johnny wrote:
wrote
Just talked to on hardwood guy and he said now (April) is the good
time to install wood. Because here in Calgary Alberta, we have
very
dry air in the winter. And if I wait until mid summer to do it,
the
gaps in winter will be larger.

So now the air is still fairly dry, it will be better to do it now
than summer.

What he said kind of make sense to me but if that's true, what
about
people installing hardwood flooring in the driest months of the
winter, wouldn't the floor all buckle during mid summer?

He also said to use narrower stripe like 2 1/4" so that the
contraction and expansion are smaller.

Do you think what he said makes sense? Thanks.

He posed some concerns, but gave the wrong reasons. I would kick him
to the
curb. Hardwood is installed year round, indoor humidity control
deals with
the moisture content of the wood. After all, you're not installing
the
floor outside in the extremes of dry/wet conditions. Smaller strips
are not
used because the contraction/expansion is smaller, it's because it's
less
likely to cup than a wider board because it is more stable. Wood
species
reacts differently to moisture content. Some wood you want for a
hardwood
is: American cherry, Oak, American Walnut, Teak, and there are more.
You
want to make sure to acclimate to conditions b/4 installing. The
main
concern is indoor humidity control.

Your points about acclimating the flooring before installation and
humidity control are spot on. They're crucial factors in achieving a
tight floor. I can't agree with you entirely on the smaller strips
being only for cupping - the narrower the boards, the smaller each
individual gap will be. The expansion/contraction for the floor as a
whole is the same, though.

I don't see why the floor guy's comments are reason to "kick him to the
curb". He's obviously concerned about laying a tight floor and
understands that humidity is the enemy.

As far as laying floors in super dry conditions. That's a problem,
too. A floor that is laid very tight in very dry conditions may not
buckle per se, but the wood fibers at the outside edges of each board
will be compressed/crushed as the humidity increases. Then when the
floor shrinks back down again in lower humidity the gaps will be
bigger.

There's no such thing as perfect humidity or temperature control
outside of some lab or a museum. Household HVAC helps, but it is not a
total solution.

R