• Bamboo Flooring is 25% harder than Red Oak and 12% harder than Rock Maple.
• More dimensionally stable than commonly used wood flooring including Oak and Maple.
• It is a "Green, Sustainable" environmentally popular choice.
• Bamboo is an innovative beautiful natural design.
• Affordable.
• Easy to install.
• Low maintenance.

BASSI offer an environmentally friendly alternative to the American market at a very competitive price. It combines three basic qualities: beauty, durability, and quality.

Bamboo is harvested from controlled forests and manufactured with the maximum controlled process all through out with the result of the highest quality of bamboo products.

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Bamboo flooring is made from the highest quality bamboo available. It has stable properties that exceed most wood flooring products. However, Bamboo is a solid, natural product and it will naturally expand when exposed to moisture, but, usually much less than similar solid wood flooring.

Excessive humidity could cause cupping or buckling, so it is important to use an air conditioner or dehumidifier during humid months. Expansion and contraction is not considered a defect. Proper acclimation of the bamboo prior to installation can help minimize this naturally occurring phenomenon. Allow at least a ¾" space parallel to the direction of the floor.

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Care and preservation of your hardwood floors. Building interiors are affected by tow distinct humidity seasons – Heating and Non-heating. To protect your investment and to assure that your floors provide lasting satisfaction, we have provided our recommendation bellow.

Heating season (dry): Humidifier is recommended to prevent excessive shrinkage in wood floors due to low humidity levels. Wood stoves and electricity heat tend to create very dry conditions.

Non-heating season (humid, wet): Proper humidity levels can be maintained by use of and air conditioner dehumidifier or by turning on your heating system periodically during the summer months. Avoid excessive exposure to water form tracking during periods of inclement weather. Do not obstruct in any way the expansion joints around the perimeter of your floors.

The installer must be careful to protect the bamboo flooring from gaining moisture before, during, and after the installation of the flooring. Any defective piece shall be discarded. The bamboo flooring should be delivered after the building has been closed-in and all cement work, plastering, painting and other materials are completely dry. The bamboo flooring should arrive to the job site at least 72 hours before installation. The boxes should be opened when either heating or air conditioning are on so the bamboo flooring acclimates to the environment.

Recommended optimum conditions are:

• Floor Surface 15°C or 59°F max.
• Air Temperature 18°C or 64°F max.
• Air Humidity 50% RH.

Do not unload the bamboo flooring during wet conditions such as rain or snow, etc. Buildings with crawl space foundations should include a vapor barrier installed between the ground and the sub-floor. This barrier will minimize the effect of moisture evaporating into the crawl space environment that can migrate through the sub-floor and into the bamboo flooring. The vapor barrier can be 4 to 6 mil polyethylene sheets laid on the crawl-space floor. Proper air circulation is important to prevent moisture build-up.

At least two vents should be left open year round. The building should be completely enclosed with windows and doors installed prior to flooring installation. Freshly poured concrete slabs emit many gallons of moisture as water vapor into the atmosphere of the building. Therefore, no concrete should be poured after the flooring is installed, and adequate curing time (minimum 60 days) should be provided before installation of the bamboo flooring.

Bamboo is a product of nature and because of its natural color variation it is recommended to work out of four or five boxes at a time to assure a beautiful blend of shading.

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Surfaces where the bamboo flooring is to be installed must be dry and clean. In the case where gluing is the attachment method, the floor must be free of contaminants, which may interfere with the performance of the adhesive. Sub-floor must be smooth, level and should be constructed of ½" or better. The plywood should be laid with grained outer plies at right angles to joists with 7D or larger nails.

When installing directly over an old wood strip floor, sand any high spots, re-nail old floor to eliminate squeaks or loose boards. Install new planks at right angles of old floor, overlay old floor with ½" plywood gaped 1/8" at edges and nail with 7D or larger nails, every 6" at edges and every 12" in both directions and through the interior of each sheet of plywood. The moisture content of the wood or plywood sub-floor should not exceed 14%. Sub-floors, which are built with performance rated ¾" thick oriented stand board (OSB) or plywood, will produce the best performing bamboo floors. Also, 5/8" thick plywood maybe used. But ½" sub-floor products may lack stiffness and nail-holding properties for wood performance with bamboo flooring.

