Does Bamboo Floor Shrink Or Expand More Than Wood Flooring

Usually categorized with hardwood bamboo is different enough to make a difference in this area.

Does bamboo floor shrink or expand more than wood flooring.

Bamboo a native plant to tropical regions with heavy rainfalls grows much faster than hardwood and has a different cellular structure. Engineered hardwood floors can be used anywhere as they are built to withstand moisture and not swell on contact. This is a natural process for bamboo and wooden flooring and occurs seasonally with temperature and humidity changes. Although it is commonly grouped with hardwood flooring bamboo is not actually a wood but rather a woody grass.

If you re concerned about formaldehyde you should ask that about any building material especially engineered wood floors. In conditions of extremely high or extremely low humidity bamboo flooring is more likely to crack than is hardwood flooring. It is the top non engineered wood ish floor product for dimensional stability. You might think this makes bamboo flooring impervious to water but that s not the case.

The fact is that bamboo is a perfectly serviceable material with the same available finishes as on wood and the same wear guarantees as wood. The softest bamboo floors are typically much harder than oak. Similarly as the humidity drops and the air dries out the planks of bamboo flooring will reduce in size again. Engineered flooring which is attached to the subfloor.

Bamboo in general is slightly more resistant to both moisture and mold than hardwoods. If the flooring is installed in a very humid climate the moisture in the air can cause the floor planks to swell and buckle while in a dry environment the planks can shrink. As bamboo is a natural product it will absorb any humidity in the air and start to expand.