Care & Maintenance

Do not use a wet spray micro fiber mop, or wet swiffers. Never use wax, polish, abrasive cleaners or scouring agents as they may dull or distort the finish.

For normal everyday cleaning use a broom or a DRY swiffer to sweep up any debris. For hard to clean spots use a lightly damp cloth or mop to clean or you can use a hard surface spray cleaner, just spray a light mist on the floor and then mop with a DRY micro fiber mop. Avoid using excessive moisture. Too much moisture can cause warping, or buckling which is not covered under warranty. All spills should be cleaned up immediately. Use protective pads under furniture. USE CAUTION: Planks are slippery when wet.

It's a good idea to save a few panels in case of accidental damage. Planks can be replaced or repaired by flooring professional.

INSTALLATON GUIDELINES
Engineered Hardwood Installation Guidelines (PDF)

General Installation
Westhollow Bamboo Unilin Flooring is a revolutionary system for installing solid flooring without using glue. Westhollow Bamboo Unilin Flooring uses an ingenious form of tongue and groove to “click” the panel together. Because there is no glue, Westhollow Bamboo Unilin Click Lock Flooring is much easier and cleaner to work with.

1. You can join together the panels of the Westhollow Bamboo Unilin Flooring System in two different ways:

• A. The panels can be rotated to fit into one another, with either the tongue into the groove, or the groove into the tongue. The easiest way to fit the Westhollow Unilin Uniclic Flooring is tongue into groove. Installation instructions are based on using this installation technique. Fitting the groove onto the tongue is only required in a few specific situations. Position the panel to be installed at an angle of 20°-30° to the panel already installed. Move the panel to be fitted slightly up and down at the same time exerting forward pressure. The panels will then click into place together.
• B. In some cases, the panels cannot be rotated into one another, for example along the short edge of a panel that has already been clicked into place along the long side, or under a door frame etc. In this case, the panels can also be fitted lying flat.

NOTE:Check the panels from all cartons before and during installation. Before installing, all cartons must be fully acclimatized for 5-7 days with temperatures ranging from 50°-70°F. In the unlikely event of there being any damaged panels, these should not be installed.

Note: The relative humidity of any room can be checked with a hygrometer.
Note on bowing: The boards may be slightly concave or convex when removed from the carton. Once they are properly installed they will lay flat.

Westhollow Bamboo is all natural, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, completely renewable and uses low emission glues and finishes. All of our glues out-perform both the stringent E1 (European) and Califrnia (U.S.) emission standards, the highest ratings available. The harmless odor of new bamboo flooring will dissipate within the first 48 to 72 hours after insallation with normal ventilation.

2. Tools for installing the Flooring:

• hammer
• saw
• crowbar or pinch bar with protruding edge (to be tapped on with a hammer)
• spacer blocks (3/8”).
  When sawing pieces off the panels, use a fine-toothed hand saw, jigsaw or cross-cut saw. To achieve a clean cut, saw with the top side down with a jigsaw and up with a hand saw or cross-cut saw.

3. The Best Preparation
The floor should preferably be installed parallel to the way the light falls. The floor should be installed in an environment that is at a temperature of 60°F-70°F and relative humidity of 40-60%. Allow Westhollow Bamboo Unilin Flooring to acclimatize for 5-7 days in its original packing, in the area where it is to be installed. Place the packs, opened or unopened, in the middle of the room, NEVER against a wall or placed in a corner.

• Doors can still open and close after installing the floor with a sub-floor (minimum of 3/8”).
• Door frames may need to be adapted to install the floor under them.

4. Subfloors
Repair any defects in the subfloors. All sub-floors must be clean, firm, flat (within 3/16” in 10 ft), dry (less than 3% moisture on concrete, 10% or less on plywood) and smooth.

Plywood subfloors must conform to the U.S. Uniform Building Code. The moisture content of the plywood subfloor must not exceed 10%. It is essential that the crawl space under wood subfloors is sufficiently ventilated. Remove any obstacles and provide sufficient ventilation. A 6 mil poly vapor barrier must be installed on the crawl space floor.

Concrete subfloor must not exceed 3lbs using a Calcium Chloride test method (ASTM) or 80% Relative Humidity (ASTM).

Existing flooring such as full spread sheet vinyl are acceptable to go over providing they are tightly bonded with no loose edges or seams. Approved cushion underlay is still required.

In areas exceeding acceptable moisture levels, and in all on or below grade installations a moisture vapor barrier is required.

5. BASIC INSTALLATION
Installing Under Door Frames

• Fig. 1 Slide the flooring at least 1/4 inch underneath the frame and wall base. Also leave a concealed 1/4 inch expansion space under each.
• Fig. 2 Assemble the first row of planks with the tongue side toward the staring wall. Insert the tongue into the groove of the end joints and totate downward. Keep planks aligned and joints closed.
• Fig. 3 Use spacers to maintain a 1/4 inch expansion space.
  NOTE: For rooms exceeding 25’ in any direction, additional expansion space should be added at the rate of 1/16" for every 1/3 of flooring. To add expansion space in the middle of a room, leave an appropriately sized gap between planks and cover the gap with a T-style molding. Expansion space may be added at the perimeter by leaving extra space between the edge of the flooring and the wall. Add additional expansion joints in doorways and archways, covering the gap with a molding, such as a T-molding or a Threshold.
• Fig. 4 Remove the tongue on the end of the first plank and the tongue along the length of all planks against the starting wall when the starting wall is straight.
• Fig. 5 If the starting wall is uneven, scribe or draw the contour of the wall on the planks and cut along the pencil line. Also remove the tongue on the end of the first plank of the first row.
• Fig. 6 Loose lay the first row of planks appropriately 2 feet from the starting wall. Cut the first plank of row two 32 inces in length and loose lay several full sized planks for row two.
• Fig. 7 At a slight angle, insert the tongue of plank two into the groove of plank 1 until the laminate edges meet, then press downward until the joint locks. There should not be any gaps at the joints.
• Fig. 8 Join the short end of plank 1 to the end of plank 3 while keeping the plank ends perfectly aligned.
• Fig. 9 Slide the two assembled rows to the starting wall. Maintain a 1/4 inch expansion space with spacers. Use pieces cut from the opposite wall to begin the next row or anther row always providing at least a 12 inch or greater distance between the end joints from one row to the next.
• Fig. 10 Cutting the last row: Place a full row of planks directly on top of the last installed row of full planks. Use the full width of a scrap piece of plank. Place the tongue side against the wall and the pencil against the extended groove and mark a line the length of the wall. Cut along the pencil line.
• Fig. 11 When installing around pipes, leave a 1/4 inch expansion space around the pipes. Use glue to join the cut pieces. Installing under doorframes: Assemble the short and long sides using the pull bar if needed.

6. Radiant Heated Sub-Floors
Before installing over a radiant-heated floor, turn off the heat and wait until the floors has reached room temperature(68°-70°F). after installing the floor, return the heat to the previous setting. This should be done gradually over a three week period. The use of an exterior thermostat will raise the home temperature at a more controlled rate as the temperature outside falls, putting less stress on the flooring.
Caution> the slab surface must never exceed 85°F in temperature.