# Strand woven prefinished Bamboo acclimation period?



## Canofworms

So I bought 550 s/f strand woven prefinished bamboo floor from lumber liquidators. 
They were very clear that I needed to let it acclimate for 3-4 weeks with an absolute minimum of 2 weeks in the house before installing. 
The instructions then go on to state that it needs to be installed with humidity of 6-9% in the house. 
This is nice looking material and if installed correctly it should last a lifetime with 2 or three refinishes left in it. 
Also it janka hardness rating is twice that of oak. 
The installer said it doesn't matter and three or four days should be enough. 
I think the people who make it and sell it are probably correct, what would they get for making me wait other than a good install and a happy customer?
The installer on the other hand would get paid quicker.


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## Nomad62

I'm thinking your thinking is the right thinking.
Hit the wrong button there. Anyway, I'd go with the manufacturers suggestions as well. It can't hurt to let it set and acclimate, and if you hurry it and the project fails, who's going to pay for it?


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## Hammerthumb

It would be almost impossible to get humidity between 6 & 9% in a house. Typical for the desert climate I live in is 25%. 
I believe the instructions will state that the moisture content of the bamboo must be between 6 & 9%. This is typical for wood flooring as stated by NWFA and NOFMA (wood flooring associations) and most manufacturers.
After having install hundreds of thousands of sqft of wood flooring in the desert climate, what I can tell you about wood acclimation is that there is no set time you must wait. I will depends on too many factors, ie. moisture content of the wood when received, relative humidity and temperature while stored, etc.
Another thing I can tell you about bamboo is that it is the only wood flooring product that arrives prefinished on the bottom side. This is because bamboo in an unfinished state will rapidly aquire and release moisture. As the material is shipped on containers from China, this has been used as a precaution to try to prevent the material from accumulating moisture on its way here.
One other note, strand bamboo has been known to have checking problems in dry climates. As I don't know your location, I don't know if this will impact you.

Good luck.


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## Canofworms

I'm in the northeast where it is humid in the summer. If it checks I can refinish it.
What I really want to avoid is separation. 
There's nothing worse than a crappy separated prefinished floor.
So the sales person was talking out of his ear when he said the house had to be 5-10%.
Good. The instructions said the floor and the wood floor it is going on needs to be within a certain percentage humidity of each other.
I bought a moisture meter on amazon that got 4 stars across 100+ reviews.
I'm putting this on old pine floors that I primed with oil based stain blocker last week.
I b able to read moisture through that?


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## Canofworms

Ok. Let me throw a few ideas out here.
In theory I can install it once the subfloor and the bamboo are within a few % moisture of each other. 
BUT… It will be difficult to guage that because the bamboo is finished on both sides And the old pine subfloor is oil primed.
The bamboo is in cardboard boxes and wrapped in plastic the directions say to remove the plastic but leave it in the box so it doesn't warp as it dries.
Could I expedite the equalization by running a dehumidifier?
Should I put the material for each room in that room as the rooms will have different humidities?
No cac and the place is currently vacant.


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## Hammerthumb

Pin type moisture meters are the most accurate. As far as the substrate, NWFA recommends that they be no more than 4% different than the wood floor that is going over them, so test both the substrate and the bamboo.
In environments that see high humidity swings, a floor can be put in too tight. Gym floors in Florida usually have expansion built into them during install by using washers as spacers every 4th or 5th run, so gaps are built into the floor. It is also possible to control the humidity levels in a house with de-humidifiers in the months that need it. Usually heating and AC systems will keep levels in the house from varying too much. 
Most of my experience is here in the Las Vegas desert, but to give you an idea about the difference between inside and outside humidity - 
I have inspected many hardwood floors here for claims against defects. During inspection, it is always noted the outside, as well as inside humidity levels. It is typical for our desert to have a outside humidity level of 4 or 5% on some days with an average day being about 12%. Even on dry days, interior home inspection levels are rarely below 25%. The added moisture inside a house is due to cooking, showers, pets water bowls, etc. That being said, I would not expect a humid climate home environment to have 70 to 80 percent humidity inside - even when it is raining.

