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How long should 3/4 inch Oak hardwood flooring be allowed to acclamate to the conditions in a house before being installed. It is kiln dried tongue & groove and the climate in northern minnesota is currently 50 degrees and low humidity and there is no heat currently in the house. The heating system will be running in three days.
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What's the moisture content in the subfloor and framing?
*Subfloor and framing is existing. Remodel is an 1960's rambler style house. Actual sublfloor material is 3/4 " t & g pine layed diagonally. Moisture content has not been checked.
*Run the heat for a couple of days.....then, let it acclamiate for at least 2 weeks, longer if I could.As least that's what I'd do.......Luck
*That's good, safe to say the existing materials have stabilized. Is there a vapor barrier in the crawlspace so that you're sure you don't have drastic seasonal fluctuations? I'd say let the furnace run for the two weeks Mark suggests then check that the moisture content in the flooring is within 1% of the surrounding materials. Hopefully between 6 and 9%. You can get a decent moisture meter for less than 100 bucks these days, a small investment compared to the risk of not knowing relative moisture contents.
*Sounds like what I had figured. The current basement is not yet finished. It will have a vapor barrier between the concrete block and the stud walls later in the project, possibly 3 months down the road, but that should not be much of a factor in our minnesota winters. The red rosin paper or sometimes called banking paper is the best for between the subfloor and oak then? Also how much room should be allowed around the perimeter of the room and the ends of the flooring?
*Yes on the paper, two layers if you feel like it.Half-inch space all around unless the room is longer than 20', then go with 3/4" on the ends.Amazing how it will shrink and grow!
*... we usually rip two inch strips of 1/4" luan ply and tack it around the room to make sure the space will be maintained... then remove it when you're done and the baseboard will cover the gap....
*Depending on where you bought the materials, it could already be at the right moisture content and ready to install. Flooring contractors in your area can tell you the average moisture content of a floor that has reached its acclimation point. It is important that the subfloor not be more than 4% greater than the finished floor, or the finished floor might cup when the finish goes on. Floors expand very little in the length. Flooring contractors only concern themselves with proper expansion of the width. Your main concern in a dry cold climate should be shrinkage anyway, not swelling. You could get cracks so big a cat could fall in em. GW
*Greg's advice sounds good. My hardwood guy tells me the standard idea of 2 weeks acclaimation is nonsense. It takes 3 months for oak to absorb or dispell moisture in the seasonal range. You need to buy with a garanteed moisture content appropriate to your locale or let it acclaimate considerably longer than 2 wks in a heated space.jim l
*i learned the hard way 15 years ago about moisture content in oak flooring. my supplier told me the floor "was ready to go". a month after the installation i could roll a dime down the grooves between every board. now i check the content when i pick it up and store it in the house until a good sampling of the material shows less than 9% moisture. i use a mini lignomat with the long prongs installed and cut a few boards and check the end grain as well as the surface. i also stack the boards on cedar stickers so the air will circulate around all the material
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How long should 3/4 inch Oak hardwood flooring be allowed to acclamate to the conditions in a house before being installed. It is kiln dried tongue & groove and the climate in northern minnesota is currently 50 degrees and low humidity and there is no heat currently in the house. The heating system will be running in three days.