Bamboo is the floor people come to when they want something warmer than a hard-wearing laminate and more unusual than oak. It is a genuine timber-look floor with real environmental credentials, and in its strongest form it is harder than most hardwoods. It also varies enormously in quality, and that variation is what this guide is really about.
The short answer
Choose bamboo if you want a solid, natural floor with a distinctive look and a fast-growing source. Choose strand woven bamboo specifically if durability matters — it is a different material in practice from the cheaper vertical and horizontal boards. Avoid bamboo in wet areas, and be careful with very dry, sun-heavy rooms.
What bamboo flooring actually is
Bamboo is a grass, not a tree. It is harvested in a handful of years rather than decades, which is where its environmental argument comes from.
How it is made into a board matters more than anything else on this page. There are three types, and they are not equivalent:
Horizontal boards are made from flattened strips laid side by side. You see the classic bamboo “knuckle” pattern. It is the softest of the three.
Vertical boards stand the strips on edge, giving a finer, more uniform line and a slightly harder surface. Our guide to vertical bamboo flooring covers the look in detail.
Strand woven shreds the bamboo, compresses the fibres under very high pressure and binds them. The result is dramatically harder than either of the others — harder than most traditional hardwoods. If someone tells you bamboo is soft, they are describing horizontal boards, not strand woven ones. Our homeowner’s guide to strand woven bamboo explains why.
Bamboo against the alternatives
Against oak and other hardwoods, good strand woven bamboo is harder and usually costs less, and it grows back far faster. What it gives up is the range of looks — bamboo’s grain is its own thing, and it will never pass for oak.
Against laminate, bamboo is a solid natural material rather than a photograph under a wear layer, and it can be sanded and refinished. Laminate wins on price and on water resistance.
Against hybrid, bamboo feels warmer and more like real timber underfoot, but hybrid handles water and bamboo does not.
If you want the honest pros and cons side by side, bamboo flooring: the pros, the cons and the gorgeous reality does not sugar-coat it.
Where bamboo goes wrong
Quality varies more than in any other floor
This is the honest warning. Bamboo ranges from excellent to poor, and the difference is not always visible in a showroom. Cheap boards can be made from immature bamboo, poorly dried, or bound with adhesives that off-gas. A well-made strand woven board and a bargain horizontal board share a name and almost nothing else.
It moves with humidity
Bamboo is sensitive to moisture in the air, more so than many hardwoods. In a damp period it takes up moisture and expands; in a long dry spell it gives it back and can gap or cup. That is manageable with a proper expansion gap and stable indoor conditions, but it is real.
Water still damages it
Strand woven bamboo is hard, and hardness is not waterproofing. Standing water will damage a bamboo floor as it will damage a timber one. It does not belong in a bathroom or laundry.
Sunlight changes the colour
Bamboo lightens or darkens with strong direct sun, and it does so unevenly if part of the floor is shaded by furniture. A rug moved after two years can leave a visible outline.
Choosing by room
Living rooms and bedrooms — bamboo at its best. Warm, natural, and quiet compared to a floating floor.
Hallways and high-traffic areas — strand woven only. The harder board is genuinely worth it here and the cheaper types will show wear quickly.
Kitchens — possible with strand woven and prompt spill cleaning, but the same leak risks apply as with any timber floor.
Bathrooms, laundries and outdoors — no.
Rooms with heavy direct sun — think about blinds or accept that the colour will shift over time.
A note about Melbourne specifically
Melbourne’s habit of swinging from a cold damp stretch to a run of dry heat within a week is exactly the condition bamboo reacts to. That makes two things matter more here than in a steadier climate.
First, acclimatisation. Boards should sit in the room where they will be laid, in the conditions they will live in, before installation. Rushing this is the most common cause of gapping a few months later.
Second, the expansion gap around the perimeter is not optional. It gives the floor somewhere to go when it takes up moisture, and it is hidden behind skirting or beading once the job is done.
Ready to look at boards?
Bamboo is a floor worth seeing in person. The grain pattern and the colour variation between boards are difficult to judge from a photograph, and the difference between board types is obvious the moment you handle them.
Browse the bamboo flooring range, including solid strand woven bamboo and the Green Earth strand woven range.
Your Complete Guide to Bamboo Flooring in Melbourne
Compare Bamboo With Other Floors
Bamboo usually gets weighed against oak or against laminate. If durability is the deciding factor, strand woven bamboo competes directly with hardwood. If water resistance is the deciding factor, look at hybrid flooring instead.
Choose Your Colour & Style
Natural bamboo is a pale honey colour. Carbonised bamboo is heat-treated to a deeper caramel tone — that process also makes the board slightly softer, which matters in a hallway. Stained and brushed finishes widen the range considerably. Remember that strong sunlight will shift whichever colour you choose.
Installation & Care
Bamboo can be glued down, nailed or floated, depending on the board and the subfloor. What affects the final figure is the board type, whether the subfloor needs levelling, the installation method, and the size and shape of the rooms.
Care is straightforward: sweep or vacuum regularly, wipe spills straight away, use a barely damp mop, and put felt pads under furniture. Avoid steam mops entirely.
Shop Our Bamboo Flooring Range
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Get a Free Bamboo Flooring Quote
Tell us the rooms and roughly the area and we will arrange a measure and a recommendation. Contact Dex Flooring.
Bamboo flooring — FAQs
Is bamboo flooring durable?
Strand woven bamboo is very durable — harder than most traditional hardwoods. Horizontal and vertical bamboo are considerably softer. The type matters more than the name.
Is bamboo flooring waterproof?
No. It resists spills that are wiped up promptly, but standing water will damage it, and it is not suitable for bathrooms or laundries.
Can bamboo flooring be refinished?
Usually yes, depending on the thickness of the wear layer above the tongue. Strand woven boards in particular can often be sanded back and refinished.
Is bamboo really environmentally better?
The plant itself regrows in a few years rather than decades, which is a genuine advantage. The finished board still depends on how it was made and what it was bound with, so the source matters.
Does bamboo suit underfloor heating?
Some boards do and some do not, and the temperature must be controlled carefully because bamboo reacts to drying. Always check the specific board first.