Hardwood Floor Acclimation: What You Need to Know
Wood flooring needs time to adjust to your home’s environment before installation. This process—called acclimation—allows the wood to reach equilibrium with your home’s temperature and humidity. Skipping or rushing acclimation causes problems that surface months later, often requiring partial or complete reinstallation. Understanding why acclimation matters helps you plan realistic project timelines.
Why Wood Needs to Acclimate
Wood constantly exchanges moisture with surrounding air. When relative humidity rises, wood absorbs moisture and expands. When humidity falls, wood releases moisture and contracts. This behavior doesn’t stop because wood becomes flooring—it’s a permanent characteristic of natural wood.
Flooring arrives from warehouses or trucks with moisture content that may differ significantly from your home’s equilibrium point. Installing flooring before it adjusts means boards will expand or contract substantially after installation, causing visible problems.
Flooring Installed Too Dry: If flooring moisture content is lower than your home’s equilibrium, boards will absorb moisture after installation and expand. This expansion causes cupping (board edges rising higher than centers) or in extreme cases, buckling (boards lifting from the subfloor entirely).
Flooring Installed Too Wet: If flooring moisture content is higher than your home’s equilibrium, boards will release moisture after installation and shrink. Shrinkage creates gaps between boards—sometimes minor seasonal gaps, sometimes significant permanent spaces.
Standard Acclimation Timelines
Acclimation time depends on product type, starting moisture content, and your home’s conditions. These represent general guidelines—actual requirements may vary.
| Flooring Type | Typical Acclimation Period |
| Solid Hardwood (standard width) | 3-7 days minimum |
| Solid Hardwood (wide plank) | 7-14 days |
| Engineered Hardwood | 24-48 hours |
Engineered hardwood requires less acclimation because its cross-ply construction minimizes dimensional changes. Temperature adjustment matters more than moisture equilibrium. However, manufacturer specifications always take precedence—some require longer periods regardless of construction type.
Proper Acclimation Conditions
Effective acclimation requires controlled environmental conditions—the same conditions where you’ll live with the flooring.
Temperature: Maintain normal living conditions between 60-80°F. HVAC must operate at typical settings for at least 5 days before flooring delivery. Extreme temperatures (such as an unoccupied home with disabled heating) prevent proper acclimation.
Humidity: Indoor relative humidity should stay between 30-50%—the same range recommended for long-term hardwood performance. Western North Carolina’s seasonal humidity swings make this challenging without whole-house humidification or dehumidification in some homes.
Air Circulation: Flooring boxes should be opened and materials cross-stacked with 3/4-1 inch spacers between layers. This allows air to circulate around all surfaces of all boards. Leaving flooring in sealed boxes defeats the acclimation purpose.
Location: Acclimate flooring in the rooms where it will be installed, or at minimum in connected spaces with similar conditions. A detached garage with different temperature and humidity won’t properly prepare flooring for living space conditions.
The Science Behind Acclimation
Wood moisture content naturally moves toward equilibrium with surrounding relative humidity. At 30-50% relative humidity (the recommended indoor range), most wood species stabilize between 6-9% moisture content.
The goal isn’t reaching any specific moisture content—it’s matching the flooring to your home’s conditions. Professional installers measure both flooring and subfloor moisture content before installation, verifying that differences fall within acceptable ranges (2% for wide plank, 4% for standard widths).
Calendar time matters less than actual equilibrium. A week may suffice if flooring arrives relatively close to your home’s equilibrium point. The same flooring might need two weeks if it arrives from significantly different storage conditions.
What Happens When You Skip Acclimation
The consequences of inadequate acclimation typically appear within the first year as seasonal conditions change.
Cupping: Board edges rise higher than centers, creating a washboard-like surface. This indicates excessive moisture absorption after installation. Minor cupping sometimes resolves as conditions stabilize; severe cupping requires professional intervention or replacement.
Crowning: Board centers rise higher than edges—often the result of cupping that was sanded before moisture equilibrated. Once moisture stabilizes, the opposite profile appears.
Gapping: Spaces between boards indicate excessive shrinkage after installation. Minor seasonal gapping is normal; persistent or excessive gapping points to inadequate acclimation or ongoing humidity problems.
Buckling: In extreme cases, boards pull away from the subfloor and lift several inches. This dramatic failure requires immediate professional assessment and likely partial or complete reinstallation.
Manufacturer warranties typically exclude problems caused by inadequate acclimation. Documentation of proper acclimation conditions protects your warranty coverage.
Leicester Flooring’s Acclimation Process
We coordinate material delivery timing with your installation schedule, ensuring adequate acclimation without extended waits. Our team provides guidance on preparing your space—opening boxes, creating proper air circulation, and maintaining appropriate conditions.
Before installation begins, we verify moisture readings for both flooring and subfloor, confirming proper equilibrium has been achieved. This verification step catches potential problems before they become permanent floor failures.
Our project timelines account for acclimation requirements realistically. When you schedule with Leicester Flooring, we’ll explain exactly how acclimation affects your timeline and what you need to do during this preparation period.
Plan Your Installation Timeline
Ready to start your hardwood project? Contact Leicester Flooring to schedule a consultation. We’ll help you understand acclimation requirements for your chosen flooring and create a realistic timeline from material delivery through completed installation.
Serving Asheville, Hendersonville, and Western North Carolina with professional hardwood installation that starts with proper preparation.