Is Bamboo Strong? With Pros and Cons

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is bamboo strong

Bamboo is a popular wood in furniture making, fabrics, and as a building material. It is a lightweight and fast-growing tree with lots of unique qualities.

Bamboo is a common wood that use in many woodworking projects. When I was working with Bamboo, I was curious about the strength of Bamboo. So, let’s find out, Is Bamboo strong?

Yes, Bamboo is extremely strong. It has higher compressive strength and tensile strength than most other woods. Bamboo has superior strength to weight ratio, and structural integrity, and is able to withstand high stress. Because of its great strength, Bamboo is used for furniture, cabinets, flooring, and as a building material.

But that’s just a quick snapshot and there’s a lot more to know about is Bamboo strong.

So, in this article we’ll explore is Bamboo strong, how strong is Bamboo, is Bamboo strong for furniture, flooring, and cutting boards.

Furthermore, I’ll answer some frequently asked questions about the strength of Bamboo compared to steel, concrete, and Oak to get an idea about how strong Bamboo is.

So, let’s jump in!

How Strong Is Bamboo?

Bamboo is stronger than most softwoods and some hardwoods as well. It is hardwood with great structural properties.

The strength of Bamboo depends on the following factors.

They are,

  • Compressive strength
  • Tensile strength
  • Density
  • Stiffness
  • Hardness

So, let’s have a look at the values of Bamboo for the above factors to know how strong Bamboo is.

Compressive Strength19.96 Mpa – 23.80 Mpa
Tensile Strength142 Mpa – 265 Mpa
Density500 kg/m3 – 800 kg/m3
Stiffness5 – 25 Gpa
Hardness1,300 lbf – 1,400 lbf

As you can see, the compressive strength and tensile strength of Bamboo are significantly high. Bamboo is naturally created for its strength because of its unique composition.

There are no knots or rays that can be seen in Bamboo wood. therefore, it can withstand high stress along the length of the stalk.

When we look at the fiber structure of Bamboo, its sectional anatomy and cane enhance its structural integrity.

Because of having different chemicals, Bamboo is great for gluing, and because of having high silica content, it gives termites hard time digesting.

Because of having the above unique qualities Bamboo is strong and considered a wood with high durability in many woodworking projects.

There are over 1600 species of Bamboo. Overall Bamboo is strong, more durable, and sustainable building material than most other woods.

Here are the factors that prove Bamboo is stronger than other popular woods,

  • Bamboo is 38% stronger than Douglas fir
  • Bamboo is 109% stronger than White Pine
  • Bamboo is stiffer than White Pine

Here’re the pros and cons of Bamboo to get an idea about how strong it is.

ProsCons
Dense cell structureSusceptible to deterioration
VersatileDifferent quality variations
Durable and strongHard to handle
Fast-growingHigh cost
Easy installation 
Water resistance 

Is Bamboo Strong for Furniture?

Yes, Bamboo is strong for furniture making. It has great compressive strength, bending strength, density, and stiffness that make strong and durable furniture than lasts over decades with proper care.

Bamboo can easily use for both indoor and outdoor furniture making because of its high dimensional stability and hardness.

It is available as panels or planks. The dense fiber of Bamboo gives good flexural strength to the furniture.

As a woodworker, when it comes to strength, I highly recommend using Bamboo over any other wood.

Because some species of Bamboo are harder than metal and concrete due to their naturally designed strength.

Here’re some furniture types you can build with Bamboo with superior strength.

  • Coffee table
  • Storage cabinet
  • Shoe rack
  • Folding chairs
  • Nightstand
  • Sofa table
  • Benches
  • Outdoor patio
  • Bed frames and bases

Bamboo can use as a house building material as well. It is strong enough to use as skyscrapers for vertical construction.

The best Bamboos that use for house construction are Bambusa, Phyllostachys, and Dendrocalamus.

Bamboo is a versatile, renewable, and sustainable wood with extreme durability.

Houses made with Bamboo last for 10 – 12 years without a single repairment.After a little repairing, those houses will last forever.

Is Bamboo Strong for Flooring?

Yes, Bamboo is strong for flooring. It has good structural integrity which is resistant to dents and scratches.

It can withstand foot traffic and work well as a flooring material.

Bamboo has a dense cell structure, and Bamboo has good water resistance. But it’s not waterproof and better to wipe off immediately before spills stand on the surface for too long.

To increase the durability of the floor better to apply sealer.

Urethane sealer protects the Bamboo flooring from water, discoloration, and warping. Plus, urethane-coated Bamboo floors are easy to clean.

When it comes to flooring, Bamboo is not the strongest wood, but it’s stronger, harder, and denser than many other popular kinds of wood that are generally used for flooring applications. Bamboo is 2-3 times stronger than timber.

In a summary here’s why Bamboo is great for flooring,

  • Water-resistant
  • Easier on legs
  • Dent and scratch-resistant
  • High durability
  • Strong
  • Hard
  • Dense
  • Lightweight
  • Easy to clean

Under is Bamboo strong, let’s find out can we use it for cutting boards,

Is Bamboo Strong Enough for Cutting boards?

