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.

Does bamboo floor shrink or expand more than wood flooring. If you re concerned about formaldehyde you should ask that about any building material especially engineered wood floors. Engineered hardwood floors can be used anywhere as they are built to withstand moisture and not swell on contact. It is the top non engineered wood ish floor product for dimensional stability. Which over time could result in shrinkage warping buckling and even cracking.

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

Usually categorized with hardwood bamboo is different enough to make a difference in this area. Engineered flooring which is attached to the subfloor. Engineered bamboo floors are the same and can also be used below grade. Similarly as the humidity drops and the air dries out the planks of bamboo flooring will reduce in size again.

Although it is commonly grouped with hardwood flooring bamboo is not actually a wood but rather a woody grass. As bamboo is a natural product it will absorb any humidity in the air and start to expand. In conditions of extremely high or extremely low humidity bamboo flooring is more likely to crack than is hardwood flooring.