Green Shoots Blog
One of the most common mistakes people make when installing a new floor actually occurs before a single plank is ever laid down. If not done properly, your beautiful new floors can expand, shrink or distort — causing structural damage. To keep this from happening, you should always acclimate a new hardwood floor before installation to ensure optimum stability. Here’s how…
The first step is to ensure your home’s temperature and humidity are controlled, and set to typical ambient living conditions. This includes making sure air conditioning or heating are at their usual settings.
Next, carefully remove the flooring from the boxes and “sticker-stack” the planks. This allows air to flow between the floor boards.
The last step is to wait until the flooring has reached an equilibrium with the home’s environment. Equilibrium has been reached when the floor’s moisture content no longer increases or decreses. We’ve seen this occur as fast as 5 days, but in extremely dry or humid environments, this usually takes 10 to 14 days or longer.
Remember Cali Bamboo Fossilized® floors are extremely dense and off-the-charts hard, so it’s worth the wait to acclimate.
Download and follow these pre-installation steps to ensure your installation is gets off to a good start.
Flooring Acclimation Stack Gallery
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Recently purchased the CaliBamboo Vintage Moonlight. It was delivered in boxes without a pallet. Do I need a pallet to stack on or can I stack it on the floor?
What is your subfloor? Plywood should be fine, but you’ll want something between the flooring and a concrete subfloor.
Hi, I just received the Cali bamboo Dawn Cork floating floor and I’m cross stacking the boards on a pallet in the room it will be laid. I viewed the video and pictures for acclimating the boards and I want to know how much room between the boards is needed and how high can I stack them? Your pictures look like they are 2 to 3 feet tall. Is that O.K. ? Please let me know so I can adjust them as needed. Thank you I’m looking forward to my new cork floor.
Sorry for the delay Kathy,
The cork flooring actually doesn’t need quite the acclimation that say solid bamboo would require (though perfectly fine if you already built the stack) all you really need to do is remove the plastic film and let them sit 1 to 2 days and then you can install.
Is there anything special we need to do in the Spokane, wa area
to keep the floors from buckling shrinking etc. like humidifiers?
we have read the acclimating process before hand.
Hi Rosalind,
You’ll want to make the acclimation stack as close to the installation area and let it sit for 10 days. If you are installing over concrete, you’ll need to seal the slab or use an approved moisture barrier. When you install, allow a 1/2″ expansion gap around all fixed objects such as walls, cabinets, etc. so if the wood does continue to expand it has room to do so without buckling. After installation try to keep the temperature and humidity levels fairly consistent we recommend 40%-60%.
I have purchased Cali Bamboo Wide Click. Can this be floated over vinyl?
Yes. You can also choose to add an underlayment for added comfort and insulation.
Greetings. We recently purchased 700 ft of Cali Bamboo Fossilized 3.75-in Prefinished Antique Java Bamboo for our home. We are on a slab.
We are pulling up the original carpet and padding…is it necessary to put a barrier between the slab and the flooring? Or can we put something like Thmpson’s water seal?
Also – what is the bets blade for cutting the wood?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jack,
Yes, this is really important. If you are glueing down the floor, you’ll want to seal the slab with a moisture barrier that is compatible with the adhesive you’re using. We recommend Titebond 531+ moisture barrier and 821 Adhesive. If you’re floating the floor you can still use Titebond 531+ or you can use an underlayment style moisture barrier such as our Cali Complete™. Be sure to take the flooring out of the boxes and make an acclimation stack and let it sit for 5-10 days as close to the installation area as possible prior to installation.
As for blades, you’ll want to replace them when the cut edges start to fray (every 200-300 sqft). We recommend Diablo blades 40 or more tooth.
I had my Cali Bamboo Eucalyptus flooring installed last week. I had it acclimated for a few weeks. It was installed on a concrete slab, is click lock and we used the recommended cali under laymen by Cali Bamboo. The installer did some needed leveling with self leveling concrete and it looks great. However it is noisy. It sounds like I’m walking on bubble wrap. Why would this be and will it settle in at all? They finished last Friday it has been 4 days.
Hi Sharon,
I noticed the same thing after we installed Antique Java. I’ve never owned hardwood floors before so I just thought it was part of the hardwood experience. It took a few months to quiet down and now a year later it’s totally silent. It will go away, but it took some time.
Walker
The cracking is caused by the slab not being swept good enough prior to installation.
Was ready to install cali bamboo flooring on Tue..Just received phone
to say that the flooring must sit stacked five to seven days .Was not
told about this when I bought the bamboo.
Hi Al,
Yes, this is true for any solid hardwood, it needs time to adjust to the climate in your home prior to installation. Believe me, take the time and do it right, the last thing you want is expansion or shrinkage after it’s been laid, much bigger problem to have. Be sure and watch this video and make sure your contractor follows each and every one of these steps before and during installation.
I am having bamboo click installed in the majority of my house. 2300 sq ft including 4 bedrooms and main living room of the house. Does acclimation only need to happen in one room of the house? I am thinking the main living area. It is the biggest area of the house and room for acclimation. Also during acclimation. Also does the flooring have to be up on some type of pallet during acclimation?
Hi Jennifer,
Assuming you are talking about our solid bamboo or eucalyptus flooring, the flooring should be acclimated as close to where it will be installed as possible. Each area of your home could have different moisture/temperature fluctuations. If acclimating across your home is impractical, then the main living area will suffice. Yes, the flooring should be up off the ground, ideally on a pallet. The flooring should arrive with a pallet. Acclimation should be 5-10 days minimum and longer if you are in an extremely humid or extremely dry environment.
