I am not going to talk about humidifiers. Humidifiers require a separate article, and I am by no means an authority on them. I started my company, Blackhawk Floors, Inc., in 2001 and since then we have worked on more than 4,000 projects, of which we have had humidifiers in six of them. Three of which were museums. So for me to take the easy road and just tell the customer that they must have a humidifier is not going to be very profitable or realistic. I don’t have one in my own home. We have to find ways to successfully install wood floors in a dry climate. Wood flooring Utah is suitable in dry climates.
Acclimation
Arizona is DRY. We do experience humidity, but it happens during our hottest time of the year when HVAC units are running nonstop pulling moisture from our air. This makes us relatively stable compared to other areas of the country that can range from virtually no relative humidity to 100 percent relative humidity seasonally. Phoenix averages 37 percent RH annually outside. And with the records that we have kept and documented at our home we have an average of 32 percent annually inside. The high we experience is in the mid-40s and the low is in the low 20s. The extremes happen for only a couple of weeks and then return to normal.
Arizona is DRY. We do experience humidity, but it happens during our hottest time of the year when HVAC units are running nonstop pulling moisture from our air. This makes us relatively stable compared to other areas of the country that can range from virtually no relative humidity to 100 percent relative humidity seasonally. Phoenix averages 37 percent RH annually outside. And with the records that we have kept and documented at our home we have an average of 32 percent annually inside. The high we experience is in the mid-40s and the low is in the low 20s. The extremes happen for only a couple of weeks and then return to normal.
I am telling you this to give you background on why we acclimate our wood floors the way we do. For the average home we want our wood floors to be between 6 and 6.3 percent moisture content. If we attain this MC percent before our install, then our floors will move very little throughout their life span.
We always check RH percent and temperature at the time of our first visit to the home. This starts the acclimation process for us, and we now know what MC percent we have to achieve with the wood floor. The RH percent and temperature is checked again at the time of material delivery, and again before installation. This gives us an accurate picture of the home’s environment. This is the exact same process for engineered, solid, and all of the various species.
Wood floors will move during environmental changes. Our job is to make sure it is in its “happy place” before install.
Species
Not all wood species enjoy a dry environment. This is much more prevalent when dealing with engineered wood floors, but some species don’t perform as well as others. In Arizona I have not found a solid wood floor that can’t be installed successfully with proper acclimation.
Not all wood species enjoy a dry environment. This is much more prevalent when dealing with engineered wood floors, but some species don’t perform as well as others. In Arizona I have not found a solid wood floor that can’t be installed successfully with proper acclimation.
With that said, you must educate your customer about the issues that can arise with their wood floor choice. The same as you would recommend that a customer with 100 pound dogs and four children maybe not choose American cherry. You might not recommend a 10” wide x long length hickory floor. You can install both of these floors, but you must explain in writing and in person the risks and benefits of their choices. Don’t be afraid to say, “No.” This is your responsibility to the customer and the industry.
Read More: https://hardwoodfloorsmag.com/2017/01/30/things-consider-installing-wood-floors-dry-climates/#comment-58183
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