Normally with all 1/2 inch product I use 18ga. I would say go ahead and do 18ga, but I worry about voiding your warranty.

im not a huge fan of warranties just because you have to jump thru a lot of hoops to make a valid claim, and its really easy to void them by doing something innocent during the install.

so my advice is get confirmation from the manufacture that 18ga is ok, if not do exactly what the instructions suggest.

its better to follow the instructions and possibly break a few tongues with 15ga and save your warranty than to not break tongues and void your warranty before you even get to enjoy your new floor.

Hi Greenhulk,

I came across your post on houzz and I'm in the same situation as you were back in Oct. I just bought the same 1/2" thick yanchi bamboo from build direct and the instructions are so bad I'm lost.

If you could please let me know which nailer you ended up using? 16 gauge or 18 gauge? cleats or nails?

From the reading I came across... most other strand woven brands say to use 18 gauge or more because it's so thick. 15 or 16 gauge will be too thick to penetrate and might break the tongue. L cleats are good, but it looks like Staples are more durable.

Any information on this and your experience/insight would be helpful and greatly appreciated.

For anyone in the future that comes across this post.

I used 16ga T-cleats and used 18ga 2" bradnailer for the edges. 16ga T-cleats worked fine.
Freeman PFL618BR 3 in 1 nailer
FNT-2 T-Cleat 2-Inch Flooring Nail

I bought them off Amazon.

My floor structure from bottom to top...
3/4" Plywood subfloor, ontop of that 1/2" OSB for structural support (and to level with the tile), 2mm~3mm felt, and 1/2" bamboo floors.

I set the psi at around 70~75.