Sorry to be long winded, so what I recommend you do is use the moisture meter to test the materials to make sure the substrate and flooring are within 4% prior to installation. During acclimation, take moisture measurements of the flooring every day, or every other day. When the moisture measurement stops changing, that is when the material is acclimated and ready to install.

Almost forgot one thing, some of the manufacturers of bamboo recommend that the boxes of material be cross stacked inside the home, and to tear the ends of the boxes open to allow the material to breath. That is another thing about bamboo compared to all other wood flooring. It is the only material that comes wrapped in cellophane.
All of this is typical of most bamboo manufactures, but please read the instructions that come from the manufacturer. If you ever have a claim on the material, they will question whether you followed them.

Good luck.


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## Hammerthumb

By the way, moisture meters will read thru the finish (non-invasive). Pin type meters need to have the pins pressed into the wood. A good pin type meter will have pins that can reach at least 3/8" depth.

I would not recommend trying to dry the wood out with a de-humidifier to speed up the process. The wood needs to reach equilibrium with the environment it will live in. If you dried the wood out too much and installed it, it might then expand enough to come up off the floor.


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## BentheViking

canofworms. I am a store manager of a LL store and the store is totally right about the bamboo.

Did the installer buy the floor? Is it the installers house? Assuming no on both counts then I wouldn't let him make your decision. I have met with plenty of "professional installers" that know diddly squat about flooring, even less about prefinished, and even less on bamboo.

Correct about the moisture content of the material and that it should be within a few percent of the subflooring for install. Longterm the big thing is that flooring should be kept a a humidity of 30-50% with a temp of 60 to 80 degrees. Need help controlling it? Pick up a hydrogemeter which is sold in the bellawood floor care system.

Important to know whether or not your doing a click together bamboo or one that would be nailed or glued down. Click can be super super sensitive and the proper acclimation is even more so important. Nailed down products are a bit more forgiving, but the proper nail gun must be used (most installers don't have the proper gun. Don't just let him use the one he's always used. It will probably dimple your floor). Glue is usually the best way to install and one of my installers glues all bamboos regardless if its T&G or click and regardless of how its installed.

Regardless of the type of the install method hammerthumb is right that its finished on all sides. Bamboo is also usually wrapped in plastic on the inside or outside of the box. Just acclimating it is not enough. If there is plastic outside the box throw it away and then open the end flaps. If there is plastic on the inside of the box (not too common anymore) then open the end flaps and remove the plastic from the ends, but leave it in the box.

I could give a lot more info, but this is a great starting point. If you have any questions please let me know either on this forum or PM me. If you want me to look your order over I will be glad to do so just PM me your info.


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## Canofworms

Thank you guys. 
I told him it needs to acclimate and told him why. He said OK and that was it. 
I got the boxes on the second floor of the house. They are all laying flat in an unconditioned room with a ceiling fan blowing high and the windows closed. 
I layed all 18 boxes flat side by side and opened each then removed the inside plastic and left boxes open. 
The house is currently not air conditioned, but will be when we move in. 
Should I throw a window a/c in each room and set the thermostat to 70?
I ordered a moisture sensor that people use for hardwood. 
I also have a dehumidifier that has a digital readout. I could set it to 40% and put in hallway with all room doors open?
We've had temps in the 90s with high humidity. 
What do you think?


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## Hammerthumb

Agree with Ben about most installers not having the right training, and about the RH levels in the home. It is very important that the wood acclimates to the conditions it will live in. If it is hot where you are and plan on putting in AC at a later date, you might think about postponing the install until the AC is hooked up.

By the way, the wood flooring industry has been making an effort in recent years to unify guidelines for installers as was done in the tile industry 25-30 years ago. I highly recommend that you hire a NWFA certified installer.


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## BentheViking

If I were you I'd try and get the house set to the temperature and humidty that it will ultimately live at. If your gonna have AC then get the AC going. If you plan to keep it AC'd at 60 then set it to 60 not 78. Acclimation time doesn't start until these conditions are met.

