Installation
Solid wood floors should be considered a ‘living, breathing product’. A wide variation in humidity in the home environment through the seasons, or a significant difference between the moisture content of the sub-floor and floorboards at the time of installation can result in uneven expansion/shrinkage. This can cause buckling (lifting) of the floor, or large gaps between the floorboards. There are several important ways to minimize this potential for such movement:
- Have the flooring installed only by a professional flooring installation contractor. Some will even provide a guarantee of their installation.
- Deliver the wood flooring to the home or job site for acclimation only if all the wet work (drywall, painting, tile & rock work etc). has been completed.
- The heating and ventilation system should have been “on” for at least 1 week and operating in their normal range.
- The home & subfloor should be dry.
- Place the wood in the main area to be installed, on lathing and with spaces between the bundles for air to pass through. (Do not store in a garage, shed or basement)
The professional installer should make sure that:
- The moisture content of the floorboards to be installed is within 2% of the moisture content of the sub-floor – an acclimation period may be required for the floorboards to adjust to this level; an accurate moisture meter will be required to assess moisture content;
- An adequate-weight underlay paper must be used between the floor and the sub-floor;
- An adequate gap must be maintained between the perimeter of the floor and walls to allow for acceptable natural expansion/contraction.
Ensuring that the indoor relative humidity will be maintained between 40-60% throughout the year will keep the wood very stable. Humidity control systems can help to maintain a constant humidity level. With large differences in humidity from one season to the next, the effect on wood can be damaging. Kitchens and bathrooms especially require adequate venting of moisture-laden air. This can occur in homes that are unoccupied for lengthy periods of time, such as a weekend home or vacation cabin. If air conditioning or heating is not used, or is shut off, ventilation is a must even when the home is not occupied.
Floors that are being installed over concrete, over radiant heat, or in parts of a home that are ‘below grade’ (i.e. lower than the ground level outside the house) require professional advice. Successful installations over concrete require special attention to details. Our Showroom floor is a slab on grade concrete with a plywood subfloor. We installed a 5 ¼” wide fir floor over it and never had a single problem until our water tank leaked. This resulted in some minor cupping and squeaking for a few weeks, which eventually went back to normal. We were fortunate to have caught the leak quickly and remedied the problem.