Howbtonproperly Acclimate Wood Floors

Not acclimating hardwood floors can cause excessive gaps warping buckling or cupping after the installation is complete.

Howbtonproperly acclimate wood floors.

This process is known as hardwood acclimation. It is never a good idea to base acclimation on time alone but rather on actual moisture content. One of my biggest pet peeves is woodworkers who try to save money by using cheapo lumber on a project that they are willing to spend weeks if not months building projects that will be around for generations to. Between 5 and 10 days ahead of time check to see if the temperature and humidity of the space is at normal living conditions.

Failure to properly acclimate hardwood flooring before installation begins may compromise the integrity of your floor. When flooring expands or contracts too much the boards can warp bend and buckle. Imel and sons hardwood floors grants pass oregon. Failing to properly acclimate wood flooring may cause excessive expansion shrinkage dimensional distortion or structural damage.

Some floor installers would say that 2 3 days is enough for the wood floors to acclimate fully. A good rule of thumb is 7 10 days for installation over wood subfloors. How long does it take to acclimate hardwood flooring. Before installing wood floors the flooring needs to reach a moisture content mc level that is in equilibrium with the surrounding environment.

Brett miller says. This step may require some planning to ensure you have enough indoor storage space. Start with taking readings of your wood subfloor. Written by wagner meters published first by proinstaller spring 2015 there is a common misconception among contractors that if you bring wood flooring into the workplace and let it sit for a few days it will acclimate properly and be ready to install.

Inside the boxes. Always acclimate hardwood flooring in a controlled environment that s completely enclosed. In other words let the heat or air run as it would normally for at least 5 days. Never attempt to condition wood planks outside or in a garage or basement where the humidity and temperature vary greatly throughout the day and don t simulate.

If you have a moisture meter on hand you can test the wood. The better way to determine if the engineered wood floors are ready is by measuring their moisture content. Below are the things you need to do to determine if your engineered wood floors have acclimated. Acclimate to equilibrium moisture content for as long as it takes.

It should be at 11 moisture content or less the goal would be the average of normal. Being natural materials hardwood building products such as oak flooring are bound to expand and contract with changes in weather and temperature. How to acclimate hardwood flooring. Some species will take much longer to reach equilibrium moisture content than others.

This is a big. One way of preventing such damage is to properly acclimate your flooring before you install it. Unfortunately there is no 100 correct answer for how long to acclimate floors. Make sure the room or level where the flooring will be laid is an enclosed space.