Bamboo decking is an aesthetically pleasing, strong and a premium quality product that is manufactured from the highly durable bamboo material. Bamboo decking boards are more than twice as hard and dense as other composite decking which makes the bamboo decking suitable for extreme outdoor weather conditions. Bamboo decking is moisture tolerant and termite resistant that will enhance the value of your home.
Bamboo decking comes in grooved edges to enable hidden fastening. The long straight boards come pre-coated with Cutek Bamboo preservative on all sides. The application of a wood preservative further enhances the naturally built-in attributes like moisture tolerance and pathogen resistance of bamboo. The installation of bamboo decking is simple and easy.
The equipment you need for installation include:
- Rubber mallet.
- Smartbit pre-drill countersinking bit.
- Hand saw with a sharp blade. (Preferably with more teeth to ensure a cleaner cut.)
- Square drive bit with each tub of screws.
- Sandpaper 80-100 grit.
- Stainless steel clips.
- 7 gauge stainless steel trim head square drive screws.
- Paintbrush or lamb’s wool applicator.
- OSMO decking oil applicator.
- Cutek Bamboo preservative and tint. IMPORTANT! Do not mix this until after installation.
The bamboo decking boards should be installed from the outer edge and worked in towards the building. The first and last boards should be top fixed at each beam along the outer edge of the plank. Make sure that you use a Smartbit to pre-drill the bamboo prior to the attachment and prevent over-drilling. Don’t use powered nail guns for drilling as they may lead to over-drilling and deteriorate the outer surface of decking boards.
Follow these steps:
- Fix the first board to the subfloor
- Press a plastic or steel fastener into the groove at each beam and fasten with a trim head screw. (A joist spacing of 450 mm centres is required for both 90mm and 140 mm profiles.)
- Place the next board on the joists and tap against the clips with a rubber mallet to avoid any damage to the bamboo planks.
- Repeat the process until you reach the last board, which should be cut and ripped to suit the profile of your home.
- All cut ends such as butt joints, ripped areas or end cuts must be brushed with Cutek Bamboo Clear.
- Optional, top-fix a fascia board of 140mm DAR bamboo at 450 mm centres around the perimeter of the deck.
- Mix the tint into the Cutek Bamboo Clear and apply the mixture onto the entire surface of fascia and deck. You should wait one to two weeks if you wish to apply the second coat to increase the moisture repellence of the planks and intensity of the tint.
Although Cutek is an excellent wood preservative that gives a beautiful even finish to bamboo boards, it may look patchy for a few days due to its slow-penetration attribute. You should delay the application of Cutek in bad weather as it is less effective in these conditions.
Cutek Bamboo is the only coating product that Simply Bamboo recommends for exterior bamboo. The use of any other product, as a wood preservative, may void any applicable warranty.