One of the most important installation steps is usually forgotten when installing a wood floor is to acclimate the wood planks to the surrounding job site environment. The wood planks need to be at, or close to the same moisture content as both the subfloor and the environment the flooring is going to be installed in. Normal (healthy) relative humidity within your home should be between 40-60 % RL. Prolonged higher or lower relative humidity levels can cause the floor boards to expand, cup, buckle or contract in size. The acclimation period can be between 3 to 14 days or longer depending on your region of the country. Engineered wood flooring is manufactured to reduce movement within the board during severe environmental moisture changes.

Leaving the proper expansion gap against all walls and fixed objects will allow the flooring to expand and contract freely under the baseboard molding or 3/4 round moldings.

When working with wood each board will have different color variations. During the installation we always suggest to intermix planks from 4-5 cartons of flooring. This will help blend the colors better within the whole floor area.

If the flooring you purchase is a nail or staple down floor then we always suggest to space the nail or staple 4 inches in from each end of the board and nail every 6-8 inches along the boards tongue.

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