How long does hardwood flooring need to acclimate?
If you’ve just purchased hardwood flooring for your home or business, you may have heard the term “acclimate” thrown out. This is because new hardwood flooring must acclimate to its new environment before it’s installed.
But why does hardwood flooring need to acclimate and how long does it need to sit before installing? Let’s break it down.
Why does hardwood flooring need to acclimate?
Before installing your new hardwood flooring, it must acclimate to the new environment first. If you do not allow this process to take place, many issues could pop up, including:
- Wood that expands
- Wood that shrinks
- Wood that splits
- Woods that crown
These issues happen because of hardwood flooring’s ability to soak up moisture from the environment. If the new environment has too much moisture, the hardwood flooring will soak it up, start experiencing issues, and then fail to install correctly. Because of this, it’s important to allow your flooring to acclimate (or get used to) the room it’s going to be installed in. If you don’t and choose to install the flooring right away, the moisture will cause issues and lead to gaps, cracking, and more.
Keep Reading: What’s more expensive, hardwood or carpet?
How long should your hardwood flooring sit before installing?
In order to properly acclimate your hardwood flooring, it’s crucial that you allow it to sit in the correct room for at least two weeks. The room must be temperature-controlled and kept at the temperature it’s usually kept at.
After sitting for two weeks, the hardwood flooring installer will test the moisture levels and make sure everything is okay for installation.
Keep Reading: Can you install hardwood over carpet?
Additional hardwood flooring resources
Interested in learning more about hardwood flooring and laminate? Take a look at the resources below and reach out to us with any questions!