Installation guidelines
Synergy™ strand bamboo with Xcora™ technology, prefinished, solid-strip flooring

Pre‐Installation Notes

Please read Teragren LLC's warranty, maintenance instructions, and ALL of the following guidelines before opening any packaging or beginning your flooring installation. This information is provided as a courtesy to our customers and is meant to be understood as an installation guideline only.

Teragren LLC recommends using the services of a professional hardwood flooring installer. For more information and guidelines on the installation of hardwood flooring, please contact the National Wood Flooring Association (800-422-4556) or review their website.

Because bamboo is a natural fiber, it is not uncommon for natural variations in color to occur within and between individual flooring planks. Teragren's warranty does not cover variations in color either in individual planks, between the planks, or the variations in color between our product samples and the installed flooring. An industry standard of 5% material overage should be added to the actual square footage required for cutting and grading allowances.

Prior to installation, the installer and/or homeowner should inspect all material to ensure the material received matches the work order. Any visible defects or discrepancies should immediately be reported to your distributor or dealer. Installation of any material serves as acceptance of that material as delivered.

It is considered the installer/owner's responsibility not to install flooring having finish, manufacturing, or unacceptable, naturally occurring material variations. Individual planks with defects should not be installed or the defect should be cut-out prior to installation. Filler or putty stick may be used to correct minor flooring defects during installation. The Teragren warranty does not cover materials with visible defects once they are installed.

It is the sole responsibility of the installer/owner to determine if the job site's sub-floor and environmental conditions are suitable for the installation of Teragren flooring and accessories.

NOTE: Unexpected changes to subfloor moisture content may cause Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring to cup, buckle, or otherwise dimensionally change. To ensure a lifetime of satisfaction, it is strongly recommended that Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring be installed over a moisture barrier or vapor retarder per the following specifications:

Concrete Subfloors: Use an appropriate liquid or trowel-applied moisture barrier membrane/adhesive system. Impermeable moisture barrier/vapor retarder systems with a perm rating less than or equal to .13 are suggested. In areas where there is the possibility of extremely high slab moisture content, it may be advisable to install the flooring over a floated subfloor consisting of 2 layers of 3/8" plywood laid over a moisture barrier such as 6 mil polyethylene film. For more detailed information on constructing a floated subfloor, please contact the National Wood Flooring Association.
Wood Subfloors: Use a UU-B-790a, Grade B, Type 1, Style 1a permeable vapor retarder or equivalent with a perm rating between .7 and 1

Teragren LLC makes no warranty or guarantee of the quality of the chosen installer's work or of a particular installation performed by the installer. Teragren LLC disclaims all liability for any errors or improprieties in the installation of its products by an installer.

Installation Guidelines

Product Acclimation:
Acclimation should occur at the room temperature and relative humidity levels expected to be present before, during, and after installation. Teragren Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring should be allowed to acclimate on the job site for a minimum of three (3) days. For maximum stability, Synergy should be acclimated at and installed into environments with relative humidity (RH) and temperature controls capable of maintaining the delivered moisture content of 7-9%. Please reference the following chart for correlations between RH, Temperature, and moisture content (%).
Click the chart for a larger view:

Open each box, remove the flooring from its packaging, and stack the flooring planks at least 4" off the ground (with stickers between each layer of planks) to allow for complete and even air-circulation around the flooring. For wooden subfloors, the maximum difference in moisture content between the subfloor and the flooring material should be no more than 2 percentage points (e.g. if wooden subfloor has a moisture content of 6%, the maximum moisture content of the flooring should be 8%). It is important to note that gaps in the floor may come and go seasonally due to temperature and relative humidity changes. The amount of movement depends upon the temperature, relative humidity, and the moisture content of the flooring and subflooring (wood moves as moisture content rises and falls).

Tools Recommended:
Teragren Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring is best installed by nailing, stapling, or gluing planks to a wooden subfloor, or by gluing flooring to a concrete subfloor. Do not install Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring below grade. Teragren Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring may be installed over radiant floor heating systems (see Radiant Floors section below).