Yes, Bamboo is strong enough for cutting boards.

It has significantly high hardness, and high durability, and can withstand sharp knife edges. Bamboo cutting boards are versatile and eco-friendly.

According to the Janka hardness ratings, Janka wood has a hardness rating of 1,410 lbf which is significantly higher than many other kinds of wood that use as cutting boards such as Maple, and Walnut.

But when it comes to the porosity, Bamboo wood has huge pores and food particles and moisture can easily get inside.

So, it’s important to clean Bamboo cutting boards well before and after use because bacteria can grow in those pores structures and make the food unhealthy.

Here’re the pros and cons of Bamboo as a cutting board,

ProsCons
Hard and DurablePorous structure
Eco friendlyWon’t harm from knife edges
Don’t warp 
Strong 
Low maintenance 

So, let’s answer some frequently asked questions about the strength of Bamboo over other materials.

Is Bamboo Stronger Than Steel?

Yes, Bamboo is stronger than steel. Bamboo has a tensile strength of 28,000 pounds while steel has a tensile strength of 23,000 pounds which is significantly lower than Bamboo.

The reason Bamboo is stronger than steel is, because of its great resistance to cracking and splitting. Splitting Bamboo fiber is never easy because it’s stronger than many metals.

Bamboo has a tightly packed fiber molecular structure that increases its strength significantly and its breaking point of fracture is higher than steel.

Therefore, In the construction world, sometimes Bamboo can use as an alternative material for steel. It can use for houses, fences, furniture, and other constructions.

The use of steel is costly and it causes environmental and atmospheric pollution.

So, by using affordable, eco-friendly Bamboo instead of steel you’ll be able to get higher strength than steel with environmental protection.

But in terms of durability, Bamboo is susceptible to insect attacks and can cause shrinkages under different environmental changes.

You can minimize those cons by applying a proper sealer. But ultimately in terms of durability, Bamboo can never replace steel.

Is Bamboo Stronger Than Wood?

Bamboo is 2-3 times stronger than wood. It can use for any construction project because it has great compressive strength and bending strength and most other woods.

Even though maple is considered one of the hardest and strongest hardwoods on the planet, Bamboo is stronger while being lightweight.

If you like the appearance of Bamboo over any other wood and if you’re good at woodworking and handling Bamboo, better to go for it because, in terms of strength, durability, and dimensional stability, Bamboo is so much better than any other wood.

Is Bamboo Stronger Than Oak?

Yes, Bamboo is stronger than Oak. According to the compressive and tensile test values, the strength of Bamboo and Oakwood is as follows,

Wood TypeCompressive StrengthTensile Strength
Bamboo19.96 Mpa – 23.80 Mpa142 Mpa – 265 Mpa
Oak3.79 Mpa -20.9 Mpa5.50 Mpa

As you can see both compressive strength and tensile strength are significantly higher in Bamboo.

Most importantly, the tensile strength of Bamboo is so much higher than Oak.

Is Bamboo Stronger Than Concrete?

Yes, Bamboo is stronger than the mixture of concrete. The compressive strength of Bamboo is higher than concrete.

Concrete is costly and causes environmental pollution while Bamboo is eco-friendly, affordable, and provides much more strength than concrete does.

Therefore, people tend to use Bamboo over concrete for construction purposes.

But Bamboo is organic, and it rots over time because of water and moisture. Therefore, instead of replacing concrete with Bamboo, engineers use Bamboo to reinforce concrete with a high success rate.

This will make concrete more versatile and stronger.

How Hard Is Bamboo?

Bamboo is 2-3 times harder than most woods. It has a hard and dense fiber structure that provides great strength, hardness, and durability.

Janka hardness test is a standard method of measuring the resistance of wood to dents and scratches.

If a particular wood has high resistance against dents and wear, it has a high hardness value.

Likewise, according to the Janka hardness test, Bamboo has a hardness rating of 1,410 lbf which is significantly higher than many other kinds of wood.

Bamboo is harder than Pine, White Oak, Maple, Hickory, Tigerwood, Mahogany, and Cherry.

Basically, Bamboo is harder than any traditional hardwood on the planet.

Did I cover all you wanted to know about: Is Bamboo Strong?

In this article, we have deeply explored about is Bamboo strong and how strong Bamboo is by taking its characteristic qualities over other woods.

We have discussed is Bamboo strong for furniture, flooring, and cutting boards and how Bamboo is stronger than steel, concrete, and other woods.

Bamboo is a very strong wood with high durability. It grows fast and is popular as a sustainable building material. But you need to have good practice to work with Bamboo due to its handling difficulties.

Furthermore, I have answered some frequently asked questions under is Bamboo strong over other woods as well.

Hope you have gained good knowledge about the strength of Bamboo.

Try to build your next woodwork using the Bamboo tree to get more practical knowledge about the wood. practice makes you perfect in woodworking!

Walter Parker is a woodworking enthusiast. He is passionate about woodworking projects & plays with woodworking tools having spent over 2 decades as a leader for Woodworking Planet. He wants to make people love woodworking! Read More About Him! Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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