Does Bamboo Floor Shrink Or Expand More Than Wood Flooring

This is a natural process for bamboo and wooden flooring and occurs seasonally with temperature and humidity changes.

Does bamboo floor shrink or expand more than wood flooring.

While bamboo flooring is more water resistant than traditional hardwood floors steam mops can destabilize wood and even bamboo cellular structures. Which over time could result in shrinkage warping buckling and even cracking. Although it is commonly grouped with hardwood flooring bamboo is not actually a wood but rather a woody grass. Similarly as the humidity drops and the air dries out the planks of bamboo flooring will reduce in size again.

Engineered bamboo floors are the same and can also be used below grade. It is the top non engineered wood ish floor product for dimensional stability. Engineered flooring which is attached to the subfloor. You might think this makes bamboo flooring impervious to water but that s not the case.

The softest bamboo floors are typically much harder than oak. 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. In conditions of extremely high or extremely low humidity bamboo flooring is more likely to crack than is hardwood flooring. Bamboo a native plant to tropical regions with heavy rainfalls grows much faster than hardwood and has a different cellular structure.

Usually categorized with hardwood bamboo is different enough to make a difference in this area. Bamboo in general is slightly more resistant to both moisture and mold than hardwoods. Engineered hardwood floors can be used anywhere as they are built to withstand moisture and not swell on contact.