Q: I have chosen solid vertical natural bamboo for a remodel and have some questions, if you would be so kind to answer.
1. Since the bamboo I want comes in two lengths, when an order is placed, is it necessary to specify how many square ft. or cartons of each length, or is that automatically determined by the total sq footage. For example I need about 1000 square ft. What is the proper way to specify how many square ft of the 75″ length or 37″ length boards that would be needed.
2. My understanding is that the preferred installation is to run the bamboo boards perpendicular to the floor joists. Would it pose a problem to run the boards parallel to the joists in a 40″ wide x 15′
long hallway?
3. If the direction of the bamboo changes what is the preferred installation method for the transition?
A: When ordering your bamboo floor, typically differing lengths are in different collections, which I would not suggest mixing collections. Off-hand I can’t think of any bamboo flooring collections which have multiple lengths in the same collection, but the reason why I say not to mix them is because you will typically find that each finish has a slightly different sheen from collection to collection, even when made by the same manufacturer. In your case here, you’re best bet is to to order all the same length of flooring.
Your understanding about installation is correct, with nail-down floors you should install perpendicular to the flooring joists. In a hallway you could install parallel, but keep in mind that the strength of the floor is reduced by roughly 50% when installed parallel to the joists, which can hamper the lifetime of the floor. So the suggestion here is to run perpendicular to ensure floor strength, but if this hall sees lower levels of traffic and will not have items in it which require the floor to support a bit of weight, you can get away with running parallel, just ensure that you have proper expansion gaps around the edge of the flooring – undercutting some of the drywall to give a bit more expansion room is a nifty trick to use in hallways, especially in the doorways.
For the transition as your hallway changes direction, there are a few methods for accomplishing this. You can either directly transition, where the floor just changes directions as the hall does, or try a herringbone transition where the rows of flooring slowly change direction one row at a time, forming a woven appearance. Another option here is to cut the flooring at an angle, mixing the direct and herringbone concepts or build a small area in the center of the transition to break up the appearance and run the flooring directly up to this area – think of this like a small landing.
In the end, the transition you choose to do will be a matter of personal choice and installer skill. Herringbone is relatively easy to do with proper planning, as it the direct transition. Angular and landing style set-ups require a bit more work and skill to ensure they look proper.
Here is a quick sketch which details out each of the transitions I discussed briefly to help give a better idea of how they are accomplished.
