diff --git a/demo/cell-height.html b/demo/cell-height.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7a6647ff6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/demo/cell-height.html
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+  <meta charset="utf-8">
+  <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
+  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
+  <title>cell height demo</title>
+
+  <link rel="stylesheet" href="demo.css"/>
+  <script src="../dist/gridstack-h5.js"></script>
+  <style type="text/css">
+  .container {
+    background-color: lightblue;
+    width: 100%;
+    height: 800px;
+  }
+  </style>
+
+</head>
+<body>
+  <div class="container">
+    <h1>Cell Height grid options demo</h1>
+    <p>sample showing the different cellHeight options and what happens when you resize the window</p>
+    <div>
+      <a class="btn btn-primary" onClick="setOpt('auto')" href="#">auto</a>
+      <a class="btn btn-primary" onClick="setOpt('initial')" href="#">initial</a>
+      <a class="btn btn-primary" onClick="setOpt(100)" href="#">100px</a>
+      <a class="btn btn-primary" onClick="setOpt('10vh')" href="#">'10vh'</a>
+      <a class="btn btn-primary" onClick="setOpt('10%')" href="#">'10%' of blue (broken)</a>
+      <span>settings:</span><span id="info"></span>
+    </div>
+    <br>
+    <div class="grid-stack"></div>
+  </div>
+  <script type="text/javascript">
+    let opts = {
+      cellHeight: 'auto', // see other possible values (best to do in here)
+      cellHeightThrottle: 100,
+    }
+    let grid = GridStack.init(opts);
+    let items = [
+      {x:0, y:0, content:'0'},
+      {x:1, y:0, w:2, content:'1'},
+      {x:3, y:0, h:2, content:'2'},
+    ];
+    grid.load(items);
+
+    let info = document.querySelector('#info');
+    info.innerHTML = opts.cellHeight;
+    setOpt = function(val) {
+      grid.cellHeight(val);
+      info.innerHTML = val;
+    }
+  </script>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/demo/responsive.html b/demo/responsive.html
index 6a0f47dae..4f03ffcc8 100644
--- a/demo/responsive.html
+++ b/demo/responsive.html
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ <h1>Responsive grid demo</h1>
 
   <script type="text/javascript">
     let grid = GridStack.init({
+      cellHeight: 70,
       disableOneColumnMode: true, // will manually do 1 column
       float: true });
     let text = document.querySelector('#column-text');
diff --git a/doc/CHANGES.md b/doc/CHANGES.md
index ac0675e33..626a306bc 100644
--- a/doc/CHANGES.md
+++ b/doc/CHANGES.md
@@ -49,7 +49,11 @@ Change log
 <!-- END doctoc generated TOC please keep comment here to allow auto update -->
 ## 3.2.0-dev
 
-- TBD
+- big re-write on how `cellHeight()` works. you can now call it at any time (not just grid init options) including switching to 'auto' or other modes on the fly.
+- fix `cellHeight:auto` now keeps cell square as window resizes (regressing from 2.x TS conversion). `Utils.throttle()` works better too (guaranteed to be called last event)
+- new `cellHeight:initial` which makes the cell squares initially, but doesn't change as windows resizes (better performance)
+- new grid option `cellHeightThrottle` (100ms) to control throttle of auto sizing triggers
+- fix [1600](https://github.com/gridstack/gridstack.js/issues/1600) height too small with `cellHeight:auto` loading in 1 column. Now detect we load at 1 column and size accordingly (default 'auto' could make big 700x700 cells, so explicit px might still be wanted)
 
 ## 3.2.0 (2021-1-25)
 
diff --git a/doc/README.md b/doc/README.md
index d25643ea4..4457aecbc 100644
--- a/doc/README.md
+++ b/doc/README.md
@@ -70,11 +70,14 @@ gridstack.js API
    See [example](http://gridstack.github.io/gridstack.js/demo/mobile.html)
 - `animate` - turns animation on to smooth transitions (default: `true`)
 - `auto` - if `false` gridstack will not initialize existing items (default: `true`)
-- `cellHeight` - one cell height (default: `auto`). Can be:
-  * an integer (px)
-  * a string (ex: '100px', '10em', '10rem', '10%', `10vh')
-  * 0 or null, in which case the library will not generate styles for rows. Everything must be defined in CSS files.
