It is the responsibility of the installer/owner to determine if the jobsite sub floor and jobsite conditions are environmentally and structurally acceptable for wood flooring installation. We will decline any responsibility for wood floor failure resulting from or connected with sub floor, subsurface, jobsite damage or deficiencies after hardwood flooring has been installed.

The concrete should be at least 60 days old with a minimum of 6-mil polyfilm between the concrete and the ground it is recommended to add another underlayment on top of the 6-mil polyfilm. Recommended products included 3-1 foam, Sound Barrier 6 and 6mm Cork Sheets.

Timing of Installation: Lay only after sheetrock and tile work are thoroughly dried and all but the final woodwork and trim have been completed. The building interior should have been dried and seasoned and a comfortable working temperature should exist prior, during and after the installation.

Preparation: Remove paint, wax oil, plaster," sheetrock mud" and other foreign materials, as well as surface irregularities. Heavy grit open coat paper may need to be used to grind a concrete floor. This will loosen any dirt, loose concrete, or contaminates. Sweep or vacuum thoroughly. All previously existing glue or adhesives must be removed before installing new bamboo flooring. All sub floors and sub floor systems must be structurally sound and must be installed following their individual manufacturer's recommendations. Our warranty does not cover any problems caused by inadequate substructures or improper installation of said substructures.

Eliminate potential moisture problems: Make sure all work areas are dry. Interior walls should be dry enough to be painted and a room temperature maintained as required by the adhesive manufacturer. A relative humidity of 35-48%, should be provided before any installation is begun. If sub floor is concrete, check for dryness; use the standard rubber mat or taped plastic test. Remove after 24 hours, then visually inspect for moisture. If moisture is present, do not lay flooring. All concrete sub floors, on or below grade can also be tested using an approved moisture detection procedure. Check floor in several locations. Also if the sub floor moisture content registered after a calcium chloride test should not be greater than 10% or 3 pounds per 1000 square feet of area. If it exceeds these limits, do not install the flooring.

Concrete subfloors: Concrete sub floors must be clean, flat, sound and of sufficient compression strength (3000lbs PSI) being sure that the surface is not slick. Sections not flat such as waviness, trowel marks, etc. are to be eliminated by grinding or the use of a latex-leveling compound. Especially along the walls, the sub floor flatness must be checked and if necessary improved. Flat to 1/8" in 8' radius.
Wood subfloors: In addition to concrete sub floors, these products can be installed over dry, flat wood sub floors, such as plywood. If plywood is used as an overlay over an existing sub floor, the thickness of the overlay material much be such as to yield a total ¾" sub floor thickness.
New wood type sub floors should also be checked for moisture using a moisture meter. In general, wood or plywood sub floors should not exceed 12% moisture content or 4% moisture content difference between wood flooring and sub floor.

Sub floor preparation: Sub floor irregularities and undulation may cause any wood flooring installation to develop hollow spots between the flooring and the sub floor. These hollow spots are not the result of any bamboo flooring manufacturing defect and are not covered by this warranty. As part of your sub floor preparation remove any existing base, shoe mold or doorway thresholds. These items can be replaced after installation, but should be replaced in such a way as to allow room for expansion around the perimeter of the room. All door casings should be notched out or undercut to allow for expansion and to avoid difficult scribe cuts. This is easily done by placing a piece of the engineered product on the sub floor as a height guide for your handsaw of jamb saw.

Inspect all materials carefully before installation. Warranties do not cover materials with visible defects once they are installed.The floating floor method can be used for wood sub floor installations and concrete.
Bamboo is hydroscopic. It will absorb and expel moisture based on its environment. With our construction, these changes are greatly reduced. However temperature and humidity must be brought to normal usage levels at least 96 hours before installation and maintained at those levels after installation.

Floor protection during installation: Always protect the surface of the installed flooring during construction by laying a quality rosin paper or other paper that will allow the floor to breathe, over the floor and taping it to the baseboards. Never use plastic or polyethylene sheeting to cover the floor since they will trap moisture that will damage the flooring.

Installing the floor: The first step in laying a floating floor is to determine which direction in the room the flooring will be installed. It is generally recommended to lay flooring parallel with long wall. Please note this product has a torque lock click system which is one of the tightest locking systems in use today; this locking system uses a bow in the longplank to lock the floor together when clicked together. This is not a defect put part of the manufacturing process.

Note: Manufacture is not responsible for and does not warranty the quality of the installer’s work or the installation of the flooring. Manufacture assumes no liability arising from improper installation, inappropriate installation location or improper care and maintenance of the flooring. See our warranty for details.

Attention: Follow these directions exactly as stated for all radiant heat installations.

Before proceeding with installation be sure your radiant heat subfloor has been properly installed. New radiant heat subfloors must cure without heat transference for a minimum of 35 days, followed by a 15 day period with the heating system set at 2/3 of its maximum heating ability.

Prior to installation: The moisture vapor emissions of the subfloor are not to exceed 2 lbs. Set the radiant heat system to operate at 64°F for 3 days prior to the start of installation of your bamboo longstrip floating floor. Begin installation with the radiant heat system the same temperature, 64°F. Leave the temperature at 64°F for 52 hours. This allows the floor to slowly become acclimated to the radiant heat system. After the 52 hours has lapsed, raise the temperature 1°F per day for a week or until you reach the preferred temperature. Do not attempt to raise the surface temperature, nor the subfloor, past 80°F.

Radiant heat systems will dry out all woods, including bamboo. For this reason your home must maintain a relative, year round humidity of 40-60%. If you are unable to maintain a stable humidity level in the aforementioned range, and do so year round, do not install bamboo flooring. As with bamboo flooring product, extreme heat or dryness are not covered by the warranty of this floor.

When using this method, flooring is placed into "wet" adhesive and workers do not walk on the bamboo. Do not walk on fresh laid flooring. Ensure starter rows are firmly in place by wedging or face nailing. Proper humidity must be controlled between 35-48% for successful performance during and after installation. We recommend MASTER 400 Acrylic Urethane Bamboo Flooring Adhesive Recommended trowel size is 3/16" Square Notch. Coverage is 50 square feet per gallon.

Installing the Floor The floor should be installed from several boxes at the same time to ensure a good mix of materials. End joints should never be closer than 6" from each other. Install tongue into groove. Lift a plank periodically to check for adhesive transfer (approx 80% glue to flooring).
Bamboo is the primary constituent of this flooring. Because the humidity of the room can vary, due to differences between the seasons for example, the floor must be able to expand in all directions. The floor must be able to expand or contract on ALL sides. To facilitate this, an expansion gap is provided at all walls of 1/2". A gap must also be provided around pipes or at thresholds.
Take account of the fact that the floor may move in one direction. Where possible, provide expansion gaps, for example, under doors. The moldings should not be fixed to the real wood floor but to the base floor or the wall that covers these gaps.

After the floor has been cleaned, inspect the floor for nicks, scratches, gaps, or planks that may have moved during installation, as well as any other imperfections that need attention. Touch up nicks and scratches with touch-up products.