskool wrote: »

I'd love to but I can't get someone (who I can trust and has been recommended) to do it this week/early next week.

Hi,

I work in the flooring trade, and work with carpet fitters, joiners, and the rest of the flooring industry on a daily basis. What is the urgency to get the floor laid by next week, out of interest?
If you have a go at bodging the job yourself and you have never fitted before, I can almost guarantee that you will hit major snags or create a short-lasting floor. The floor may look good for a short while, but not in the long term. Fitting solid wood or crushed bamboo flooring is certainly not as straightforward as hanging wallpaper installing skirting boards, as some other posters are seeming to suggest, and I have even experienced some time-served joiners having difficulty fitting this type of product.....


I understand you want the floor early next week, but all I can suggest is be patient and wait for a recommended, competent joiner to become avaiable.Wood and bamboo flooring is an expensive investment, and believe me -anyone without the relevant skills to fit the flooring will find it extremely difficult, and will end up cheapening this investment.

Sorry.

wallbash

Did it not come with instructions ??
My only worry is that the floor is completely dry

Had a quick google plenty of advice out there




Which part would we complete novices find difficult?

underlay_guru

wallbash wrote: »

Did it not come with instructions ??

Items such as water boilers, gas fires and cooker hobs come with instructions, but I would not dream of fitting them myself as I am neither a plumber, gas fitter or electrician...

wallbash wrote: »

Had a quick google plenty of advice out there
Which part would we complete novices find difficult?

Where shall I start?

-How about preparing the subfloor ready for installation? The floor has had selflevelling screed applied but this may still need to be finished in order for the subfloor to be completely flat. If it is not flat, the wood planks risk rocking back and forth in situ, causing premature wear to the joints of the flooring;

-How about ensuring the underlay is the correct product for the installation? The incorrect type of underlay for the type of subfloor is paramount - if the wrong product is used or installed in the wrong manner or direction up, it can reduce the lifetime of the floor, or even cause a damp risk of penetrating the bamboo. This is a genuine problem which is generally overlooked by the DIY'er.

-How about the manner in which the boards are connected to the subfloor? There are several different methods of doing this, all of which are a specialist job that require the skill of a joiner or experienced floor-layer;

-How about the manner in which the boards are connected to each other? Again, there are different methods of achieving this, which require specific items of joinery equipment. Its definitely not as simple as buying a bottle of PVA and sticking them together, or a hammer and nails. I have seen tongue groove flooring which has simply fallen apart because it was not braced together properly as the glue was going off, or that not enough glue was used. I have seen DIY flooring jobs where nail heads are sticking up everywhere - causing a hazard. I have also seen leaking PVA glue sticking the boards to the underlay underneath: causing the underlay to crease as the boards expand...All due to corner-cutting, incompetent fitters and DIY'ers who 'thought they knew best'.

-How about cutting and fitting the flooring around door frames, architraives and fire places? This also requires the use of specialist equipment, plus really needs to be done by an experienced joiner if a professional finish is to be achieved. Trust me - I have seen so many badly executed jobs where the perimieter finish has been bodged and looks terrible. It's not as straightforward as just buying a pencil and a swa, and hoping for the best.


I am not trying to be awkward here, but you are incinuating to the OP that laying a wood floor is as simple as 1,2,3, when I assure you it is not. Your previous post also incinuates that I am scoffing the novice. I am simply informing the OP, from my experience, that it is most definitely NOT an easy job for the untrained DIY'er.

If you want to encourage the OP to fit the flooring themselves when it is apparent that they, neither you have ever comitted to a job like this before, then go ahead. Tradesmen exist for a reason: they exist because they know what they are doing, and they can do specific task competently which someone not in the know cannot. No advice sheet printed from the result of a quick google is going to offer a direct substitute to this, nor increase the expeience of the DIY'er!

....But if you still wish to continue to misinform the OP that DIY-fitting the product will be childs play, then on your head be the responsibility of replacing a shoddy floor in 6 months time.... I would still recommend the OP be patient and hire a competent joiner or floor layer to guarantee a lasting, beautiful and hassle-free floor.

wallbash

product will be childs play,

Did not say . let a kid do it .
But have greater confidence that the OP would take their time , read instructions
and make a good job of it.

Perhaps I have more confidence in others.