Bamboo floor replacing carpet

[gklott]

Why did you decide to not replace carpet areas?

Any idea on the weight increase?

73/gus

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by gklott

Why did you decide to not replace carpet areas?

Any idea on the weight increase?

73/gus

I assume that this was directed to me.

I like carpet in the bedroom and I like it in front of the couch where I lounge in stocking feet. I just don't like it by the entry door or in the galley area where it gets filthy very quickly. That said, I wish the remaining carpet were something such as Berber that shows less soil.

Also, it would be a pain in the a** to lay flooring around the queen bed; it would be all little short pieces.

I doubt that I added any appreciable weight, certainly not over 10 pounds at the most. Carpet and pad are surprisingly heavy. The new flooring is not very thick; much lighter than some of the laminted products.

[Silvertwinkie]

You know John as the process started, I was a bit skeptical, but in the back of my mind, I told myself, this is mod man John Irwin, of course it was gonna look good in the end. True to form, the end results are outstanding.

When is the berber project?

I agree about not having carpet installed in the main traffic areas. I noticed that in 2004 Airstream started to ease off the carpets. Our Safari has only carpet by the sofa. Just as a side note, most of the Classic line has adopted the overall concept of what you have done as well (no carpet at the doorway and main traffic areas, while keeping carpet by the rear bed and front sofas). There are two or three models where it is an exception and carpet is in the areas, but I digress........yours looks great!

[M&M CAPECOD]

Hello John,

Now that some time has passed since you've installed the bamboo I would like your honest opinion on which product (the cork or the bamboo) you prefer, all things being equal. Which floor is the easiest to maintain? most durable? easiest to install? etc. Has the color deepened? Is there anything you would have done differently? I can't remember if you used prefinished cork and bamboo, I have heard that you can get a longer wear if you have it finished after installation. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks for letting me pick your brain .

Mary

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by M&M CAPECOD

Hello John,

Now that some time has passed since you've installed the bamboo I would like your honest opinion on which product (the cork or the bamboo) you prefer, all things being equal. Which floor is the easiest to maintain? most durable? easiest to install? etc. Has the color deepened? Is there anything you would have done differently? I can't remember if you used prefinished cork and bamboo, I have heard that you can get a longer wear if you have it finished after installation. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.
Mary

The bamboo is prettier, but the cork was easier to keep looking clean. Every litle thing shows on the bamboo where the cork could get quite dirty without it showing. OTOH, I think the bamboo goes a lot better with the real woodwork in the Classic whereas the appearance of the cork fitted the laminates in the 22' better. In both cases, I use a wet "Swiffer" to do the floors.

I did use pre-finished materials. Maybe if someone was living in the trailer full time, wear could be a factor, but I think that both materials are more than wear resistant enough for the way we use the trailer. If I were to choose just for wear resistance, I would pick the cork.

[CanoeStream]

From This Old House I am aware that much prefinished flooring has fine aluminum oxide incorporated in the finish to prevent wear-through. This is the same hard material used as an abrasive in garnet sandpaper (the red colored stuff). I'm not wild about some of the ripple finishes, etc., but has anybody had quality complaints of wearing through the finish?

Finding thinner coverings takes some doing. The floors at Home Depot get thick and heavy pretty quick -- to say nothing about the lack of real wood and obviously photo-reproduced appearances...

[LuminumTraila]

Just got back from Lowe's where we went to look at some things for our '76 Safari. I saw the bamboo flooring and thought Wow! this would be great for replacing the old carpet. Got home and came to the forum to see if anyone had done it and found this thread. Fantastic job, Pahaska! And thank you so much for documenting your project.

[Warbs]

We put prefinished 3" wide hardwood all through our house two years ago. Two adults, two kids, a dog and two cats haven't dulled the finish a bit. It's got 15 coats and is guaranteed for 25 years. We're very happy and would recommend it to anyone.

[Swanny]

Originally Posted by Pahaska

I bought it at Lowe's. They had a display board in the flooring dept with twocolors: blonde and carbonized. I chose the carbonized. They don't stock it in the store, but it came in about 10 days.

I found that Pergo cherry trim matched the floor color perfectly.

What was the thickness of the bamboo you ordered or better yet was there a part number associated with it? Also did you put down a sub-floor?

I'm asking about the sub-floor since I went to the I-floor website and their installation procedures were somewhat intimidating. They were talking about keeping constant humidity and temperature level, etc. Thanks again!

Mitch

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by Swanny

What was the thickness of the bamboo you ordered or better yet was there a part number associated with it? Also did you put down a sub-floor?

I'm asking about the sub-floor since I went to the I-floor website and their installation procedures were somewhat intimidating. They were talking about keeping constant humidity and temperature level, etc. Thanks again!

Mitch

I would guess it was about 7/16" thick. No idea of a part number. I saw it on a display at Lowe's and liked the color and price, so I ordered two boxes.

I laid the bamboo right over the plywood flooring. There were big staples where the plywood sheets joined; I pounded these down a bit with a hammer, but the thickness of the adhesive was enough that there was no print through of the staples.

[HitnMiss]

John its been another 6 months since your last retrospective, I know you have put a few road miles on the trailer since then. Anything to report as to gaps, or any type of flooring probs with the bamboo overlay?

Also did you use 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch quarter round?

Also could you explain the need for and the definition of a "dead blow" hammer.

Thanks

Flicka

[juel]

We're putting down a wood floor. We want to put it down right over the plywood with some subfloor adhesive and a brad nailer. Did you use anything except the "glue"? What kind of glue are you talking about?

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by HitnMiss

John its been another 6 months since your last retrospective, I know you have put a few road miles on the trailer since then. Anything to report as to gaps, or any type of flooring probs with the bamboo overlay?

No problems whatever. All joints are tight and there are no squeaks. Some scratches from gravel tracked in, but not severe. I try to keep a good coat of wax on it.

Originally Posted by HitnMiss

Also did you use 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch quarter round?

I used the Pergo quarter round trim which, as I recall, must be about 5/8" or 3/4". The cherry finish matched my bamboo color quite well.

Originally Posted by HitnMiss

Also could you explain the need for and the definition of a "dead blow" hammer.

It is a plastic hammer full of BB shot. It is fairly heavy, but does no damage even with a hard blow. I found it invaluable in seating the interlocking joints tight or moving a plank a fraction to get a tight end joint.

Thanks

Flicka[/quote]

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by juel

We're putting down a wood floor. We want to put it down right over the plywood with some subfloor adhesive and a brad nailer. Did you use anything except the "glue"? What kind of glue are you talking about?

I used a water soluable floor mastic I bought at Lowe's. I also used the brad nailer very sparingly. I nailed the first row adjoining the carpet and the ends adjoining the vinyl at the doorway very close to the edge so that the nail holes would be covered by the T molding. By nailing the first row, I was assured that the alignment would not change as I bumped successive planks into place.

I also used a brad several other places to insure that end joints would stay tight. The mastic grabs real quick and sometimes the planks tend to pull away from each other a bit. I would use the dead-blow hammer to tighten the joint and the elastic mastic would pull the joint open slightly after a few minutes. This was a good place to use a couple of brads on the end that would be later hidden byr the quarter round to keep the joint tight.