The Effect of Humidity
Because wood is a porous product, it tends to expand and contract as the humidity level in your home fluctuates. The wood strips that make up your floor will contract during the drier winter months when furnaces and wood stoves are in use. These dry conditions will result in gaps between the strips. The humidity of summer makes those same wood strips expand, causing the boards to tighten and buckle. There are many things that can be done to combat this problem:
- Acclimatizing your hardwood floor:
Before your floor is installed the wood must be acclimatized to its new environment. In a new home, this takes place after the windows are installed and the furnace is operational, and after all drywall taping, painting (except the final coat), concrete and mortar work are complete. The wood is simply placed in the living area of your home for the required period of time. Currently, manufacturers are recommending a two day acclimatization period for hardwood which has been stored under good climate-controlled conditions. - Proper fitting of surrounding cabinetry:
To ensure your floor has room to move, it should be installed prior to kitchen cabinets, fireplaces and other design elements. If you are placing the floor in an existing home where cabinets are already in place, you may wish to shim the cabinets up to match the thickness of your floor. Additionally, wooden door casings can be easily undercut to eliminate the need for moldings and avoid a visible gap between the wall and flooring. - Maintaining humidity levels:
Maintaining a year-round relative humidity level of between 40 and 50 percent will help minimize the common expansion and contraction of your wood floor. Proper ventilation and dehumidification or air conditioning in summer, and the use of a humidifier in winter can reduce drastic variations in your home's humidity levels.
Installation and finishing
Whether your floor is site- or pre-finished, there are steps common to all hardwood floor installations:
- Preparing the sub-floor:
Your hardwood floor must be nailed into a ⅝" plywood, 13/16" oriented strand-board (OSB), or ¾" real wood sub-floor. The particleboard bases used for "glue down" floor products such as parquet do not have the holding power required for nail-down installations. For maximum strength, plank or strip flooring must be installed across the floor joists, rather than parallel to them. - Staining:
If you have chosen a site-finished floor, once it is laid, you may wish that it be stained according to your specifications. Remember that there will be a slight variation between the sample and finished colors. This is because the powerful drum sander used to prepare the floor cannot be used to make samples. - Properly applying urethane:
The urethane process is the final and most significant step in laying your hardwood floor. For best results, keep the following tips in mind: - Install carpet after the urethane process is complete. The tiny fibers shed by new carpet can settle into wet urethane causing the hardwood to have a "fuzzy" appearance.
- Give your installer total control over the floor's environment, including the thermostat, windows and doors. A smooth finish requires optimum conditions.
- Stay off your floors for 48 hours after the urethane has been applied. In addition, leave your floor uncovered for about a month at which time it will have reached its maximum hardness and will have cured evenly.
Proper care
Nothing is more striking than hardwood flooring with its natural variations in shade and graining. With a bit of common sense, it's easy to maintain the beauty of a newly installed hardwood floor:
- Protect your floor against scratches by placing inexpensive felt pads on chair and table feet.
- Place door mats outside and walk-off mats inside every entrance to trap sand coming into the house.
- Harsh cleaners will dull your floor's shine; instead just dust mop or vacuum weekly to remove any grit that could wear down the wood's finish. Additionally, don't wash your hardwood floor, although a well rung out mop or rag can be used.
- Keep your pets' nails well groomed to prevent scratching the finish of the floor.