Glad you agreed to terms with the installer. Realistically with the bamboo the longer you can leave it to acclimate the better. You haven't answered whether or not the bamboo is going to be nailed, glued, or clicked as install differs for all three.


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## TheFridge

Yep. What he says.


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## Canofworms

We would most likely keep the a/c at 70 degrees and the heat at the same.

I guess I should get those window units running. 
We will eventually get central air, but not this year.

That sucks to have to cool a house I aint living in yet.

As far as nail, glue, click? It says its click so I assume click.

Once it is installed, if we go away on vacation and turn off the a/c does it get ruined?
I read the detailed instructions and it asks for an expansion gap on all four sides.


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## Canofworms

Ok. So now I. Have a question about this other floor..
It's cumaru: Brazilian teak solid prefinished floor. I want to install it over a lemonade porch that is enclosed.
Sense that space is enclosed I might run and air-conditioning but I wouldn't run it all the time at all just when I'm in the room.
The floors not insulated underneath it but this winter I might insulate and at thermopane windows.


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## Hammerthumb

You will have problems with that floor. Temperature and humidity swings in that kind of environment will create wood expansion and contraction. If the floor is put in tight, in one season you will have gaps in the floor. This is why they build in gaps in decking and don't put it in tight.

You had a prior question about vacationing and turning off climate control. This is not recommended for the same reason as the porch.

Once the environment and the wood acclimate and the wood is installed, the wood cannot tolerate humidity or temperature swings without having issues. The issues might be minor like seasonal gaps in the floor, but could also be major issues like face checking of the finish, flooring losing bond with the substrate, etc.


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## Canofworms

So what is the solution?
Don't use tropical wood?
If I use prefinished solid maple, oak or hickory would I have the same problem?

As far as the strandwoven bamboo, it is *click on the sides and the ends*. So wouldn't the click keep it from separating?
Should I leave it floating?

As far as the teak would I be better off putting it in in high heat moderate humidity like 60% so the problem I get it gaps rather than buckling?

Or should I just chuck all this stuff and get some oak?


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## BentheViking

Heres what happens with the click floors. Lets say in a normal floor each board contracts a 1/32nd of an inch. in a nail down floor you'd end up with a small gap between the boards in the winter. No big deal. But with the click floors the boards are all locked together and will move as a unit. So with a 5" wide board in a 20' wide room you've got 48 boards. Now if each board contracts that same 1/32" of an inch you've got a total of 1-1/2". since all the boards will pull together to the center you've now got a 3/4" shrink on each of the outside walls.

In regards to your other floor im not sure what a lemonade porch is, but I'm guessing its some sort of porch possible screened in or whatnot. Probably not going to recommend a prefinished floor for this purpose. If you really wanted to use a prefinished floor, my suggestions would be Brazilian walnut (ipe) or Australian cypress. Ultimately a chunk of what you pay for a prefinished floor is the finish so if you're looking for decking options I'd look at decking materials. Also decking is typically 5/4" where as flooring is 3/4"


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## Canofworms

That's kind of what I was thinking about the click floor shrinking as a whole. 
By the way thank you all for the well informed advice and also for not crapping on my questions like often happens on some forums. 
As a whole the lumberjocks members are a great crowd.
Back to the click bamboo that I already bought and unboxed to acclimate….
the widest room is 14' x 10' but most are smaller. 
The baseboard is not installed yet. It is 5/8" so that would be an additional 1 1/4" 
*Will gluing or nailing the center few boards and leaving the rest floating make it not shift as a whole left to right?*

I think I misused the term lemonade porch. The porch is enclosed on three sides with interior walls and the outside wall is basically aluminum storm door material with storm windows. It is weather tight and gets no water. 
The floor is currently solid pine with no insulation. 
I picked up 115 s/f of prefin solid Brazilian teak off craigslist for $150. I was going to use it in the kitchen, but the subfloor was garbage and I thought we would get grease in all the little gaps.


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## Hammerthumb

Pinning or gluing down any portion of a floating floor will void the warranty.

