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Q: How long should hardwood floors be acclimated before installation?

I am importing floors in from Florida. I know they need to acclimate but for how long? Should I lay on the side of caution and let them breathe in my house for a couple weeks or is a weekend long enough time for them to get accustomed to their new home?

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    First and foremost, you should always follow the manufacturers recommendations on how and weather to acclimate your floor. Acclimation is typically recommended minimum 72 hrs however, there are some that recommend up to 14 days. Your floor should be layed out in the room where it is to be installed and temerature set at normal living conditions.You should check the moisture content of the boards when they arrive. According to NWFA guidelines 40 boards for every 1000/sf of flooring. After acclimation the moisture content of solid strip flooring 3" wide or less should be no more than 4% different than the content of the sub flooring material and no more than 2% on wider planks.

    If you are installing over radiant heat, the subfloors must have been cured without heat transference for a minimum of 4 weeks and then an additional 2 weeks with the heat set on 2/3 maximum. Once that has been completed you will need to set the floor temerature at 64 degrees min. for 5 days before beginning installation.

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    Jean gave the best and most accurate answer. Please, all folks installing hardwood floors give the floors time to breathe and adjust to their new home. Wood simply expands and contracts at all times especially in colder and hotter weather.

    Eye on the side of caution and allow the floors to acclimate for a couple weeks. One of the biggest mistakes made is installing a floor that is not fully acclimated. What a mess!

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    Acclimating your flooring is very important. This allows the wood to "get used to" your home's environment, i.e. temperature and humidity. Always unload your wood flooring into the house, ideally into the room where it will be laid. If you cannot unload it into the room where it will be laid, get it as close as possible, but it definitely must acclimate inside the house...not in the garage or an outside storage building.

    Contrary to popular belief, acclimating is not a matter of time, but a matter of moisture. Ideally, you will want the moisture content of your wood to be within 3% +/- of the moisture content of the subfloor. Since most people don't have a moisture meter laying around, we typically suggest 2 weeks. Try to plan for this very important step, because skipping the acclimation process can cause a lot of problems after installation.

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  • A: Flooring aclimation period



    Always go with the manufacturer's suggestion. If for what-ever reason you can't find the manufacturer's suggestion, a good rule of thumb is to with-in 3 to 5% of the mosture content of the sub-floor. The larger the plank the longer the aclimation time period. Wood species will also vary aclimation time lines. When in doubt give a local cabnet maker a call. They will probably be more than helpful with the despencing of their knowledge.

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    May 8, 2021

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