Cost of Installation? To DIY or not... Bamboo floating floor

I was initially planning to DIY my bamboo floor, but to be honest, it feels like a daunting task, that we would fail! I see that even pretty good DIYers on homeone are getting professionals to install floating floors. Is that really the case? I am trying to move in asap, and I have no idea how long it would take to DIY (about 60m2).

So far I have been quoted about $60/m2 for installation of click-lock type bamboo, and that is as expensive as the supply of bamboo. Which makes the total cost about $120/m2. Would you say that is a fair price? The total cost would be $7200 in that case.

Has anyone had their bamboo floors installed professionally? How did you find an installer?

Your installation charges sound way too high (around double) than they should be. Are they levelling your floor first ? Moving Furniture ? Taking up old flooring ? That sort of price suggests they must be...

You should get the product fully installed for under a hundred in most cases.

Thanks for your reply.

No, there is no furniture removal as it is a new build, the slab looks level as well. There is no skirting either so it should be easy to lay the underlay and the bamboo on top. It's a single floor with no stairs or steps.

Does HN do floor installation? I don't need supply though...I wonder how that would work? I have contacted my local HN, still waiting for a reply.

HN, I still have not heard back from my local HN...could you help?

i did our floating floor in the house we are in now
i had no experience at doing such a job
the only probs i had was when it came to doorways or angles
but laying it in a square bedroom was rather easy for even a novice diyer like myself
we bought the floating floor in packs from one of the carpet mobs.

Thanks theoneandonly,

What type of floor did you put down? I was intending to DIY too...but there is just too little time and I worry that I would mess it up, especially undercutting near the doors and connecting the floor to higher areas etc.

We were going to install our bamboo flooring ourselves but had the same worry as you - that we'd stuff it up and it would be alot harder than we thought. So we ended up ordering our bamboo through a flooring place and had a chat with the owner. He quite happily suggested paying cash for the installation as he has a separate guy that installs the bamboo. We had about the same area to cover as you (approx. 60m2) and the installation was $1000. Our carpet and bamboo and installation altogether came to about $7500. So I think you're quote is definitely way too high! Maybe go to a flooring place and ask them how much they would install your bamboo for if you pay cash?

Hi Kjw7,

Thanks for your tips! I have been quoted exactly double that price (your price) at the moment (cash as well), for less than 60 m2 which I heard is a one day job for them. I haven't found anyone for less, it's amazing how some quotes were as high as $3500 for that space. I have gone to several flooring places locally...wonder what I'm doing wrong? Well, considering I would spend AGES doing the floor if I took on the project myself with no guaranty of quality, I am happy to pay a fair price to people who care about the finish. That said, like everyone, we don't want to overspend unnecessarily because if we saved in one place, we could use that to get something else (much needed but missing items) for the house! Are you happy with your finished bamboo floors?

Kayla, I had a look at your thread Beautiful house.

Thanks Nobl - we are very happy with our bamboo floors, it's looks fantastic and we've had nothing but positive feedback. It sounds like you've done the right thing and researched prices, I'm not sure that there's much more you can do. The higher price must be something to do with the brand/supply vs. demand in your area. Sorry I can't be of much help! But I don't think you will regret going with the bamboo if you do decide to stick with it

Which brand of Bamboo flooring did you choose - there is so many out there - was it Premium Floor's ARC - I am in love with the Australiana range.

Happy to hear that you've been happy with your floors Kayla! I can't wait to live on bamboo Flooring choice can make me go around in circles....but in the end, I think I will be happy with a natural product, and if it's affordable, even better. Cherie, I actually haven't decided on the bamboo yet, I just know that I will be getting Natural because I like light colours for my floor. But I think Australiana is beautiful, more like timber than any other bamboo colour.

You'll find natural is cheaper because it doesn't have to be stained like the redder colours, it will probably come on sale of you have time to wait. We could've got ours $10 cheaper per metre if we went natural or coffee but we loved the red Uluru too much to be swayed.

Yeah, I'm thinking of natural, and I found them to be cheaper than the stained ones but no different in price to the coffee.

I have another question...hopefully someone knows something about this.
Just to recap, I'm laying floating bamboo floors on a concrete slab.

I want to avoid sealing the concrete slab if possible, and just use a moisture barrier and then install floating bamboo..am I taking a risk by doing this? It's a new house if that makes a difference to how much water might rise through the slab?

At the moment, with the limited knowledge I have, I am thinking to skip the concrete sealant, not really because of the price (I was told about $300 for a few buckets) but also because it seems I don't have the skills to apply it without getting it everywhere. And I am not sure how many layers of this it needs (and apparently I need to get each layer to dry first before applying more layers)...so it could add another few days to the flooring project.

Nobl - our concrete wasn't sealed at all before the bamboo was put down, I hadn't even heard of this until now. But the bamboo isn't laid directly onto the concrete, an underlay is put down first.

Yep, waterproof underlay.
Ours has been down for 3 years and it is still fantastic.

Thank you Kayla and Carmel,

I will just use a waterproof underlay and not worry about sealing the concrete. That would make my life A LOT easier !!! Too much to worry about already Thanks again...