Replies

1. 
   gdavis62 | Jul 16, 2005 02:18pm | #1

   Any way you can wait until the heating season?

   A good friend of mine did a custom home for a client, into which went a lot of footage of 5" width southern yellow pine 3/4" tongue and groove flooring.  The work was done in the late spring, new construction, no heating on, moisture conditions probably all over the map like what you have.  Neither he (the GC) nor his sub (the flooring contractor) took any measurements with a meter.

   I am no wood expert, but I'll bet that your heart pine is southern yellow pine.  Maybe old growth, maybe no sapwood, but likely the same species as my friend had installed.

   Two heating seasons have gone by, and major gapping has occured due to shrinkage.  Like, beyond belief gapping.  Openings so big they ought to be blocked with safety railings.

   The client is a lawyer, and large parts of the flooring are being taken up and relaid, after which they will be sanded and finished, again.  The lawyer ain't paying for this.

   Gene Davis, Davis Housewrights, Inc., Lake Placid, NY

    

    

1. 
   urbanmyth | Jul 16, 2005 03:32pm | #4

   yup, that's what I'm afraid of.  can't wait until heating season, although I'm trying to get the heat on now, in the middle of JUly to effect the same change.

1. 
   woodguy99 | Jul 16, 2005 03:41pm | #6

   Michael, I installed some heart pine flooring for a GC on Nantucket.  The moisture content was higher than I was comfortable with but he said lay it anyway, "that wood's so old it's done moving."  Short story is--huge gaps.  Listen to your inner voice--you know it's wrong, so don't do it.

   For the next floor I installed out there, prefinished cherry, the moisture was just a little higher than I wanted, so I spread the wood out, put some fans blowing over it, and cranked up the AC.  A dehumidifier would work too.  It stresses the wood a bit to be dried down so quickly, but it worked.  Within a couple of days the moisture had dropped 2-3%, within the range I wanted.

    

   Mike

2. 
   blythman | Jul 16, 2005 02:37pm | #2

   how wide is the flooring you bought?

   That will make a big difference, if it is a wide width then you will see the gaps more, but if say it is something like 4 inches or less, I wouldn't worry about it.

   I just installed some walnut that I got from the US ( I live in canada) and I was concerned about moisture content too.

   I personally would let your flooring sit in your house for a couple of weeks to acclamize to your house, if your drywall is all done and you install a good dry subfloor, there is nothing in the world you can do to prevent shrinkage and expansion.

   My walnut looks awesome and your will too, don't stress to much about it. 

3. 
   Sphere | Jul 16, 2005 02:52pm | #3

   Are you sure the meter is accurate?  And some have a scale for different species..Advantech, is not a species..LOL

     Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   Make a sweet noise, it might be the last sound you hear

1. 
   urbanmyth | Jul 16, 2005 03:36pm | #5

   Advantech not  a species?  Holy ---.  that lumberyard lied to me.

   Yes, I've taken into account the species (you need to subtract 1 from the reading you get).  You haven't heard of taking a reading on the subfloor?  I'm wondering where learned that.