| “The conventional wisdom that wood floors should sit
in the building for 10 days or so to ‘acclimate’ before installation
may be a bit oversimplified,” says Howard Brickman of Brickman Consulting.
“I tell people to lay their watch on a stack of wood flooring and tell me
what the moisture content is. Of course it’s not related. You need to use
a moisture meter and you want to keep the wood floor away from the building until
the site is dry.”
Brickman offers this formula for success with wood floors:
- Use a moisture meter to make sure the flooring is at the proper moisture content
(6 percent or below in the dry West, 6 percent to 8 percent in the temperate Midwest
and Northeast, or 9 percent to 11 percent in the very humid South).
- Also use your moisture meter on the subfloor: It should be no higher than
8 percent in the dry region, 11 percent in the temperate region, and up to 13
percent in the humid region. If the subfloor is too wet, don’t install the
flooring.”
At Goodwin, we have found that a true vapor retarder, such as Aquabar “B”
by Fortifiber, works best. It slows down any intrusion of moisture from below
and gives the subfloor a chance to dry downward rather than up. In our experience,
the more commonly used #15 asphalt felt paper does not do much to keep moisture
away from the floor. Ask for our Manufacturer’s Guidelines for more acclimation
tips. For the full article referenced here, please see the October 2006 issue
of BUILDER Magazine, or visit their site online at www.builderonline.com |
Top 10 Reasons To Choose a Wood Floor
- Diverse selection of colors and grain patterns
- Best choice for the environment
- Entirely new look with stains, faux finishes and inlays
- Better for your joints
- Add to the resale value of your home
- Good forestry management
- Easy to maintain
- Will not trap dust or allergens
- Finishes can be easily repaired or reapplied
- Greatest renewable resource
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