Ideal Humidity For Installing Wood Floors

As long as you run your air conditioner it will remove excess humidity from the air.

Ideal humidity for installing wood floors.

In this chart you can see a small highlighted section. But at least you won t be under 30 and then face a huge swing when spring comes. The recommended humidity range for wood floors is between 45 and 55 and some fluctuation within this range is acceptable. As we just saw however this range can often be difficult to achieve in certain areas of the country during certain seasons.

The national wood floor association nwfa states that normal relative humidity levels should range between 30 50 to ensure successful long term performance of your wood flooring. If the humidity level drops below 35 it can be a problem for your hardwood. Here s the hardwood golden rule. These are the safest conditions for most types of wood between 60 and 80 degrees fahrenheit and 30 to 50 rh.

It is extremely important to maintain the appropriate humidity levels within your gymnasium to avoid excessive expansion and potential crowning in your wood floor. In general relative humidity in the building should be between 30 50 percent year round for optimal wood flooring performance. When installing in winter with heating in place and typically low rh in the home a humidifier should be running at that time of year to raise the rh to at least 40. Proper humidity level for your hardwood floor.

So what s a safe humidity range for your wood floors. This chart highlights the ideal levels of moisture in wood at various temperatures and relative humidity rh levels. If the temperature of the building is between 75 and 85 degrees fahrenheit the equilibrium moisture content of your wood should be between 7 and 8. However in some coastal areas the average rh is in the 58 to 63 range.

Ideal temperature humidity for wood floors just like humans wood is most comfortable within an ideal range of temperatures and relative humidity. Summer is usually not as big of a problem as winter. Like i said you can t go much higher without creating condensation issues. The mfma recommends maintaining indoor humidity s between 35 50 utilizing hvac systems.

In most cases your installation will probably in a zone with rh values between 40 and 45. For some very exotic hardwoods you may need to maintain a humidity level no lower than 40 in order to preserve the shape of the wood but this is rare. Most experts agree that an ideal level of indoor humidity is around 45 although anything between 35 and 55 is acceptable.