Bamboo flooring installation and maintenance Guidelines

Installation of solid bamboo flooring is just like the way we install traditional wood flooring.

1.Installation preparation:
The bamboo flooring is a natural product and needs to acclimatize, place your flooring in the room which it will be laid, lay the boxes flat and open, leaving the floor in the boxes for minimum of 48 hours. The usual heating or air-conditioning must be turned on and operating at normal levels, allow the flooring to acclimate to your location. This precaution will allow the bamboo and wood to expand or contract prior to installation and minimize any possible gaps or swelling.
Bamboo flooring is a natural product containing natural variation in colors, tone and grain, therefore we recommend you open all boxes prior to installation and mix planks so as to blend color variations throughout the floor. Installers should handle the colors carefully and distribute color variations randomly (or otherwise, to the client's satisfaction) within the room.

Why variations of color happen for bamboo? It's all because bamboo flooring is a natural product, not artificial. Bottom part of a bamboo is darker in color than upper part of a bamboo, the side facing the sunlight is darker in color than the other side which not facing the sunshine, a 6 year old bamboo is darker in color than a 4 year old bamboo.

2. Installation with dragon bones
If you adopt installation way of dragon bones,you have to do according to the following request. Dragon bones, which are made of wooden strips(25～40mm) with high density and water-content rate of 8-14%, should be set and fixed on the dry and clean ground with a distance of 250 X 300(mm). Try your best to make the dragon bones smooth and plain. Original ground must be kept dry.

3.Installation without dragon bones
If you adopt direct installation way without dragon bones,The original ground must be also kept dry, clean and smooth. Height difference of the ground is requested to be less than 2mm.

4.Moisture-proof
While bamboo flooring is much more stable than most woods, it is still subject to damage when in direct contact with a constantly wet slab. The bamboo must be isolated from moisture slab by use of a reverse vinyl or sleeper sub floor. Urethane adhesive will usually fail when vapor pressure exceeds 3 pounds per 1000 sq. ft. in 24 hours. Bamboo flooring cannot be glued down under those conditions.

Maintenance
1.Bamboo flooring should not be soaked with water. If it is exposed to large amounts of water, dry it immediately to avoid swelling and open the window to let fresh air in;
2.Use a vacuum cleaner and a dry mop to clean. Use flooring wax to protect it;
3.Heavy items such as furniture, piano, etc. must not be dragged across the flooring. Use protective cloth on the standings;
4.Avoid degrading materials reaching the flooring, like sand and shoe nails;
5.The bamboo flooring should not be exposed directly to sunlight or some electric heaters,