The question “should I acclimatise wood flooring before installation?” is a question which is often asked by people planning to install a new wooden floor. Solid wood flooring, as the name suggests is made from a 100% natural product, wood. Engineered wood flooring is made up of layers of different woods, topped by solid wood, making it look and feel like the real thing. Like all natural materials, wood responds to changes in temperature and humidity in the atmosphere around it.
Wood responds to these atmospheric changes by expanding and contracting. When there is excess moisture in the air, wood will draw up some of that moisture and expand, and then when the humidity levels are reduced, the wood will then release the moisture held in its structure and contract.
In a natural setting, for example in a forest, humidity and temperatures change according to the season as well as the weather on any given day. Once wood is brought into the home, although it is protected from the vagaries of nature, it is then subjected to the fluctuations in temperature and moisture that we choose to throw at it throughout our day-to-day lives. It is essential therefore that the wood is allowed to acclimatise before installation.
Acclimatising solid and engineered wood flooring before it is installed will minimise the expansion and contraction of the wood, thus reducing the risk of damage. When you acclimatise wood, it’s essential that the acclimatisation process takes place in the site or area where the floor is to be installed. Although reasonable results can be achieved by acclimatising the wood flooring in similar conditions, ideally you should aim to carry out the process in the actual location. Doing this will enable the wood to naturally adjust its moisture content to match that of the site temperature and humidity.
It is vital that moisture levels at the site are taken into consideration when planning to acclimatise wood flooring. There is little point in planning to acclimatise in a room which has been newly plastered or painted, because the moisture levels in the area will be way above the norm.
It is reasonable to expect this wood flooring acclimatisation process to take up to two weeks.