-  * `'auto'` - height will be square cells initially.
+- `cellHeight`- one cell height (default?: 'auto'). Can be:
+   *  an integer (px)
+   *  a string (ex: '100px', '10em', '10rem'). Note: % doesn't right - see demo/cell-height.html
+   *  0, in which case the library will not generate styles for rows. Everything must be defined in your own CSS files.
+   *  `auto` - height will be calculated for square cells (width / column) and updated live as you resize the window - also see `cellHeightThrottle`
+   *  `initial` - similar to 'auto' (start at square cells) but stay that size during window resizing.
+- `cellHeightThrottle`?: number - throttle time delay (in ms) used when cellHeight='auto' to improve performance vs usability (default?: 100).
+   * A value of 0 will make it instant at a cost of re-creating the CSS file at ever window resize event!
 - `children`?: GridStackWidget[] - list of children item to create when calling load() or addGrid()
 - `column` - number of columns (default: `12`) which can change on the fly with `column(N)` as well. See [example](http://gridstackjs.com/demo/column.html)
 - `class`?: string - additional class on top of '.grid-stack' (which is required for our CSS) to differentiate this instance
@@ -284,8 +287,7 @@ re-layout grid items to reclaim any empty space.
 
 ### cellHeight(val: number, update = true)
 
-Update current cell height. This method rebuilds an internal CSS stylesheet (unless optional update=false). Note: You can expect performance issues if
-call this method too often.
+Update current cell height (see - `cellHeight` options format). This method rebuilds an internal CSS stylesheet (unless optional update=false). Note: You can expect performance issues if call this method too often.
 
 ```js
 grid.cellHeight(grid.cellWidth() * 1.2);
diff --git a/src/gridstack.ts b/src/gridstack.ts
index 38563a265..914f921b4 100644
--- a/src/gridstack.ts
+++ b/src/gridstack.ts
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ const GridDefaults: GridStackOptions = {
   handleClass: null,
   styleInHead: false,
   cellHeight: 'auto',
+  cellHeightThrottle: 100,
   margin: 10,
   auto: true,
   minWidth: 768,
@@ -223,7 +224,9 @@ export class GridStack {
   /** @internal flag to keep cells square during resize */
   private _isAutoCellHeight: boolean;
   /** @internal track event binding to window resize so we can remove */
-  private _windowResizeBind: () => GridStack;
+  private _windowResizeBind: () => void;
+  /** @internal limit auto cell resizing method */
+  private _cellHeightThrottle: () => void;
   /** @internal true when loading items to insert first rather than append */
   private _insertNotAppend: boolean;
 
@@ -274,10 +277,16 @@ export class GridStack {
 
     this.opts = Utils.defaults(opts, defaults);
     opts = null; // make sure we use this.opts instead
-    this.initMargin();
+    this.initMargin(); // part of settings defaults...
 
+    // Now check if we're loading into 1 column mode FIRST so we don't do un-necessary work (like cellHeight = width / 12 then go 1 column)
+    if (this.opts.column !== 1 && !this.opts.disableOneColumnMode && this._widthOrContainer() <= this.opts.minWidth) {
+      this._prevColumn = this.opts.column;
+      this.opts.column = 1;
+    }
+    
     if (this.opts.rtl === 'auto') {
-      this.opts.rtl = el.style.direction === 'rtl';
+      this.opts.rtl = (el.style.direction === 'rtl');
     }
 
     if (this.opts.rtl) {
@@ -293,11 +302,9 @@ export class GridStack {
     }
 
     this._isAutoCellHeight = (this.opts.cellHeight === 'auto');
-    if (this._isAutoCellHeight) {
+    if (this._isAutoCellHeight || this.opts.cellHeight === 'initial') {
       // make the cell content square initially (will use resize event to keep it square)
-      let marginDiff = - (this.opts.marginRight as number) - (this.opts.marginLeft as number)
-        + (this.opts.marginTop as number) + (this.opts.marginBottom as number);
-      this.cellHeight(this.cellWidth() + marginDiff, false);
+      this.cellHeight(undefined, false);
     } else {
       this.cellHeight(this.opts.cellHeight, false);
     }
@@ -352,7 +359,7 @@ export class GridStack {
     this._setupDragIn();
     this._setupRemoveDrop();
     this._setupAcceptWidget();
-    this._updateWindowResizeEvent(); // finally this may size us down to 1 column
+    this._updateWindowResizeEvent();
   }
 
   /**
@@ -574,13 +581,33 @@ export class GridStack {
    * This method rebuilds an internal CSS style sheet.
