Floating Bamboo floor installation in kitchen

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swindmill

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I'm in the middle of a kitchen renovation and should be installing a Click-Lock floating bamboo floor from Cali-Bamboo at the end of the week. My kitchen is completely empty, with a plywood subfloor. My preference is to lay the floor wall to wall and put cabinets on top. Cali-Bamboo says not to install the floating floor under fixed cabinetry. I am installing cabinets with adjustable feet, for what that's worth. I spoke to someone at Cali-Bamboo about this and he said if something heavy will be on the floor (such as a fridge, range, dishwasher), I should glue the joints in these places. I don't see any way around having flooring underneath appliances, at least I wouldn't lay a kitchen floor that way. So, my question is, can I go ahead and lay the floor wall to wall since cabinets are lighter than appliances? I understand the reasoning behind having no fixed weight on a floating floor, but in a kitchen there is no way around it. Is buckling inevitable in this scenario or just a slight possibility? My flooring will have acclimated for about 10 days prior to install.

My second question relates underlayment. I'd like to use a cork underlayment. I'm thinking of using plastic for a vapor barrier beneath that. The kitchen sits over a crawlspace that is lined with plastic and spray foamed around the perimeter. It is not completely dry by any means, but there is no obvious moisture down there.

EDIT: To comment on one of my own questions, I'm reading plenty of sources that say not to use a vapor barrier over plywood. At this point, I'm just leaning towards laying a cork underlayment on the subfloor, and the bamboo directly on top of that.
 
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The usual thought is if you have a plywood sub floor , that is the vapor bearier put you have an insulated crawl space. I argue against that all the time, you should have that space condition as part of the house, if you have moisture down there you should have dehumidifier
I can't comment on the floor other than I would not put it under the cabinets.
 
I'm trying to figure out the difference between putting the flooring under the cabinets and putting it under appliances. Either way, there is significant weight on the floating floor. If the recommendation is to glue the joints under the appliances, it seems that I could use that same recommendation under the cabinets. It just seems odd for the manufacturer to say it can't be under one thing that weighs a lot, but it can be under other things that weigh a lot. I understand that flooring under appliances is unavoidable, but I don't see a practical difference. I guess I'm just playing devil's advocate so I'm comfortable that it will work out.
 
I don't know about your floor but I had laminate thru out my place for about 2 weeks before the flood. All the floor had to be removed as it will mold and there is no hope of drying it. I did not have to pull the cupboards.

I have a few friends with click together floor that expands and the contracts and the joints separate at the end joints, I would consider gluing the end joints. But I don't know the pros and cos of that.
 
That is a fair point about the possibility of needing to replace the floor and not remove the cabinets. I will glue all the joints under the appliances, and cabinets if I go that route. I still have a couple days of drywall work and then paint, so I plan to put the floor in Saturday.

I've noticed that the manufacturer recommends asphalt saturated kraft paper as a moisture barrier on wood subfloors, so I'm looking into that.
 
I didn’t do bamboo but put a floating floor in the kitchen. I broke every rule there is for floating floors I think. I laid mine over an old peel and stick floor the floor had a dip in it that is about an inch or more. I did the room and an entrance way wall to wall and then set the cabinets on top I then built a center island out of cabinets and screwed it thru the flooring all the way to the old flooring I drilled down thru the flooring and ran electrical to the island mini wine fridge.

After a couple years I only had one minor separation and that is in the doorway to the entrance. That little room is over a cold crawlspace and the movement it saw was from the cold last winter moving that room up.

If I have to remove it and replace it I would remove the island and most likely cut it under the rest.

If I had the time when I was putting it down I would have glued it all the way floating flooring used to be done. Makes it very waterproof. The stuff I put down was used flooring and I just wanted to get it down quick.

IMG_5168.jpg
 
That certainly makes me feel better about any minor discrepancies in my plan. There's really no reason I can't glue this down, it's just easier to put down and take up if it's floating. I really can't imagine having so much expansion that it will cause buckling, which is what the manufacturer is warning of. I'd imagine any expansion would be minimal, slow, and a maybe strong enough force to occur under cabinets, etc.
 
Leave a quarter inch all the way around the room that will go under the baseboards. Only use glue in the grove and get a good yellow glue. After you do a couple you will catch on just how much it takes to get a tiny line of glue to come out the crack. Get that off right away with a wet paper towel. On laminate you get a slight swelling at the joint and it goes right away when the glue dries. I don’t know about bamboo, maybe test it first. In the old days it wasn’t snap lock and each joint had to be wedged in place to get perfect joints, this snap stuff is hard to make a mistake with.

Again I only offered my experience and how it worked out for me and I know different products lock together different amounts etc.
 
I definitely understand you are offering your experience only. I think I am fairly comfortable going under the cabinets and gluing the joints in those spots. This kitchen is only about 110 square feet, so cost difference is not much of an issue and there aren't that many cabinets. It will be much easier overall to do the entire floor and then put everything in place. And, since I'm using Ikea carcasses for the base cabinets, it allows me (or anyone else) to change things up later.

A couple more questions that I'll leave in this thread:

I'll be using a 10" miter saw for end cuts and a 10" table saw for rips. Do I need a special blade for bamboo? Especially making 74" rips along the wall...I'm not sure if this will mess up the blade or the bamboo. Would it be best to use a jigsaw or table saw to notch around the HVAC vent and a couple outside corners I have?

Lastly, I bought a matching threshold piece that will transition into a living room (pine plank). It obviously doesn't click lock, so I'm guessing that I should glue and/or shoot finishing nails. The manufacturer doesn't specify how to install this as far as I can tell.
 
I wasn't sure if a different blade would be necessary due to the hardness of bamboo.
 
I have never cut it, all my blades have carbide teeth. Cutting from the back of the board will always give you a better cut.
 
I have never left a half an inch, maybe bamboo takes more. How thick is the flooring and how high is the door adjuster plate? I would leave about one quarter or less and use a matching rubbery caulking.
 
If the piece of hardwood on the threshold can be changed for a wider one or just tack a cove to it.
 
I'd unscrew the threshold, install the flooring under it, then reinstall the threshold.
 
The 1/2" figure is manufacturer specification. It's solid bamboo. It'll be under baseboard and shoe molding everywhere else. The door threshold is part of the door assembly. My options seem to be rip a small amount off the planks along that wall, except where the door is, or use a small piece of molding to cover the gap. The molding can only be about about 1/4" tall before it gets in the way of the door.
 
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