How to Replace Carpet With Bamboo

Pull back one corner of the carpet you wish to remove, using a pair of pliers, and shake this area of carpet to detach it from the tack strip underneath. Cut the remainder of the carpet into 3-foot and 4-foot sections, and shake and pull these sections up from the tack strips as well. Use needle-nose pliers to remove any staples in the flooring that were used to hold the carpet pad underneath the carpet in place. Otherwise, apply mineral spirits to any glue used to secure the carpet pad, and wipe the softened glue away, using a sponge or rag.

Remove the tack strips, using a pry bar and hammer. Position the edge of the pry bar underneath each tack strip, and force the pry bar edge farther underneath the tack strip by forcefully tapping the pry bar with a hammer. Loosen the tack strips, using the pry bar, and pull up the strips with your hands.

Choose a moisture barrier, such as plastic sheeting, that is 6 millimeters thick, lay it on the concrete subfloor and allow the sides of the sheeting to stretch a few inches up each wall in the room. Allow the plastic sheeting seams to lie over one another by 6 inches as well.

Apply a floor underlayment, following the manufacturer’s directions, on top of the plastic sheeting so that a person walking on your bamboo flooring will experience a cushiony sensation. Place a cork, rubber or foam underlayment over the moisture barrier, and use a knife to cut off the extra few inches of plastic sheeting you stretched up each wall.

Position the first row of bamboo flooring planks against an outside wall, and allow the long plank sides that feature grooves to face this outside wall. Place waterproof wood glue on the short edges of the planks you are connecting together in this first row. Situate a spacer between the wall and the first row of planks to allow for 1/4 inch of expansion that could take place in the bamboo as result of changes in humidity. Note that failure to do this will cause your bamboo flooring to eventually buckle.

Put glue along the lower lip of the grooves and on the top part of the tongues of your second row of bamboo flooring planks, and repeat this step for all rows of bamboo flooring that you glue to one another. When laying the flooring, stagger consecutive rows’ planks by about 12 inches, using a measuring tape to determine the measurement.

Cut the planks you plan to use in the final row, using a miter saw, so they fit in the area correctly. Make sure at least 1/4 inch of space is available to position a spacer between this final row and the nearby wall. Do not allow anyone to walk on the bamboo flooring for at least half a day as it dries.