The process of allowing a wood floor’s moisture
content to equilibrate with the surrounding
environment in which it will perform is defined as
acclimation. Acclimation requirements for factory
finished solid and engineered flooring is product- and
manufacturer-specific; however, the simple rules of
how wood interacts with its environment will not change.
To properly acclimate a wood floor, proceed as follows
unless otherwise directed by the flooring manufacturer:
1. Interior environmental conditions vary from
region to region and jobsite to jobsite.
2. Ensure that the building is enclosed and all wet
work is complete prior to delivery of the materials.
3. Verify gutters, downspouts and soil surrounding
the property are placed/graded to drain water
away from the building and the crawlspace
meets required criteria detailed within this
publication and/or local building codes.
4. Verify that the room and building receiving
new flooring is maintained at the expected
in-use (e.g., normal living) conditions for
temperature and humidity for a minimum of
five days preceding wood delivery to promote
proper conditioning of the space (longer
jobsite conditioning may be necessary due
to tighter building envelopes). These same
conditions should be maintained during and
after installation. Permanent or
temporary heating, cooling, humidification or
dehumidification systems may be necessary to
achieve and maintain these conditions.
Note that the use of temporary propane heating
systems will introduce moisture to the environment.
Large amounts of water are produced with the
combustion of propane. These systems should be
avoided during the acclimation process.
5. Do not store wood flooring should not be stored in uncontrolled environmental conditions.
6. Engineered wood flooring should not be
delivered, nor packages opened, on a jobsite
that is outside of the conditions set forth by the
manufacturer of the flooring product.
7. For solid wood, check and record the moisture
content of multiple boards from a variety of
bundles. Take MC readings on a minimum of 40
boards for every 1,000 square feet of flooring
and average your results.
8. If wood flooring is delivered at a moisture
content that coincides with the expected in-use
(e.g., normal living) conditions of the facility,
and these conditions are maintained, no on-site
acclimation may be required.
9. If the moisture content of the solid flooring
product is outside of the range of these
expected in-use (e.g., normal living) conditions,
acclimation of the product to these conditions
will be required in order to get the flooring and
the facility aligned. This may include introducing
moisture to the wood or removing moisture from
the wood prior to installation.
10. When solid flooring needs time to acclimate
to the environment, this can be facilitated by
separating the flooring into small lots and/or
completely opening the packaging. Then cross
stack the materials with spacers (3/4-inch to
1-inch stickers) between each layer of flooring
to allow air circulation on all sides of all boards
until EMC has been reached.
11. Prior to installation, ensure the wood flooring
is within acceptable range of moisture content
relative to the wood subfloor. For solid strip
flooring (less than 3 inches wide), there should
be no more than 4% moisture content difference
between properly acclimated wood flooring
and wood subflooring materials. For solid plank
flooring (3 inches or wider), there should be no
more than 2% difference in moisture content
between properly acclimated wood flooring and
wood subflooring materials. If the moisture content
of the subflooring and wood flooring are outside
of these tolerances, the flooring should not be
installed until it is within the proper range.
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