Do Engineered Hardwood Floors Need To Acclimate

Contrary to belief it has less do with the amount of time you should let flooring sit to acclimate on the job site and more to do with monitoring the moisture content of various components.

Do engineered hardwood floors need to acclimate.

Engineered hardwood flooring general rule. Some engineered flooring manufacturers recommend acclimation while others do not. Between 5 and 10 days ahead of time check to see if the temperature and humidity of the space is at normal living conditions. Inside the boxes make sure the room or level where the flooring will be laid is an enclosed space.

With some products you may have problems engaging the tongue and groove if it is acclimated to a higher moisture content. If you re finishing wood floors on site you ll need to plan more time for the flooring to acclimatize as much as 5 7 days. It is a fact that wood flooring will always perform best when the environment is controlled and remains within a relative humidity range of 30 50. 3 days of acclimation is recommended for engineered flooring.

Engineered and solid factory finished flooring often doesn t require acclimation provided the environment is within what s considered average humidity and temperature levels. The planks can remain in the box with the ends cut open for the duration of the. Once you start the process of acclimation to your engineered hardwood flooring you need to know when it has acclimated and is ready for installation. Of course there are situations where wood flooring will need to acclimate.

Do you need to acclimate engineered wood flooring. Site finished and engineered flooring requires more time to acclimate. If you re not sure whether your hardwood flooring needs to go through the acclimation process contact superior hardwoods of montana our experienced. Engineered hardwood wood subfloor engineered hardwood is more dimensionally stable than solid so it doesn t usually need to be acclimated to the same extent as solid hardwood.

I inspect a lot of flooring complaints and fill out a lot of manufacturer required forms. Even with engineered flooring it is suggested by some manufacturers that in order to retain coverage with the warranty the job site has to be maintained between 30 50 relative humidity and these conditions must also be maintained after installation. Yes since engineered wood flooring is constructed from natural hardwood it requires acclimation. Some floor installers would say that 2 3 days is enough for the wood floors to acclimate fully.

However when a wood subfloor is used you must account for possible expansion and contraction of the subfloor. You do not want the relative humidity in your house to go outside this range not only for the health of your flooring but for your own health.