The Benefits of Installing Wood Floors in the Winter

Long, cold winters can make us restless, so you may be looking around your house thinking you’d like to change things up. Installing hardwood floors is a great option to make a room feel like new without remodeling. Plus, it can add value to your home.

Hardwood floors can be installed in the winter, but doing so comes with some challenges. Humidity—the level of moisture present in the air—plays a key role in floor installation. If it’s extremely humid when your wood floors are installed, it can cause the wood to swell. Then, when the humidity drops, you can be left with gaps between the floorboards.

However, hardwood floor installations in the winter, when the humidity levels are low, can lead to the boards being super dry, so when it becomes humid again it can cause your floors to drastically swell and change shape.

Fortunately, at UB Hardwoods in Plymouth, we have the expertise and experience needed to perform hardwood floor installation services any time of year by acclimating the wood to your home prior to installation. Wood floors perform best when they’re installed in an environment with a relative humidity in the 30-50 percent range, with a controlled temperature in a range of 60-80 degrees. To get levels in this range, flooring experts can take advantage of humidifiers or dehumidifiers, as well as your home’s heating and cooling system.

There are benefits to installing hardwood floors in the winter.

● Dry air is good | Moisture can drastically affect your hardwood floors, so it’s best to do wood floor installations in dry conditions. The dry, winter air means there is no moisture to get trapped under the floorboards when they’re installed, which can lead to the development of mold and mildew.

● We can regulate humidity levels | Yes, we previously mentioned that if the air is too dry, it’ll suck all the moisture out of the floorboards, causing them to shrink. Then, in the spring and summer, the humidity in the air will cause the floorboards to expand, which can cause major problems.

The good news is your floor installer can acclimate your boards to the conditions prior to them being installed. And during the installation process, the floor installer will regulate the humidity in your home so the air has just enough moisture that it won’t cause the wood to shrink. This will help prevent the floorboards from expanding too much when summer finally rolls around.

● Winter isn’t typically busy | Because winter is typically the slow season for home projects, it’s a great time to get your flooring project started. Flooring companies will have more flexibility to work on your desired timeline, as well as a faster turnaround time for the project.

At UB Hardwoods in Plymouth, we have the experience and expertise to complete your hardwood floor installation any time of year. Contact us today at 763-807-4500 or stop in our showroom to see the variety of flooring options we offer.