Staple/Nail Installation/Glue over wooden subfloor: Moisture meter with calibration for common subfloor materials and the ability to test Teragren Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip bamboo (please reference our Teragren Synergy Moisture Meter Conversion Chart), moisture barrier or vapor retarder, hammer (1 lb), tape measure, chalk line, pencil, carpenter square, scribing block, flat bar, 1/2" wedges, saw, chop saw with 80 tooth carbide tipped blade, moisture barrier, pneumatic tongue & groove flooring stapler/nailer or manual nailer, staples/cleats or equivalent (see appropriate section below). Note: Staple and or nail gauges larger than 18 gauge (e.g. 15.5 gauge) will damage Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring and may void Teragren's warranty.

Glue-down Installation over concrete subfloor: Calcium chloride or equivalent testing system, moisture meter with calibration for Teragren Synergy Strand bamboo (please reference our Teragren Synergy Moisture Meter Conversion Chart), premium wood flooring adhesive/moisture barrier system, Hammer (1 lb), tape measure, chalk line, pencil, carpenter square, scribing block, flat bar, 1/2" wedges, saw, chop saw with 80 tooth carbide tipped blade, low adhesive painter's tape.

Site Preparation

A moisture-vapor retardant such as 6 mil polyethylene film must be placed in crawl spaces. Subflooring surfaces must be clean, dry, and if gluing the flooring directly to the subfloor, be free of contaminants that would interfere with an adhesive bond. Fix any squeaks or movement in the subfloor prior to flooring installation. The subfloor surface must be level and smooth prior to flooring installation. Subfloors should be checked for flatness prior to installation and any low spots or voids should be filled to a minimum of 3/16" within a 10' radius or 1/8" in a 6' radius, and high spots ground to surface. Teragren recommends using 3/4" CDX plywood as a nailing substrate or for a glue application, 5/8" CDX plywood for 12" on center and 16" on center floors, and 3/4" CDX plywood for 24" on center floors. A subfloor of 1-1/8" plywood over joists at 16"on center is recommended for an optimal installation.

Important Note: Concrete subfloors MUST be tested for moisture vapor pressure in more than one place for consistent readings. Teragren recommends using a Calcium Chloride Test Method to quantify the volume of moisture vapor radiating from a concrete slab surface over time. If test results show moisture vapor pressure at or exceeding 3 lbs. per 1000 square feet in 24 hours DO NOT install the floor without a moisture barrier designed to permanently block this moisture. Regardless of subfloor moisture content/moisture vapor pressure, Teragren strongly recommends the use of a vapor barrier or vapor retarder for all installations of Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring.

Note: Depending on the geographical area and interior climate control systems of the installation environment, to minimize expansion in floors that are wider than 20', installers may need to build-in additional spacing between planks and at the edge of rooms. Where additional spacing is required, use a washer or removable spacer between every few rows of planks.
Reference: National Wood Flooring Association Technical Reference Manual.

Staple or Nail-down Installations
Note: Staple or nail gauges larger than 18 gauge (e.g. 15.5 gauge) will damage Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring and may void Teragren's warranty.

Prior to installation, for best results, place a UU-B-790a, Grade B, Type 1, Style 1a permeable vapor retarder or equivalent with a perm rating between .7 and 1 over the entire sub-floor following the manufacturer's instructions.

Due to the extreme hardness of Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring, it is the responsibility of the installer to determine the correct pressure/psi for their stapler/nailer for their unique installation environment. Test staple/nail a sacrificial plank to the sub-floor to check for correct air pressure, surface damage, tongue damage (splitting) etc. before proceeding with the installation.

Flooring should be square with the space and perpendicular to the joists. Leave a 7/16" expansion space from base plate or wall. Starter rows shall be held firmly in place by gluing, wedging or blind nailing. Once starter rows are secure, additional rows shall be nailed or stapled directly above the tongue at a 45-50 degree angle to the face.

Staplers: Carefully monitor stapler pressure to ensure the crown of the staple enters the tongue as deeply as required to allow adjacent plank to fit properly. Ensure staple crown rests cleanly in the "nail pocket". Staples shall be placed no closer than 3" from the ends of each plank and then spaced at 8" intervals or as required to prevent tongue splitting/damage.

The following staplers have been tested by their manufacturers for use with Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring products. The selection and use of any stapler is at the sole discretion and responsibility of the owner/installer.