    * Note: You can expect performance issues if call this method too often.
    *
-   * @param val the cell height
+   * @param val the cell height. If not passed (undefined), cells content will be made square (match width minus margin),
+   * if pass 0 the CSS will be generated by the application instead.
    * @param update (Optional) if false, styles will not be updated
    *
    * @example
+   * grid.cellHeight(100); // same as 100px
+   * grid.cellHeight('70px');
    * grid.cellHeight(grid.cellWidth() * 1.2);
    */
-  public cellHeight(val: numberOrString, update = true): GridStack {
+  public cellHeight(val?: numberOrString, update = true): GridStack {
+
+    // if not called internally, check if we're changing mode
+    if (update && val !== undefined) {
+      if (this._isAutoCellHeight !== (val === 'auto')) {
+        this._isAutoCellHeight = (val === 'auto');
+        this._updateWindowResizeEvent();
+      }
+    }
+    if (val === 'initial' || val === 'auto') { val = undefined; }
+
+    // make item content be square
+    if (val === undefined) {
+      let marginDiff = - (this.opts.marginRight as number) - (this.opts.marginLeft as number)
+        + (this.opts.marginTop as number) + (this.opts.marginBottom as number);
+      val = this.cellWidth() + marginDiff;
+    }
+
     let data = Utils.parseHeight(val);
     if (this.opts.cellHeightUnit === data.unit && this.opts.cellHeight === data.h) {
       return this;
@@ -595,12 +622,15 @@ export class GridStack {
     return this;
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Gets current cell width.
-   */
+  /** Gets current cell width. */
   public cellWidth(): number {
-    // use parent width if we're 0 (no size yet)
-    return (this.el.offsetWidth || this.el.parentElement.offsetWidth || window.innerWidth) / this.opts.column;
+    return this._widthOrContainer() / this.opts.column;
+  }
+  /** return our expected width (or parent) for 1 column check */
+  private _widthOrContainer(): number {
+    // use `offsetWidth` or `clientWidth` (no scrollbar) ?
+    // https://stackoverflow.com/questions/21064101/understanding-offsetwidth-clientwidth-scrollwidth-and-height-respectively
+    return (this.el.clientWidth || this.el.parentElement.clientWidth || window.innerWidth);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -1307,26 +1337,29 @@ export class GridStack {
    */
   public onParentResize(): GridStack {
     if (!this.el || !this.el.clientWidth) return; // return if we're gone or no size yet (will get called again)
-
-    // make the cells content (minus margin) square again
-    if (this._isAutoCellHeight) {
-      Utils.throttle(() => {
-        let marginDiff = - (this.opts.marginRight as number) - (this.opts.marginLeft as number)
-          + (this.opts.marginTop as number) + (this.opts.marginBottom as number);
-        this.cellHeight(this.cellWidth() + marginDiff);
-      }, 100);
+    let changedOneColumn = false;
+    let oneColumn = !this.opts.disableOneColumnMode && this.el.clientWidth <= this.opts.minWidth;
+
+    if (!this._oneColumnMode !== !oneColumn) { // use ! (negate) so we can check undefined == false vs true
+      this._oneColumnMode = oneColumn;
+      changedOneColumn = true;
+      if (this.opts.animate) { this.setAnimation(false); } // 1 <-> 12 is too radical, turn off animation
+      this.column(oneColumn ? 1 : this._prevColumn);
+      this._resizeNestedGrids(this.el);
+      if (this.opts.animate) { this.setAnimation(true); }
     }
 
-    if (!this.opts.disableOneColumnMode && this.el.clientWidth <= this.opts.minWidth) {
-      if (this._oneColumnMode) return this;
-      this._oneColumnMode = true;
-      this.column(1);
-      this._resizeNestedGrids(this.el);
-    } else {
-      if (!this._oneColumnMode) return this;
-      delete this._oneColumnMode;
-      this.column(this._prevColumn);
-      this._resizeNestedGrids(this.el);