Can you recommend and underlayment for wood subfloor?
I have the click bamboo flooring.
Hi Joseph,
For comfort, here are the best underlayments we offer in order of most comfort to least comfort:
CaliComplete™
Premium+ Cork
EcoFelt
Silicon Vapor Shield™ (SVS)
We are getting ready to install fossilized eucalyptus flooring and found our floor, which previously had been carpeted, is far from flat. There are a couple of areas where, I’m assuming, the joists have bowed somewhat creating some depressions or humps in areas. Is this something we should be concerned about with a floating floor? Is there anything we can do to improve the condition and make it less noticeable?
Hi Craig,
Without seeing it firsthand it’s hard to say. I had a “high spot” at a joist when I did my floors and I ended up sanding the subfloor and pouring self-leveler on either side to spread out the bend. I also used cork underlayment throughout with exception to the “high spot” and while it definitely helped, I still have a spot where the floor creaks a bit, but nothing I can’t live with. I would have a professional look at it. You could also send photos to us and Ben our staff installation expert can offer some additional advise.
Best,
Hi , I am a professional flooring installer for over 40 years now. You definitely don’t want any humps or low spots in your subfloor. Even with a floating floor if not level you will weaken the locking system between the boards . Have a professional flooring contractor who knows how to get your floor level do the job. Otherwise you will have spent all the money and have problems later down the road.
We just took delivery of over 900 sqft of Coffee fossilized bamboo. I looked at the directions on how to begin the starter course which was the longer of the two click joints against the long wall. We opened a box just to see (it’s going to be a while before we actually lay the flooring). It’s good looking but I’m prepared to do a lot of dry mopping (for dust and animal hair) :). When I tried to assemble the boards via the instructions , inserting the short tab into the long tab, I found it quite difficult to get the board fully/flush into the starter board. We figured out the white substance is a type of wax to aid in assembly. If I assemble the flooring in the opposite way, inserting the long tab into the short tab, it went together much easier. Did I misread the instructions? Thanks.
Hi John,
When I installed my floors I found there was excessive wax on my click system too. What I did was cut about a 6in piece of flooring and use it to loosen the click system and remove some of the wax. All you have to do is click the piece onto a plank up and down the small tongue side, try sliding the piece a bit and a lot of the wax will break free. Now the plank is ready to install. I started doing this indoors right before installation and I’ll say when the wax gets on the surface of the new floor, it’s a pain to clean off so you’re better off dewaxing the planks outdoors by the chop saw before you bring the plank inside. I’ve been meaning to make a little video showing this technique, it’s a common concern. Best of luck on the install and send us photos!
Walker
I have about 15 bamboo boards that got damaged and need replacing. I have wide click lock style from Cali and the section needing replacement is at the start of the original installation. My question is can the bad boards be pulled up from behind or do I need to take up the entire floor to get the new ones in?
Hi Wells,
It depends where in the floor the planks lie. Sometimes you can get away with lifting up a few rows, sometimes not so much. Take some photos and we might be able to give some better advice, I’m forwarding this over to our customer service department, they can get the replacement planks sent over.
Thanks for the reply. They already sent me the replacement planks. The planks needing replacement are at the befinnig of the installation starting from an exterior wall in toward the entry. If I can get the bad planks out I will need to install new ones in reverse of the way the floor is laid. Can that be done by lifting the back edge of the remaining planks and tucking the new planks under. It may require too much force to get the in and I will have to remove the entire floor just to replace a few rows of planks. Customer service already has photos of the floor.
I had padding and a carpet in my office where I am installing the Cali Bamboo Hardwood flooring and my dog has urinated a couple of times where it ruined the carpet and smelled quite bad. Do you have a recommendation in treating the sub-floor for the smell prior to installing the flooring? I would hate to have to remove the sub-floor. I was thinking maybe a Kilz paint prior to the installation. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Hi Dave,
Interesting question. Before you do anything, confirm it is completely dry. Once it has completely dried, any smell will naturally fade over time. I think a coat of Killz is a good idea, I know all the paint manufacturers are coming out with anti-bacterial, anti-fungal paints these days, they could help as well.
Walker
Can you install Cali bamboo floating floor parallel to the floor joist?
Either direction is fine.
We are installing bamboo flooring in a new build above a heated basement. It is going over a plywood subfloor but do I also need an underlayment also and if so, what kind? There is onyx radiant tubing under the plywood subfloor.
Over plywood you typically nail down or float. If you nail down you wouldn’t use an underlayment but you can when you float the floor. Underlayments are not required but they do add a bit of comfort and sound insulation to the floor.
I’m just doing a closet with two boxes of bamboo wood. Not enough room on one dimension to cross stack in that room. Assume Olin another too of house with similar temperature?
Not really understanding the question but it sounds like you are concerned about acclimating flooring in a closet? It doesn’t need to acclimate in the closet if it is too much trouble, just get it as close to the closet as possible and you’ll be just fine.
What is the acclimation period for Cork flooring and the Eucalyptus flooring? Is it the same as the Bamboo?
Yes, 5 days minimum.
How does one acquire a moisture meter to check to flooring and sub floor? Also I have read that bamboo requires special calibration of a moisture meter to correctly read its moisture content, is this true?
Moisture meters can be purchased at most home improvement stores, but they typically carry low-cost models that often give inconsistent readings. We recommend Wagner meters but they can get expensive.
Some home improvement stores may rent the good moisture meters also most local tool rental shops will rent quality moisture meters. For the Wagner, since they don’t yet have a bamboo setting in their species menu yet (we’re in discussions with them), they recommend using the Douglas Fir setting and this conversion chart to get an accurate bamboo reading.