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Living in the dry, arid desert can be tough on a hardwood floor. At The HFC, we’re experts in installing your hardwood floors under any conditions. And when you need to acclimate your hardwood floors, we make sure we do the job right. Our installation team prides itself on getting our customers the performance they deserve from their hardwood floors.
Why Acclimate Your Hardwood Floors?
Before installing hardwood flooring, the wood needs to reach a moisture content that’s in equilibrium with its surrounding environment. During acclimation, you want to find equilibrium between the wood and the air in your home. In other words, acclimation is the point at which the wood is neither gaining nor losing moisture. If the wood’s moisture content is too high or too low it can result in swelling, shrinking, and damaging of the planks. Often, the appropriate process and timeline depends on the width and style of your wood planking, but a good rule of thumb is to give wood three days to acclimate.
Check Your Climate Control Units
Central Oregon can be a challenging place to install a hardwood floor. Variations in the weather, dry climate, and frequent sunshine all pose their own risks. So, it’s essential that you check your climate control units and make sure they’re on for installation day. The appropriate humidity level will vary for different species of wood. If the humidity levels aren’t quite right, The HFC will have to let the wood acclimate to your home’s moisture level before installation, which can cause unnecessary delays.
Checking Subfloor Moisture
When installing hardwood floors, we’ll also need to check the moisture levels of your subfloor. If it’s too high or too low, it could affect your hardwood floors by causing shrinking, expanding, bowing, or cupping the planks. We’ll make sure your subfloors have moisture levels that are within 2-4% of your hardwood’s moisture content to ensure you get the performance you need.
After-Installation Checks
Once The Hardwood Floor Company finishes installing your hardwood floor, we’ll use a moisture meter to double-check the flooring and subfloor conditions. If we don’t ensure the floor planks and subfloor moisture conditions are within 2-4% of one another, floors could experience damage after our installation.
Contact The HFC for a Free Estimate
We can’t start acclimating your wood floors until you take this initial step! If you think your home or space is ready for a new floor or design, you can contact The HFC for a free estimate we can start the acclimation process.