Use a moisture meter to check moisture levels in both the sub-floor and the bamboo flooring. If the difference in moisture is greater than a 3% between the sub-floor and the bamboo flooring, the flooring should be unbundled and left to acclimate until moisture levels are within 3% range.

Fifteen-pound building paper (tar paper) should be laid directly onto the sub-floor. It minimizes squeaks caused by small movements of the bamboo flooring after installation, and helps to reduce some moisture problems.

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• Tape measure
• Broom
• Chalk-line
• Hammer
• Nail punch
• Pry bar
• Circular saw or table saw (Tungsten blades are highly recommended).
• Power nailer with mallet.
• 1 ¼" to ½" nail or staple (for 3/8" thick floor)
• 15 gauge flooring staples with ½" crown (for ¾" thick floor)
• Stanley Bostitch floor runner staple gun
• V notched trowel use 3/16" x 3/8" x 9/16"

Bamboo flooring should be installed in a similar manner to that described by the National Wood Floor Association, NWFA.

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1. Sub-floor Preparation:

Sweep floor clean. Provide proper layout of flooring by distributing short and long lengths equally over the areas to be floored. Planks should be laid at right angles to the floor joists. Establish the desired pattern by distributing the face widths. The started row must be parallel to the longest dimension of the room.

2. Layout of Working Lines:

Align the first row of planks to be sure you have a good straight line from one side of the room to the other. You even want to snap a chalk line at the desired distance from the wall to help align the planks. Leave ¾" for expansion at wall vertical surfaces; this space will be covered by the floor accessory of choice: baseboard, quarter round, or shoe mold.

3. Border and First Row:

Form the starting plank cut in step 1, and then select the piece with the end tong. Place-in with the side groove and cut end to the walls, allow ¾" for expansion space. Drive 1D or 8D cut steel type flooring nails into the face of the board every 12" approximately ½" to ¾" from the edge closest to the starting wall and within 2" to 3" from the ends and in the darker grain of the wood.

Nail the plank by driving the same type nails a 45° angle through the tongue of the plank, spacing the nails every 10" to 12" and within 2" to 3" from the ends. This process should be repeated for each piece of the entire row. Upon completion of the first row, go back and sink the face nails with a nail punch. If it appears the holes are not being covered by the baseboard molding, fill the holes with filler, which blends with your floor.

4. Second Row:

Begin installing the second row by repeating the edge nailing as described in step 3. (Do not face nails as the first row) Note: Typically the first rows must be edge nailed by hand rather than with a nailing machine due to vertical wall obstruction. When Clearance allows, and edge machine, which drives 2 fasteners with an appropriate mallet, can be used to be used to simplify and speed the nailing process.

5. Laying the planks:

Floor should be installed from several cartons at the same time to insure good color and shade mixture. Install each succeeding row of planks by edge nailing the tongue side every 10" – 12" to within 2" – 3" from board ends. Be attentive to the desired sequence of widths and staggering the ends of boards at least 6" in adjacent rows. Upon reaching the last row to be installed, the planks should be ripped to allow ¾ expansion space. The last rows must be fastened by face nailing approximately ½" – ¾" from the back edge of the board every 12". The same process of counter sinking the face nails and applying filler should be repeated. Replace baseboard moldings and other finish pieces as necessary.

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Bamboo flooring can also be installed directly over concrete slab on, above or below grade. A moisture barrier is recommended even when a wood sub-floor is used. Once again, it is very important than the installer is working on a flat, clean and dry base floor. When the base is ready to use, glue the floor over the existing concrete slab or a plywood sub-floor using the glues that are recommended. Use any top-quality wood floor adhesive of the market, such as Franklin or Bostik brands. But it should be D3 waterproof glue (not watercraft glue)

For concrete slab on grade or above grade, be sure to test for moisture. We recommended several test methods: polyfilm test, calcium test, phenolphthalein test, calcium chlorine test, phenolphthalein test, or a pinless moisture meter. Vapor pressure should not exceed 3 lbs. /1,000 SF in 24 hours.

