Star Bamboo Singapore

I subjected our bamboo flooring to an extreme test.

As you probably know, bamboo flooring is one of the most dimensionally stable wood flooring around. Overseas tests indicated that bamboo is over 50% more stable than American red oak.

High stability is great for flooring as it means that expansion problems are greatly reduced.

Some time back, we conducted a test at PSB Singapore, the national testing body over here.

They immersed a bamboo flooring plank in water for 24 hours and measured the changes in its size.

After such harsh conditions, the result was impressive: only a 0.24% increase in length and 0.19% increase in width. This equals an increase of only 2 parts per 1000.

Under normal conditions, the flooring would be expected to expand much less than this. The expansion gaps we leave along the walls would be much than adequate.

Note: You have to keep your wood or bamboo flooring dry at all times. Exposure to water can cause all sorts of problems such as swelling, warping, cupping, crowning, and buckling.

I wondered, what will happen if I soak it for longer?

So I decided to repeat the test on my own, but this time, for 7 whole days. After over 160 hours of continuous soaking, this is the outcome:

(The test piece has yet to dry out, hence the darker colour.)

The great news is that it is still relatively flat and level. There is no discernible warping, any expansion had happened evenly throughout the plank.

I deliberately chose the Horizontal pattern, as some customers had queried if Horizontal is more prone to warping than Vertical.

This result should put their minds at ease. Even in a humid climate like Singapore’s, bamboo flooring will not experience expansion problems.

But please don’t try this with your wood flooring!