Let's face the facts: Floors need to breathe. In order to breathe, floors need breathable floor protection products that don't trap moisture so they can properly cure. Protecting hard surfaces on a job site is your top priority. Ram Board has surface protection solutions you can trust.
Do I need a moisture barrier for hardwood floors?" The answer is YES! Moisture can destroy hardwood floors. It causes cupping, warping, and even mildew if not treated. You must install a moisture barrier to protect your flooring from water wicking up from below.
If hardwood planks are not allowed to acclimate to their environment before installation, issues like cupping, warping, and gapping can arise. But don't worry! Once your hardwood has fully acclimated to its new environment, and with the proper installation and care over time, you can avoid issues like these.
Failure to properly initiate wood floor acclimation before installation may compromise the integrity of the floor. Excessive gaps, warping or cupping can occur after the installation is complete; the expansion joint may also be compromised, which will result in further damage.
Acclimation times vary by species and product, but a rule of thumb is to acclimate wood floor products for at least three days. You're trying to reach an equilibrium between the moisture content of the wood materials and the air where the product is being installed.
The normal period is 48hrs within the room of installation, before beginning to lay the floor. If the flooring is not acclimated correctly, it can result in warped flooring or excessive movement in the flooring after the installation, creating creaks, gaps or causing damage.
Acclimatising your new flooring is very easy to do. Simply leave the flooring in its boxes, then open up the end and stack them on top of each other. This allows air to circulate between the boards and helps the flooring to adapt to its new environment.
Wood floors expand slightly during the hot, humid summer months and contract during cold winter months. Sometimes this contraction can cause visible space between individual floorboards. This is a completely normal event that should not raise alarm to homeowners.
In summary, acclimation is critical to the success of a hardwood floor, but continuing to monitor the climate conditions of the home after the floor is installed is equally important. With that being said, we know it is difficult to keep a home at an exactly constant relative humidity and temperature year-round.
Over time, the floor will harden. Why? As you walk on the wood, the fibers compress upon themselves getting harder and harder.
We recommend waiting 6 hours before walking on your new floors in socks. After 24 hours you can walk through with shoes on. Allow 48 hours before setting furniture and returning pets. Carpets and area rugs can be placed after 1 full week.
Does Engineered Hardwood Need to Acclimate? The short answer: absolutely. Many manufacturers suggest engineered hardwood floors should acclimate in the home for a period of time before installation.
How often can I refinish my floors? Depending on a floor's thickness and the experience of the flooring professional, a floor can be sanded around 4-6 times in its entire life. Hardwood floors can be refinished every 7-10 years, making the 4-6 refinishes more than enough.
The Not-So-Good:
Bathroom– Water is hardwood flooring's arch nemesis. In the bathroom, there is almost always water coming from somewhere. Even if it's just by accident, water can easily get on the bathroom floor. If that floor happens to be hardwood, it can quickly be ruined.
Water is the enemy of hardwood flooring. Due to the porous nature of wood, moisture can be easily absorbed into the material. So your flooring may show signs of staining from small spills. The wet floor may also begin to buckle and cup when large amounts of water are absorbed as the planks swell.
One of the most popular types of hardwood underlayment is felt. This option provides basic moisture resistance and sound absorption. You can choose heavier layers of black felt for additional insulation, sound absorption, and moisture resistance.
After installing such beautiful natural flooring, you may wonder if it is really necessary to apply wood stain and finish products. Is it okay to leave hardwood floors unfinished? The answer is yes, you do not have to finish a hardwood floor!
For water-based finishes, the recommended wait time is 4-8 hours. For hard wax oils, this increases to 4-24 hours. Finally, for oil-modified Polyurethane, the surface will take between 12 & 24 hours to dry. The benefit of the dry time is that it allows us to access our floors in between coats.
Do Hardwood Floors Make Your Home Cold? Quality hardwood floors do not make your home colder. Hardwood flooring may feel colder than carpet on bare feet, even at the same temperature, but it's actually warmer.
Cold floors are due to a phenomenon called the stack effect and are a symptom of a larger whole-house problem. Many foundations, basements, and crawl spaces have poor insulation (or none at all) and air leaks, which directly cause unbearably cold floors in the winter.
When the temperature drops, so does the amount of moisture in the air. Dry air leaves your skin parched and begging for hydration. The frigid temperatures can have the same effect on your hardwood floors. The lack of humidity in the air can cause the wood to dry out and contract.
Laminate flooring material needs to acclimate (adjust) to the moisture and temperature conditions of the installation environment for 24 to 72 hours (depending on the product) before it can be installed.
Yes, even Kiln Dried (KD) wood needs to acclimate properly. All woods will expand and contract with their moisture content, seasonally. Depending on the amount of variation from initial moisture content of the wood and how quickly the wood dries to acclimation, will affect the behavior of the wood.
As a homeowner, you should be prepared for this to occur. However, in order to try to prevent these separations, you can install a humidifier in the furnace or bring a movable humidifier into the room. As long as your humidity doesn't fall lower than 40%, no gaps should appear between your hardwood flooring planks.
Generally, the required range is between 60-80 degrees with a relative humidity range of 35 percent to 55 percent. Wood floors don't like sudden indoor climate changes, and neither do we.