Hardwood flooring and temperature/humidity control

[Percival P. Cassidy]

The instructions that came with our flooring and with the recommended adhesive say to allow everything to stabilize for at least 72 hours in the place where the flooring is to be laid. That's not so much of a problem -- except that somebody keeps opening windows and turning off the A/C.

HOWEVER, in the course of Googling for something else, I found a flooring manufacturer's/vendor's (don't recall the name or URL) Web site saying that once you have installed hardwood flooring, the humidity must be maintained at 40% to 45% at all times. I've never read that anywhere else. That surely can't be true, can it? The person who keeps opening windows here says she can't live in a house where she can't open windows.

Perce

[dpb]

Percival P. Cassidy wrote: ...

Well, it certainly could be true the site said it, but...

It's highly unlikely _any_ house is within such a narrow range all the time, particularly in winter in colder areas.

Assuming it is laid on suitable subflooring per directions, I'd not be overly concerned.

I've forgotten the exact order of the words but there's a Hardwood Flooring Manufacturers' Association web site that is pretty informative. I'm sure googling it will find it and you can read what the vendor trade organization has to say...

I would presume such a restrictive requirement would have to related to some specific problem/product/concern, not general solid strip hardwood flooring which has been a staple since long before the advent of whole-house A/C, central heat, etc., ...

[Joe]

Get her a nice tent and put it in the front yard for her to live in and just enjoy your house like any civilized gentleman would. This time of year there are all manner of totally marvelous tents and other outdoor gear discounted for the end of season sales. Put some icing on the cake by getting her a spiffy convertible to drive, preferably a classic British roadster that takes several people half an hour to put the top up (which siphons water on the lap anyway when it rains). HTH

Joe.

[marson]

Perce,

As you know, hardwood flooring moves with changes in humidity. There are people out there who would not hesitate to call the company and demand their money back if they saw slight gaps in their floor. So the hardwood flooring companies protect themselves by saying things like "the humidity must be maintained at 40%", flooring must be spread out in a room for several days with the windows closed, etc. Obviously, these directions are absurdly hard to follow, but they are just covering their butts. If you followed their instructions, you literally couldn't put flooring in a brand new house unless you had the owners move in and live there a while. Provided you don't do something stupid, like start taping sheetrock while your flooring is sitting there uninstalled, you won't have a problem.