The warranty will also be void for the porch floor as it is not in a conditioned space. *Please read the warranty and installation instructions packed in the box.
*
Wood floors must have a conditioned space that is maintained, to perform properly and keep the warranty intact. Wood floors are hygroscopic and will dimensionally change with varying swings in temperature and humidity. Also, the finish that is used (acrylic urethane with aluminum oxide particles) cannot stand wide dimensional changes as the finish is more brittle than a long oil varnish. That is the reason that most decks use oil finishes - not urethanes. If you do install the cumaru on the porch, be prepared to see gaps between each run after a seasonal year. And don't be surprised if you see surface checking also.

My recommendation for the porch is to apply a layer of cement board, a good anti-fracture membrane, and a nice porcelain tile. or put down Ipe decking. Remember, decking and wood flooring are different, and install differently.


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## BentheViking

Please do not nail down any portion of the floor. If you wanted to glue it as a whole (not parts) you could do that but thats it. Please PM me your email address and I will send you some install documents. I tried to PM to you, but I couldn't send an attatchment.

Sounds like that cumaru was a good deal. I'd see if you could repair the subfloor and use it in the kitchen. There is nothing wrong with a prefinished floor in a kitchen. Other than that I'd second everything hammerthumb said about the porch. I will add, if you want an easy cheap solution for the porch then use a click vinyl floor. As weather resistant and durable as you can get. LL has 15+ options to choose from in wood and tile styles.


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## Canofworms

Ben,
I got some detailed instructions specific to my floor from the dealer. Its about 20 pages. 
But I have another acclimation question.

So…. I know I should wait the 2-3 weeks, but I'm running out of time and need to move in. I'd like to get it in by the end of the week. But if totally ridiculous to think I can speed it up. not maybe after the 4th of july. 
I measured the floor with a moisture meter.General Tools & Instruments MMD4E Digital Moisture Meter

The flooring all ranged from 8.5% to 5% with no real rhyme or reason, though it seemed to be that most of the dryer pieces were not on top. 
So I think I need to rotate the material to get it uniform.
The subfloor for the most part ranges from 7% to 9.5%. 
There are three rooms and a hallway. The hallway is uniformly 7-9% and is old pine that has been oil base primed.
The master bedroom is primed plywood and mostly 8.5%- 10% but there are a few sections that read 16%-20%. This room faces south and has an a/c in the window running at 72. ( which is what we will be keeping the house at for the most part.) 
The medium bedroom is all old primed pine at 7% to 9%with only a few boards oddly reading 16%. Not a huge concern. This room faces east and south. 
But the big concern. is the small bedroom which is primed plywood reading a steady 16% to 20%. This room faces north and really gets no direct sunlight. I put a dehumidifier in this room, but not sure if its the wrong this to do.
So what gives?
There is no running water in the house and the roof does not leak.


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## Hammerthumb

You might want to take a look under the raised foundation and see what they have put in there for a vapor barrier. Sounds like some portions of the house might be over basement and some over grade? Any raised foundation over grade needs to have adequate ventilation and vapor protection.


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## BentheViking

Good to see that you got the install packet.

In terms of 2-3 weeks acclimation it isn't about time, its about levels moisture levels. It seems as if right now some of your areas are good and some aren't. Unfortunately I am unsure why such a difference. Where in the country are you located?

I'd recommend calling our 1-800 number (1-800-427-3966). Dial 6 to get to customer care. Ask to speak to someone in tech and install. These are former installers that now work in our call center and would best at answering some of these specific questions.


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## Canofworms

No raised foundation. This is the second floor. The plywood if over pine in the north bedroom and the plywood is probably over nothing in the master bedroom. 


> You might want to take a look under the raised foundation and see what they have put in there for a vapor barrier. Sounds like some portions of the house might be over basement and some over grade? Any raised foundation over grade needs to have adequate ventilation and vapor protection.
> 
> - Hammerthumb


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## Canofworms

I will call the number. 
I am in NJ. The only thing I can think of is that the totally moist room faces north and gets no direct sunlight.
The really moist room was mopped over a month ago and was oil base primed 2 weeks ago.
I have been running a dehumidifier in that room for a day or so to see if I can get the humidity down. 
If I cannot get it down should I acclimate the floor to (in) that room?
Or I might have to install a hardy-board or something like that?



