How to Install Natural Bamboo Flooring Over a Plywood Subfloor
- 1). Spread felt paper underlayment over the whole floor, in slightly overlapping courses. Staple it all down.
- 2). Lay a chalk snap line along the side of the floor where you want to start, putting it half an inch out from the wall. For your starting wall, use the longest unobstructed wall in the room.
- 3). Lay your first bamboo floor board on the starting line, at one end, with the long grooved edge of the board facing the wall. Drill pilot holes through the surface and down into the subfloor, every 10 to 12 inches along both long edges. Hammer in finish nails, setting the heads with a centerpunch.
- 4). Set the rest of the first course of boards end to end along the chalk line, linking them by the tongue and groove milling at the ends and top-nailing them as before. Use a miter saw to cut the final piece in the course to fit at the end.
- 5). Set the second course next to the first, linking the sides of the boards by their tongue and groove edges. Use a tapping block and mallet to set the boards tightly against each other at the long sides. Secure the boards by shooting flooring nails from your power floor nailer through the sides of the boards, just above the exposed tongue, at an inward angle. Shoot in about one nail per foot.
- 6). Repeat for the next course. Work your way across the floor by courses, arranging the boards so the ends don’t line up between courses, and so the different shades of the finish aren’t grouped together, but scattered apart. Step back frequently while laying the boards to assess the look of the colors and the staggering of the boards to make sure you’re keeping that random look.
- 7). Cut the boards for the final course of the floor along their lengths on a table saw, leaving a half-inch gap along the ending wall. Your floor trim will cover the gaps.