Bamboo Flooring

[Tommy T.]

3 minutes ago, Mike J said:

Seeing these pictures make me miss the house.  It was a real labor of love and without a doubt my best remodel. 

 

Wow!!! That's stunning workmanship and design choices! I especially like the transitions from wood to tile. I will show these photos to L after her work. I know she's going to say, "I love that!!!"

What a beautiful job you did! And thanks for sharing that here.

[Mike J]

4 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Would the sealer affect the finish of flat finish stone?

The sealer would work very well on a flat finish.  You put it on with a rag or bush, let it set, then wipe off the excess.  Let dry, test with a drop of water.  If the water beads up you are good to go.  If it wants to seep into the granite, give additional coats.  First time could take as many as three coats.  After that it normally only takes one.  It also helps keep the grout from getting dirty and stained, a common problem with any floor that uses grout.

4 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

There will be a small roof terrace - maybe 30 sq m? We were thinking of ceramic possibly for that, but we are also thinking about sun and rain - heat and cool... Any suggestions?

A roof terrace would be subject to a lot of temperature change which could cause problems with popping.  Have you considered polished concrete?  I have not seen any done here, but have not looked either.  They use a machine, similar to a floor buffer, to grind, sand, then polish the concrete surface.  You can also stain the concrete if you want to add some color.  They can also use a diamond saw to make shallow kerfs in a grid at 60 cm intervals.  This give the look of tile and also give the slab a place to crack if cracking is going to be an issue.  If you go with tile I think I would go with a nonslip ceramic, and store a couple extra boxes in case of cracking or popping.

[Tommy T.]

2 minutes ago, Mike J said:

If it wants to seep into the granite, give additional coats.  First time could take as many as three coats.  After that it normally only takes one.  It also helps keep the grout from getting dirty and stained, a common problem with any floor that uses grout.

Got it, thanks! That sounds similar to when we sealed pine windows in our house before. It took several coats and darkened when wet but looked like untreated when dry. I think we are heading toward a rather neutral gray - natural stone - type colour and any grout maybe black or very dark gray so as not to show any staining that might occur.

6 minutes ago, Mike J said:

Have you considered polished concrete?  I have not seen any done here, but have not looked either. 

L again had suggestions about the roof deck. She believes that installing tiles will help prevent leaks. I am not so sure. But, besides that, I am back to the issue of slickness when wet for the cement. The garage in our house in USA had smooth cement - they did it just by careful finishing work - and it was great, although a bit slick when wet, but it was not polished. Looking at it, though, it was rather shiny.

I like your idea of non-slip ceramic. The area is up on the side of Mt. Apo and gets more rain than down in the city proper, so mildew will be a problem and add to the slickness of anything we use. We will definitely have someone staying there with us to do routine cleaning maintenance, then hire the "professionals" for serious cleaning and also sealing service.

We are also planning on having a few boxes of spares of all tiles and wood used. I hate looking for replacement products only to find that either, "sorry, out of stock," or discontinued items... More good advice from you too!

[RBM]

Back on flooring, 5 years ago we laid the long laminated wood grain  toungue an grove planks through out our place. Purchased from Citi Hardware.

Been mostly happy how ever moisture is the killer, we have several lifting in kitchen where water has been spilt. From memory they were laid over a think cover of foam. Bedrooms and halls are still fine.

[hk blues]

18 minutes ago, RBM said:

Back on flooring, 5 years ago we laid the long laminated wood grain  toungue an grove planks through out our place. Purchased from Citi Hardware.

Been mostly happy how ever moisture is the killer, we have several lifting in kitchen where water has been spilt. From memory they were laid over a think cover of foam. Bedrooms and halls are still fine.

Yep, the water is the killer.  We placed a large mat under the sink to minimise this problem - it's been 3 years now and nothing has lifted so far.

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, RBM said:

Back on flooring, 5 years ago we laid the long laminated wood grain  toungue an grove planks through out our place. Purchased from Citi Hardware.

 

Thanks for your input RBM. You said "long laminated wood grain." So, just to confirm, is it the version that resembles plywood laminations with the thin wood grain veneer on top? And are they "natural" colour or dyed darker?

That's good news they have held up so well... I think we'll pass on doing that in the kitchen because both of us are notorious for spilling wet messes on the kitchen floor...

[bastonjock]

On 7/30/2019 at 5:07 AM, Tommy T. said:

Thanks for your reply, Jack. I may not have explained my need adequately - sorry if I did not make it more clear... Or did I misunderstand your comments? Always possible with this old guy here...

I am looking for wood flooring that is boards with tongue and groove slats - maybe 4-5+ inches wide, about 1/4" or thicker. This is a manufactured product - mostly produced in China, so far as my research has shown. I don't think it is a local product? But - as frequently - I may be wrong about that?

What I am seeing online is that these slats or "tiles?" seem to be manufactured almost exclusively in China. The woven strand bamboo is produced sort of like pressboard, with high pressure and glues to hold all the fibrous bamboo together into boards. There are other versions I have researched - "engineered," which is similar to plywood with a veneer on top, "mat board," which seems to be exactly like particle board and also with a veneer (or maybe this is the one made like plywood? I forgot already as my head is spinning with all the choices), or solid wood - which is quite beautiful but way beyond my financial reach and, apparently, not nearly as strong as the woven bamboo strand construction...

Those are the results of my research, so far. I am no expert on any of this, just regurgitating what I have learned online.

Be carefull with pressed boards that are basically a wood chip held together with resin and a laminate finish 

We know such products as MDF board and as far as i am aware have been banned in the UK

The board has a reputation of being the next " Asbestos " for the construction industry 

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, bastonjock said:

Be carefull with pressed boards that are basically a wood chip held together with resin and a laminate finish 

We know such products as MDF board and as far as i am aware have been banned in the UK

The board has a reputation of being the next " Asbestos " for the construction industry 

Not banned but I understand the Unions are pushing for it 

[Tommy T.]

4 hours ago, bastonjock said:

Be carefull with pressed boards that are basically a wood chip held together with resin and a laminate finish 

We know such products as MDF board and as far as i am aware have been banned in the UK

The board has a reputation of being the next " Asbestos " for the construction industry 

Thanks, Baston. I had not heard that but that's okay because we are not so interested  in that type of board tile. Hopefully we will be safe with stranded woven bamboo...

[Jack Peterson]

3 hours ago, hk blues said:

Not banned but I understand the Unions are pushing for it 

 The unions? and Not the Health & safety brigade