Congratulations- you’ve made the decision to put hardwood floors in your home!
Wood flooring is a beautiful and durable building material that not only increases the value of a home, but can be customized to your lifestyle and design preferences. Hardwood floors are a serious investment, both for style longevity and for your wallet, so there are a few things you should keep in mind before starting the process. Thankfully Palo Duro created the Ultimate Guide to Hardwood Flooring for a full rundown on what to keep in mind before you begin your install.
One of the very first things you should understand about hardwood flooring is that Humidity Matters. Know how your fingers swell in very humid environments? Well, the same thing (and the opposite) happens to hardwood flooring. As a natural element, wood swells and constricts based upon the amount of water in its surrounding environment. For hardwood floors, the relative humidity inside your house plays a huge role in the woods’ long-term performance.
Next, we all know that Colorado can have some pretty chilly winter days, and keeping your heat in working order is a top priority. With that being said, the type of heat in your home and the wood flooring you decide on need to be compatible. Read “Radiant Heat + Wood” to see how construction, species, and cut all have an impact on how your floors perform.
Once you know the humidity and heat in your home are ready for hardwood, the next thing to consider is where the flooring is going. Depending on its location in the house, you have to decide on solid or engineered flooring. If you’re aiming to put it below grade, such as in a basement, you should strongly consider using engineered unless you want to do a lot of subfloor prep. Find out the main differences between the two in “Solid vs. Engineered.”
The last thing we want you to keep in mind is that patience is a virtue. No matter if you are going with engineered or solid floors, it is imperative to give the product proper acclimation time. For unfinished floors, it’s recommended that the flooring has approximately two weeks to get used to the climate of your house. For prefinished and engineered floors, the acclimation time will vary, so be sure to check with your manufacturers’ recommendations to know how long to let it linger. Mind you- this will be inside your home, so plan to step around it. Again, patience!
These tips are not a conclusive list of what to do before getting your floors installed, but they’re definitely a good place to start. The team at Palo Duro collectively has over 100 years of experience in hardwood, so if you have other questions, just give us a call and we’ll point you in the right direction.