Flooring - buying, installing

[hominidj.livejournal.com]

My wife and I just bought a home in Medford on the Somerville line. Does anyone have any recommendations about where to buy bamboo flooring in the Somerville/Medford area? Or any recommendations for installers? Thanks.

Comments

[i-leonardo.livejournal.com]

lumber liquidators sells at least 4 different styles. you don't need to pre-drill it for nails; the correct fasteners are staples and the staples are driven by pneumatic staple guns. a decent crew can lay most of a 20' x 80' floor in a day. if you buy the pre-finished stuff, you're all done after a day or two. the pre-finished bamboo has slight bevels on the edges and if you have aesthetic objections to that, you can buy it unfinished. unfinished bamboo needs to be sanded and finished after installation and that can add a week to the completion time. if you take that route, for the love of god, man, don't use home depot brand floor finish. "street shoe" is ultra-durable and when we re-finish ours, that's what we'll be using. the crew that installed our bamboo were dipsticks, so no recommendation, but don't let anyone snow you about pre-drilling nail holes.

[i-leonardo.livejournal.com]

addendum: there are also bamboo products that can be used in a "floating" installation, requiring no nails or staples.