Bamboo floors and what you should know

Short answer: Bamboo floors are made from glued strips and are hard. The hardness depends on how the strips are laid and on the surface treatment, and like other wooden floors, bamboo reacts to humidity.

Glued strips

A bamboo stem is hollow and round and cannot be sawn into wide planks. It is therefore cut into strips, which are dried and glued into floorboards. The strips can be laid flat, on edge or pressed together. The three methods give different hardness and a different pattern.

Three looks

Laid flat, the wide strips and the nodes are clearly visible. On edge, the pattern becomes narrower and calmer. In strand woven bamboo the fibres are pressed into a dense mass, giving a busier pattern that resembles wood with a strong grain. The choice is about looks and about how much wear the floor must take.

Hardness

Strand woven bamboo is among the hardest wooden floors. That makes it good for busy rooms, but also harder to sand. A hard floor can still scratch, for example from grit under shoes or furniture legs without felt pads, so it is worth protecting it day to day.

Moisture

Like all wooden floors, bamboo reacts to humidity and can move. It expands in damp air and shrinks in dry air. The floor should therefore be acclimatised in the room before laying, with room for movement along the walls. Keep indoor humidity steady all year.

The surface

Lacquer or oil decides how well the floor resists wear and stains. Lacquer forms a hard film that is easy to clean but hard to repair in small areas. Oil soaks into the surface, looks more natural and can be spot repaired, but needs care more often.

Cleaning

Vacuum or sweep often, so sand and grit do not wear the surface. Clean with a well wrung cloth or mop and never leave water standing on the floor. Use a mild cleaner suited to the finish. Felt pads under furniture and a mat by the door save the floor a lot of wear.

Not textiles

Floors and textiles share only the raw material. In a floor, the hard fibres of the stem are kept and glued together. For textiles, the stem is broken down and the cellulose dissolved in a chemical process and formed into new fibres. The hard structure disappears. Read more in what is bamboo viscose.

Compared with textiles

A floor must be hard, a textile must be soft. That both can be made from bamboo says most about how versatile the raw material is. The processing decides whether the result is a hard plank or a smooth fabric. Read why bamboo viscose feels so soft.

A grass

Although bamboo floors look like wooden floors, bamboo is a grass. The stem grows fast and has its thickness from the start, and its hollow shape is why it must be cut into strips before it can become a floor. Read more in is bamboo a grass or a tree.

See the range

If you want to feel bamboo in soft form, bedding is a good place to start. Here the raw material becomes duvet covers, sheets and pillowcases that lie smooth against the skin. Look at fabric weight and weave in the descriptions. See bamboo bedding.

Frequently asked questions

Are bamboo floors hard?

Strand woven bamboo is among the hardest wooden floors. The hardness depends on how the strips are laid and pressed, and on the surface the floor has been given.

Can they handle moisture?

Like other wooden floors, bamboo reacts to humidity and can move. Acclimatise the floor before laying it, and do not leave water standing on the surface.