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Humidity and Hardwood Floor Installation Sean 11-11-2006
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Posted by Sean on November 11, 2006, 10:42 am


Hi all, looking for some help here from people in the know. I'm about to
have select grade 3 1/4" yellow birch hardwood installed throughout my
house. The wood has been delivered and is getting acclimated in the house. I
understand that ideal humidity should be somewhere in the range of 45% - 55%
all the time in a house, according to the company that sold it to me.
Problem is, my home humidity ranges from a low of 20% to no more than 30%.
I've been testing it with a hygrometer in various spots. Its clear to me
that I just live in a very dry house.

I live in Canada, and in winter particularly (the heating season), humidity
can be low.

My question is this: if it is installed in low humidity, and the humidity
ALWAYS stays relatively low in the house (summer and winter), will there be
a problem down the road with shrinking, expanding, or cracking of the
hardwood?

Thanks for any help or insight.



Posted by David Martel on November 11, 2006, 11:03 am


Sean,

Once the wood is acclimated to the low humidity it shouldn't move much,
shrink, swell, or crack. The question is, how long must the wood sit before
it acclimates. I'm guessing that the installer knows this and that if the
wood does crack due to dryness it will happen within the first year so the
installer can be called about repairs. Rent a wood moisture meter and check
a couple of pieces. I bet that the wood is already quite dry since it has
been sitting in a lumber yard for a while.

Dave M.



Posted by Malcolm Hoar on November 11, 2006, 12:35 pm


>My question is this: if it is installed in low humidity, and the humidity
>ALWAYS stays relatively low in the house (summer and winter), will there be
>a problem down the road with shrinking, expanding, or cracking of the
>hardwood?

No, _changes_ in humidity cause the problematic movement. However,
bear in mind:

1. Since your home is so incredibly dry, give the new floor as
long as possible to dry out before installing.

2. The installed floor will get subjected to rather high but
very localized increases in humidity from time to time.
i.e. every time you spill something ;-) Be very diligent
about cleaning up any spills quickly and thoroughly.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| malch@malch.com Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posted by wayne on November 11, 2006, 7:55 pm


Just buy a humidifier everything in your house will benefit

Sean wrote:

> Hi all, looking for some help here from people in the know. I'm about
> to have select grade 3 1/4" yellow birch hardwood installed
> throughout my house. The wood has been delivered and is getting
> acclimated in the house. I understand that ideal humidity should be
> somewhere in the range of 45% - 55% all the time in a house,
> according to the company that sold it to me. Problem is, my home
> humidity ranges from a low of 20% to no more than 30%. I've been
> testing it with a hygrometer in various spots. Its clear to me that I
> just live in a very dry house.
>
> I live in Canada, and in winter particularly (the heating season),
> humidity can be low.
>
> My question is this: if it is installed in low humidity, and the
> humidity ALWAYS stays relatively low in the house (summer and
> winter), will there be a problem down the road with shrinking,
> expanding, or cracking of the hardwood?
>
> Thanks for any help or insight.

Posted by m Ransley on November 11, 2006, 8:45 pm


I realy dought your humidistat is accurate, does everything spark , I
mean you would notice excessive static with 20% humidity. Analog are
usualy sold 10-15% off, the better units state to calibrate every 6
months by wrapping in a wet rag and setting to 94-96%. Digital are
better but some are inacurate. Once the wood aclimitised it wont matter,
buy yourself a moisture meter to see when the wood equals your home, A
Pro installer would have one all the time, a hack wont.


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