ACCLIMATISING WOOD FLOORING: WHY IS IT ESSENTIAL?

Do I need to Acclimatise my wood floor?

Yes, you do. Wood is a hygroscopic material that responds to change in temperature and humidity. If you bring wood flooring into a room that has stable conditions and it adjusts to these before it is fitted, you should only see small variations in the natural gaps between the planks or blocks as it responds to seasonal and atmospheric changes.

If you don’t let wood flooring acclimatise before fitting then it will adjust to the conditions of the room afterwards. This will cause more significant movement in the floor.

Similarly, if you acclimatise or fit the floor in a room which doesn’t have stable conditions (such as one that hasn’t had the heating connected or where plaster is still drying), then the floor will adjust in response to environmental changes. This can cause more significant, unusual expansion or contraction.

How to acclimatise wood successfully

Before you bring wood flooring into a room to acclimatise, the room needs to meet normal living conditions. This means it should be sealed, dry and heated as will be the case once the floor is fitted and the room is inhabited. The room temperature should be between 15°C and 24°C and the relative humidity (easily measured with an inexpensive meter) should be between 40 – 65%. It should also be free from damp.

You then need to unwrap your wood flooring, and lattice stack it (stack it criss crossed) so that the air in the room can circulate round it. If you don’t do this then it won’t acclimatise evenly.

Wood flooring takes 7-14 days to acclimatise. In new build properties or those where new heating systems, plaster or concrete have been installed, you should err towards the upper end of this spectrum. The same applies for if you have chosen wide wood flooring.

If you have any specific queries about acclimatising your wood flooring, contact technical@broadleaftimber.com for advice. We also recommend reading our flooring installation guide.