I am located in the North Shore. The biggest issues with wide planks is humidity in late summer to early fall (August - October). Problems occurs when air conditioners are traded for fresh outdoor air, which allows humidity to spike in the house. This is when you will experience problems. Several days of windows open will get the ball rolling for moisture issues like cupping and buckling. These symptoms do not become visible until early winter (November), by then, it is too late. Because the floor boards are sealed, It takes a full season of heating, sometimes longer to fix the problem. To avoid call backs, most contractors will not recommend wide planks. We cannot bank on homeowners to maintain indoor humidity.

You can have a successful install. It sounds like you maybe doing a big renovation since you will be adding radiant floor heating. What type of heating system, what type of wood specie and width are you planning to put in?

We are not planning to save cooling cost by opening windows. We may open windows once in a while for 30 min or so but will use it as a replacement for AC. We are also going to install whole house humidifier and dehumidifier.

It's more than just the de/humidifier. You will need to address any other issues in your basement regarding air/moisture leaks. What type of foundation do you have? How close are you to the water? Heating system- normal HVAC? Which part of Massachusetts?

Foundation is poured concrete. Part of our basement is finished and part unfinished. The unfinished basement does not have insulation on the concrete wall but has on the ceiling. Heating is gas furnace with forced air and we are in Norfolk county.

What do I need to do to basement to support wide planks? Do I need to insulate all of basement?

Wherever the flooring is going, you will need to reduce or prevent vapor transfer. The ducts wil need to be wrapped to prevent condensation. You may need to insulate the basement ceiling with a moisture barrier. You will need to measure the humidity in that area, first. Gaps in the subfloor will need to be sealed. And you will need to install a epoxy or polyurethane based moisture barrier. Depending on the width of your flooring, installation will be either be a nailless full spread glue as moisture barrier or full spread glue with nail assist, allowing the thickness of the flooring for expansion gaps. This will protect you from below.

From up top, you will need to make sure everything is sealed and manage the humidity. The base of your walls should not be drafty.

Currently, finishing up a 9.5" engineered wide plank nailless installation in Weston before the snow storm. The space is a 1000 sq. ft. addition built on a poured slab foundation. 2X6 floor frames was installed and spray foamed. Subfloor decking is Advantech. Used Bona's 540 moisture barrier with Bona's R851 flooring adhesive. Used this application on several other projects over slabs with success. .

Do you have a newer house with good air tightness? Do you easily maintain humidity in winter with an evaporative humidifier? Are you willing to install a dehumidifier to your HVAC? In Chicago wide plank is a non-starter in an old house. In a newer house with appropriate HVAC and realistic owner expectations its not a problem.

Any house with duct condensation has bigger problems than the needs of wide flooring.

Most flooring contractors aren't interested in very wide plank because they don't want to be responsible for your disatisfaction with gaps in the winter. 4-5" quartersawn oak is a lot safer than 9" boards. 4-5" rift and quarterd character grade white oak is far from the look of the typical red oak floor.

Thanks @gsfloor service and @don. These are the kind of detailed answer I was looking for.

We supply a lot of wide plank into the Northeast. We are a manufacturer though, so don't get involved much on the installs. Engineered is a lot more 'stable' and will respond slower to moisture changes than solid. Also, a good quality engineered, will look the same as a solid. Biggest factor in getting a good wood floor is the installer. An installer that knows what they are doing and can educate the homeowner on how to 'care' for the flooring is priceless. We always recommend getting a NWFA certified installer. I don't know G & S Floor Service above, but they sound qualified for the job to me 😊

-Debbie George (debbie@woodco.com)