+    // make the cells content square again
+    if (this._isAutoCellHeight) {
+      if (!changedOneColumn && this.opts.cellHeightThrottle) {
+        if (!this._cellHeightThrottle) {
+          this._cellHeightThrottle = Utils.throttle(() => this.cellHeight(), this.opts.cellHeightThrottle);
+        }
+        this._cellHeightThrottle();
+      } else {
+        // immediate update if we've changed to/from oneColumn or have no threshold
+        this.cellHeight();
+      }
     }
 
     return this;
@@ -1334,13 +1367,12 @@ export class GridStack {
 
   /** add or remove the window size event handler */
   private _updateWindowResizeEvent(forceRemove = false): GridStack {
-    const workTodo = (this._isAutoCellHeight || !this.opts.disableOneColumnMode);
-
     // only add event if we're not nested (parent will call us) and we're auto sizing cells or supporting oneColumn (i.e. doing work)
-    if (workTodo && !forceRemove && !this.opts._isNested && !this._windowResizeBind) {
+    const workTodo = (this._isAutoCellHeight || !this.opts.disableOneColumnMode) && !this.opts._isNested;
+
+    if (!forceRemove && workTodo && !this._windowResizeBind) {
       this._windowResizeBind = this.onParentResize.bind(this); // so we can properly remove later
       window.addEventListener('resize', this._windowResizeBind);
-      this.onParentResize(); // initially call it once...
     } else if ((forceRemove || !workTodo) && this._windowResizeBind) {
       window.removeEventListener('resize', this._windowResizeBind);
       delete this._windowResizeBind; // remove link to us so we can free
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index e89e07a6d..3ac1879b9 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -52,14 +52,20 @@ export interface GridStackOptions {
   auto?: boolean;
 
   /**
-   * one cell height (default?: 60). Can be:
+   * one cell height (default?: 'auto'). Can be:
    *  an integer (px)
-   *  a string (ex: '100px', '10em', '10rem', '10%')
-   *  0 or null, in which case the library will not generate styles for rows. Everything must be defined in CSS files.
-   *  'auto' - height will be calculated to match cell width (initial square grid).
+   *  a string (ex: '100px', '10em', '10rem'). Note: % doesn't right - see demo/cell-height.html
+   *  0, in which case the library will not generate styles for rows. Everything must be defined in your own CSS files.
+   *  'auto' - height will be calculated for square cells (width / column) and updated live as you resize the window - also see `cellHeightThrottle`
+   *  'initial' - similar to 'auto' (start at square cells) but stay that size during window resizing.
    */
   cellHeight?: numberOrString;
 
+  /** throttle time delay (in ms) used when cellHeight='auto' to improve performance vs usability (default?: 100).
+   * A value of 0 will make it instant at a cost of re-creating the CSS file at ever window resize event!
+   * */
+  cellHeightThrottle?: number;
+
   /** (internal) unit for cellHeight (default? 'px') which is set when a string cellHeight with a unit is passed (ex: '10rem') */
   cellHeightUnit?: string;
 
diff --git a/src/utils.ts b/src/utils.ts
index 1d694e6ed..b379b8f9e 100644
--- a/src/utils.ts
+++ b/src/utils.ts
@@ -245,15 +245,13 @@ export class Utils {
     return null;
   }
 
-  /** delay calling the given function by certain amount of time */
-  static throttle(callback: () => void, delay: number): () => void {
+  /** delay calling the given function for given delay, preventing new calls from happening while waiting */
+  static throttle(func, delay: number): () => void {
     let isWaiting = false;
-
     return (...args) => {
       if (!isWaiting) {
-        callback.apply(this, args);
         isWaiting = true;
-        setTimeout(() => isWaiting = false, delay);
+        setTimeout(() => { func(...args); isWaiting = false; }, delay);
       }
     }
   }
