Before installing new floors sometimes professionals will recommend acclimation of those floors. Firstly, it should be EVERY TIME for almost any floor. Acclimation is good for most building materials since there can be dramatic differences in temperature & humidity between the products’ origin and the job site.
So especially for hardwood (solid or engineered), bamboo, cork, laminate acclimation of 2-7 days is recommended. Here are my own timing recommendations:
* Pre-finished solid hardwood 2 Days minimum, 4-7 days preferred.
* Unfinished solid hardwood 2 Days minimum, 6-7 days preferred.
* Pre-finished or unfinished engineered hardwood 2 days
* Solid Bamboo 2 days minimum, 4-7 preferred.
* Engineered Bamboo 2 days
* Cork 2 days
* Laminate 2 days
* Carpet 1 day if possible (mostly a temperature issue)
* Tile 1 day if possible
* Any Radiant Heat job sites should double the preferred time and the heat must be maintained at constant room temperature the entire time of acclimation AND the flooring should be on a pallet or something not directly on the heated floor.
How you acclimate a floor is as important as the concept itself. Here are my guidelines:
* Leave the product in the cartons or package. Do NOT open.
* The product must be in the room(s) that the intended installation will occur in or nearby.
* The temperature of the job site and specifically of the installation area should be normal room temperature.
* Acclimation CANNOT occur in a garage when the installation is inside the home.
* The interior Relative Humidity (RH) should be as close to normal as possible.
* Check the sub floor moisture level and the product moisture level when you start acclimation. Inexpensive Wood Meter
* Prior to installation check the moisture levels again on the sub floor and product to make sure that the original differences are closing in on each other.
* Do not have a non-heated job site put the floor in the room, install it; then tape and texture walls (which adds massive humidity) and then turn on the heater. Your floor will fail.
The whole point of acclimation is to normalize the moisture levels between the product and the sub floor/job site as much as possible. Humidity is everywhere is is changing constantly. Your interior humidity is also always changing especially as you run heat or air conditioning.
Despite all of these words the concept is simple: Get the product into the rooms that they will be installed in a couple days or a bit longer for best results.
BTW – There are exceptions to every rule, Kahrs for example doesn’t require acclimation time, however, I would still recommend having “normal living conditions” inside the installation area.
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I have had sales people and installers tell me that neither cork nor bamboo are any good in our very dry climate in southern Colorado. I have read your comment about acclimatizing any floor. But one installer said he wouldn’t warranty the work for a cork or bamboo floor. I hope these people are wrong. Are they?
Thanks.
Colorado is tough on a lot of floors.
I would HIGHLY recommend adding a humidifier regardless of the flooring you select. The primary issue in Colorado is the low interior relative humidity. This causes significant pressure on all wood based products.
Overall we have had good success with cork and bamboo in Colorado. I think any generic advice that specifically targets a product category or two is more likely derived from ignorance rather than fact.
I suspect the folks you are talking to are not familiar with the products and therefore are not comfortable recommending it. (of course I could be wrong.)
Anybody who is considering flooring in Colorado – LET ME AGAIN REINFORCE: Maintain a proper interior humidity between 35%-65% if possible. You can do this by adding a humidifier to your home. Not only is this better for your flooring it is also better for your own health. I recommend this anywhere (although in humid areas your solution may be a de-humidifier. Moderation in all things.)
i am going to glue down bamboo floor in a new home. the wood has ben there for a couple of weeks but with no a.c. is this going to be a problem when a.c is turned on?
Is it possible to glue down engineered flooring to give the same solid feel that nailed 3/4″ hardwood has?
Yes – a glue down floor will often feel virtually the same as a nail down floor to most folks.