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Two-inch long flooring nails or 2", 15 gauge flooring staples with a ½" crown, may be used to install ¾" thick bamboo flooring. 1- ¼" to 1- ½" long flooring nails or staples can be uses to install 3/8" thick bamboo flooring.

These fasteners are installed using pneumatic or mechanically operated floor nailing guns which are struck with a rubber-faced hammer to drive each board tightly against its neighbor and simultaneously fire the nail or staple through the tongue of the bamboo flooring and into the sub-floor.

In order to achieve a trouble-free installation, we recommend a nail or staple spacing is 8 to 10 inches apart along the length of each floor board. Each floor board should be nailed at least 5" away from each other and during installation, it is useful to scribe nail spacing lines directly onto the tar paper with chalk. This will enable the installer to easily identify the location of each nail.

Proper use of equipment will render good results. Improper use of equipment will cause both spitting or cracking of the tongue, installers are advised to check your equipment or adjust your powers nailer tool before installation.

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We have tested our product with many of the major brand names of floor finishes, and the finishes that we recommend most are minwax fast drying polyurethane, high resin polyurethane, Dura seal symthane, and glitsa bacca sealer and solid seal semi-gloss.

We recommend to our installers, always follow the manufacturer guideline.

Bamboo flooring can be sanded like any other hard wood surface. See our technical for hardness. Sweep the floor immediately before sanding. Sanding and finishing the bamboo floors should be one of the last jobs on a construction project. This protects the floor from foot traffic of other tradesmen during their work. Floor sanding involves using a special floor sander, edge sander, and usually with a disc attachment for holding sand paper. Sanding starts with a course to medium grit and then completed with sanding the entire floor with a coarse grit sand paper. This produces a fine flooring surface and ready for finishing.

After sanding be sure to apply the first coat of finish on the same day as you completed sanding. This prevents moisture form being absorbed into the surface of the flooring and producing a rough, raised-grain appearance. Bamboo floors can be refinished a minimum of three times by following proper maintenance and care. The finish may be damaged by spike heels, stone chips, gravel, and scratches. Furniture must have chair glides to protect the floor. Fading due to sunlight may occasionally occur. The floor can be finished with products that are commonly used for other types of strip hardwood flooring, including penetrating sealers, pigmented wiping stains, moisture cured urethane, and polyurethane.

The techniques of sanding and finishing require high skill and best results may be obtained by employing professional floor finishers. We recommended several products from these manufactures with basic coating, minwax fast-drying polyurethane, or polyshade from minwax, they are finishes with excellent results.

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Bamboo flooring is most appropriate for Radiant Heating System. It is harder than Oak, quite stable and extremely dense. These properties make properly manufactured bamboo flooring very desirable to use over radiant heat. The heating process should be gradual, with small with small increment. All sub-floors should have the proper moisture test done, as indicated on Moisture Resistance. A six (6) or eight (8) mill polyethylene vapor barrier should be installed over slab radiant heat systems and tape all seams of barrier. Four double protection, foam sheeting of 1/16" can be laid over the vapor barrier.

Engineered bamboo floor can be edge glued and float over radiant heating system. A thin foam pad is usually placed under the wood flooring. This allows the flooring and the radiant system to expand and contract separately. The R-value for a ¾" engineered bamboo floor is R=0.720, according to the Radiant Panel Association, RPA. The lower the R-value the better heat transfers.

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The NWFA guidelines indicate that the construction of a floating floor system will require two layers of ½" plywood over radiant heat system (R-1.1) at 45º angles to each other and screwed together. The bamboo flooring is then nailed on top.

The NWFA guideline indicate that the construction of a floating floor system will require one layer of ¾" (R-0.78) plywood to reduce the r-value. Since this system adds less resistance to the heat load.

A six (6) or eight (8) mill foam under-layment is the commended as a foam moisture barrier and also sound barrier for floating installation. Allow ½" room for expansion around the perimeter of the room. Increase this space proportionately in floors over 20 SF.

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