> Good to see that you got the install packet.
> 
> In terms of 2-3 weeks acclimation it isn t about time, its about levels moisture levels. It seems as if right now some of your areas are good and some aren t. Unfortunately I am unsure why such a difference. Where in the country are you located?
> 
> I d recommend calling our 1-800 number (1-800-427-3966). Dial 6 to get to customer care. Ask to speak to someone in tech and install. These are former installers that now work in our call center and would best at answering some of these specific questions.
> 
> - BentheViking


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## Hammerthumb

Canofworms - please read my prior post about your raised foundation. Bens reference to former installers is a good one. I have done this for many years and have been certified in this industry by most all of the associations and manufacturers of wood flooring. Really, I do know what I am talking about.

Sorry - did not catch the prior post. If this is second floor, I think some more investigation about where the moisture is coming from would be prudent.

Hardiboard will not prevent moisture from coming thru. First thing I would do is find an infra-red thermometer and shoot the floor with it. It will show the coolest parts of the substrate and maybe give you an indication of where the moisture is coming from.


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## Canofworms

I have an infared thermometer and I know that you guys are a wealth of knowledge. 
I will call that number.

I want to run this by you, because it is confounding. 
The second floor floors were oil primed to block our any lingering odors from the previous use as a boarding house. 
They were primed two weeks ago and it was a *rainy period*. 
I don't think there is an actual leak. 
I think I locked in moisture when I oil primed. 
The one bedroom floor that has high moisture content, before I primed at times would appear damp and feel a little damp. I think it was wicking in the moisture in the air.
I think this because all the floors got primed except the plywood floor in the upper left corner of this drawing. When I test that floor it is 6-8%. In the wet room at the bottom of the picture it, the plywood portion is painted and reads a steady 18-20%, but the primed pine floor in the both closets is a 6-8%.

Here is a diagram of the second floor with notes.


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## Hammerthumb

I think you might be on to something. Try sanding off a 3ft by 3ft area where it is wet. Retest that area after a few days and see if the moisture goes down. Also, it seems wet areas are near exterior walls. Are these areas near windows? Just a thought.


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## BentheViking

whoa whoa whoa look at us fancy people using the new quote feature lol

but at this point your starting to get a little far out of my realm. My expertise is more limited to the pros and cons of the different floors, where my install expertise is a bit more limited (thats why I have my phone team), glad hammerthumb is here.


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## Canofworms

Actually the damp areas on the right side of the master are next to a bathroom that has not been used in months. They are about 8' from the outside wall.

Before I sand I will see if two dehumidifiers in the room will bring down the floor moisture level. 
If that doesn't work I will sand. I would rather not sand if the dehumidifiers will do it. 
It seems like I have time. 
If I can get this stable…. the floor being 6-9% and the bamboo being 5-8.5% will this work to install?
I'm still going to have to wait until end of next week to get floor levels. down.


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## Canofworms

It looks like the one room that has really high moisture is Luan. The tech at the lumber liquidators 800-number said that it's not approved to go over Luanne so I guess I have to remove that. Dang!


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## BentheViking

That surprises me that they'd say you can't go over Luan with a floating floor. Did they give you as to a reason why? Do you know the name of the person you talked to?

I'm at the store for another few hours and would be glad to help. You can call me at 203-702-1430


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## Canofworms

We are going to glue down. He said floating was ok over the luan, but not glue.


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## BentheViking

Man how had that not come up yet. That totally changes things.


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## Canofworms

Well its only one room and it was just until I mentioned to that tech that it came up.

So it looks like I will remove that luan. 
Then take 40 grit sand paper seriously scuff the rest of the primed subfloor to let it breath. 
I really wish my wife stayed with the wall to wall carpet idea when she had it. 
The tech on the phone was concerned that my meter was not "species specific" to bamboo. 
But I looked online and it didn't look like there was a bamboo moisture meter.


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## googled

I like BenTheViking's reply. He's the manager of LL store. His reply is perfect, either use their (LL's) installers and EVERYTHING else from them or forget about it. Got the message LOUD & CLEAR.


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