Port-A-Nail - Model 461 - 1/4" crown, 1" long, 18ga staple
HighPro - Model AS-4090 - 1/4" crown, 1" long, 18ga staple
Spotnails - Model WS4840W2 - 1/4" crown, 1-3/8" long 18ga #4811-PN-30M nylon coated staple
Duo-Fast - SureShot 1848F - 1/4" crown, #1848CXGR high carbon steel galvanized staple

Nailers: Carefully monitor nailer pressure to ensure that the nail head enters the tongue only as deeply as required to allow the adjacent plank to fit properly. Ensure that the nail head rests cleanly in the "nail pocket". Nails shall be placed no closer than 3" from the ends of each plank and then spaced at 8" intervals or as required to prevent tongue splitting/damage.

The following nailers have been tested by their manufacturer for use with our Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring products. The selection and use of any nailer is at the sole discretion and responsibility of the owner/installer.

Powernail - Model 50P - Pneumatic - 1-1/2" 18ga cleat w/ .200 adapter pad with 1 shim
Powernail - Model 50M - Manual - 1-1/2" 18ga cleat w/ .200 adapter pad with 1 shim

Primatech - Model Q550 - Pneumatic with 1-1/2" 18ga L cleat

Glue-Down Installations
Teragren recommends the use of a low-VOC, premium, water-free flooring adhesive and/or moisture barrier system specifically recommended by the adhesive manufacturer for use with bamboo flooring. Note: Always use a moisture barrier and adhesive system manufactured by the same company — never mix products.

The subfloor must be extremely flat (see adhesive manufacturer's specifications), be square with the space, and run perpendicular to the joists. Leave a 7/16" expansion space from base plate or wall. Starter rows should be held firmly in place using wedges. Once the starter rows are secure, apply the adhesive per the manufacturers' installation instructions. NOTE: Always remove any adhesive from the surface of the flooring (smudges, fingerprints, etc.) before it dries. Clean up as you go — do not wait until the installation is complete. Cured adhesives are very difficult to remove and may permanently damage flooring. Always follow the adhesive manufacturer's installation instructions.

For a list of adhesives warranted by their manufacturer(s) as being compatible with Teragren flooring products, please refer to our adhesive guidelines document.

It is up to the owner/installer to confirm the warranty, the environmental statements of the manufacturer, and the suitability of any adhesive for the intended end-use. The selection and use of any adhesive/moisture control system is at the sole discretion and responsibility of the owner/installer.

Radiant Floors

Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring is suitable for installation over radiant heating systems capable of maintaining a surface temperature at or below 85°F. The radiant heating system needs to be in operation for at least 7 days prior to installation, shut off 4 hours prior to flooring installation, and then returned to operation once the installation is complete. If using an adhesive to "glue-down" Synergy Strand Bamboo Solid-Strip flooring, please confirm with the adhesive manufacturer the suitability of the adhesive for use with radiant heating systems. Please refer to the Radiant Panel Association website for more information.

It is up to the owner/installer to confirm the suitability of any radiant-heating system for the intended end-use. The selection and use of any radiant heating system is at the sole discretion and responsibility of the owner/installer.

Maintenance Guidelines

Teragren recommends vacuuming or sweeping in order to remove dirt and grit prior to cleaning the flooring. Remove any liquid spills promptly. As with all natural products, exposure to the sun and ultra-violet light can accelerate oxidation (color-change). Because caramelized bamboo products will lighten and natural bamboo products will tend to darken over time, periodically rearrange rugs and furniture to allow for consistent aging of the flooring. Use area rugs in high traffic areas. Install wood guards on the feet or legs of furniture.

Do not use wax, oil soap or other household cleaners. Teragren recommends using either WoodWise Floor Cleaner by Design Hardwood Products; 800.424.7092 or Bona Swedish Formula® Hardwood Floor Cleaner by BonaKemi USA, Inc. 800.574.4674.

Proper care and maintenance can extend the life of your floor for many years; however, at some time a re-coat or total refinishing may be desirable. To re-coat your floor and remain in conformance with the Teragren warranty, follow the manufacturer's instructions at either of the following:

Basic Coatings Tykote Sandless Re-coating System
Toll-Free: 800.441.1934
or BonaPrep™ Re-coating Adhesion System by BonaKemi USA
Toll-Free: 800.872.5515.

Contact your Teragren distributor or retailer for more information or email techsupport@teragren.com.

Installation guidelines Synergy™ strand bamboo with Xcora™ technology, prefinished, solid-strip flooring