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Question about acclimating wood floor

10 years ago

I'm planning on having 6 1/2" x 3/4" Brazilian Cherry prefinished flooring installed in a room on the first level of our home. Yesterday an installer from the store where it was purchased from came to our home to give us an estimate for the installation. When I asked him about having the flooring delivered a few days early I was told they "very rarely do that" since their warehouse is climate controlled,and therefore humidity and moisture isn't an issue.

I'm just wondering if anyone with expertise could chime in here and tell me if that's true? I've heard from so many places how important it is that the wood be acclimated and I don't want to have issues after it's all installed. I'm not sure if I should insist they deliver it ahead of time (or pick it up myself). Thanks in advance!

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Comments (8)

User
10 years ago
Well, it is acclimated----to their warehouse. If you want it acclimated to the conditions in your home, have it delivered a week early and spread it out.
StoneTech
10 years ago
Yep~ Chances are the temp and humidity aren't the same in the Warehouse as in your home.
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Your builder wants to do things the easy way for him, not the best way for you. Just look on the Building A Home forum for a gazillion posts from threeapples about her saga with her wood floors that a year later, she's still not happy with. Climate control is essential in drying out the moisture in all of the studs, sheathing, drywall and other moisture producers in your home. Wood of all kind, even engineered will soak up that moisture and swell. Engineered less so, but cabinets and other woodwork that is solid wood will absorb all of that moisture and swell. When it dries out, it will shrink. That's the normal behavior of wood. If you want to minimize the cupping and gaps in your wood, you keep it happy, you always keep it in the same climate controlled conditions as people enjoy. If you would be hot or cold, or clammy from the humidity (or dried out because it's too dry) then your wood will be in a position to change sizes due to those issues.
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millworkman
10 years ago
Ideally it should be spread out in your house to acclimate for 3-4 weeks.
judyallen123
10 years ago
Just having new hickory floors laid. They are cupping and have raised up in other areas. The house was not air conditioned when they laid the floors. AC has now been running for 2 weeks and cupping is still present, though better. When floor guy came back the moisture meter showed the plywoood to be at 16 and hickory was below 6. Now hickory shows at 14 and plywood at 12. Does this mean anything to you all? He said he did not check the moisture before he laid the floor. Seriously!
brickeyee
10 years ago
"The house was not air conditioned when they laid the floors."

Every manufacturer requires HVAC be on and working.

The installer should have refused to ;ay the floor.

The only thing you can use is tincture of time.

Just wait. Possibly many months.
millworkman
10 years ago
"Just wait. Possibly many months", and even then it may never lay down completely.
StoneTech
10 years ago
Jesus.....a week to ten days is adequate..........
brickeyee
10 years ago
"Jesus.....a week to ten days is adequate.........."

It takes about a year per inch to air dry lumber directly from a tree.

A week to ten days is simply NOT adequate unless the floor is 3/8 inch thick.

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