Why Does New Flooring Need to Acclimate?

Once you’ve chosen your new floor and are ready to move forward with your project, it can sometimes
be a little disappointing to find out you have to wait another week before the flooring can actually be
installed. Don’t think of this as a hinderance but rather one more necessary step to getting the floor of
your dreams.
Hardwood flooring is hygroscopic, which means it will take in the moisture in the air around it. When it
takes in this moisture, it tends to expand or shrink. If you don’t let your new flooring acclimate to its
new environment, it will expand or shrink once installed resulting in cupping, warping, and even
structural damage.

Here are Mr. Hardwood’s rules to hardwood acclimation.

1. The temperature of your climate-controlled area should be kept between 630-830. This is a
typical range that your house will be kept at most of the year. A place like a garage or outdoor
patio is not an ideal place for hardwood to acclimate, as it will still be exposed to outdoor
influences.

2. Depending on the amount of wood needing to acclimate, you should allow as little as three days
and as much as seven days for the acclimation process. If there is only a few hundred square
feet being installed, it can usually acclimate for a shorter time period of three to five days. If you
are having anything more than 400-500 square feet of hardwood installed, it is best to allow a
full six to seven days for it to acclimate.

3. Always follow the manufacturer’s warranty instructions. If you fail to let your wood properly
acclimate, you can run the risk of making the warranty on your flooring void. Your flooring
expert will be able to answer any questions you might have on a product’s warranty and/or
acclimation process!