Flooring
Flooring Must Acclimatise Before It Is Laid
Most manufacturers require 48-72 hours of acclimatisation in the room, and will void a warranty without it.
Wood-based flooring reaches equilibrium with the moisture in the air around it, expanding across the grain as it absorbs and contracting as it dries. Boards stored in a cold warehouse and installed in a heated home will shrink after installation, opening gaps at every joint.
Acclimatisation means leaving the boxes flat in the installation room, at normal living temperature and humidity, for the period the manufacturer specifies — typically 48-72 hours, longer for solid hardwood. Keep the expansion gap at the perimeter too: that gap is what absorbs seasonal movement.
Put this into practice
- Flooring CalculatorHow many boxes of flooring should I buy?
More facts like this
- A Buckled Floor Is Almost Always a Missing Expansion GapFloating floors need roughly 10-12 mm of free space at every wall and fixed object, or seasonal swelling lifts the boards.
- New Vinyl Flooring Needs to Air Out Before It's 'Finished'The 'new floor smell' is off-gassing, and closing the room up to protect the finish is exactly the wrong move.
- Solid Hardwood Floors Can Only Be Sanded a Limited Number of TimesA solid hardwood floor typically tolerates 4-6 full sandings over its life; an engineered floor with a thin veneer might survive one, or none.