Does Bamboo Floor Shrink Or Expand More Than Wood Flooring

Engineered hardwood floors can be used anywhere as they are built to withstand moisture and not swell on contact.

Does bamboo floor shrink or expand more than wood flooring. Engineered bamboo floors are the same and can also be used below grade. 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. Which over time could result in shrinkage warping buckling and even cracking. The softest bamboo floors are typically much harder than oak.

In conditions of extremely high or extremely low humidity bamboo flooring is more likely to crack than is hardwood flooring. While bamboo flooring is more water resistant than traditional hardwood floors steam mops can destabilize wood and even bamboo cellular structures. Engineered flooring which is attached to the subfloor. This is a natural process for bamboo and wooden flooring and occurs seasonally with temperature and humidity changes.

Bamboo in general is slightly more resistant to both moisture and mold than hardwoods. Bamboo a native plant to tropical regions with heavy rainfalls grows much faster than hardwood and has a different cellular structure. 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.

You might think this makes bamboo flooring impervious to water but that s not the case. As bamboo is a natural product it will absorb any humidity in the air and start to expand. If you re concerned about formaldehyde you should ask that about any building material especially engineered wood floors.