Relative Humidity For Hardwood Floors

An example of cracking in hardwood floor due to high relative humidity.

Relative humidity for hardwood floors. This chart highlights the ideal levels of moisture in wood at various temperatures and relative humidity rh levels. How this change affects wood flooring depends on several factors. A wood floor that is exposed to a relative humidity change of just 30 percent moving from 30 percent rh to 60 percent rh can experience enough dimensional change to affect the appearance and performance of the floor. In this chart you can see a small highlighted section.

The illustration below will make it easy to understand. Relative humidity was monitored two months before the flooring was considered. When you see dew on the grass in the morning it means that the temperature dropped to a level that made the rh 100 and the water vapor. Crowning is the opposite of cupping.

What i did not realize was the amazing effect temperature has on humidity and as a result hardwood flooring. Just like humans wood is most comfortable within an ideal range of temperatures and relative humidity. Dew point is when the air is 100 saturated at a given temperature. Temperatures should be kept between 60 and 80 fahrenheit.

In general relative humidity in the building should be between 30 50 percent year round for optimal wood flooring performance. In non scientific terms relative humidity rh is how much water is in the air. Cupping occurs when the edges of a wood plank become higher than its center. Ideal temperature humidity for wood floors.

These are the safest conditions for most types of wood between 60 and 80 degrees fahrenheit and 30 to 50 rh. Relative humidity and hardwood flooring posted on march 28 2014 by flooring professionals administrator as we try and escape the grip of one of the hardest winters ever in the mid atlantic region gapping of hardwood continues to be an on going issue for hardwood installations. As you can see engineered wood flooring is more stable than solid wood flooring. When hardwood flooring is too dry the below slide is a typical winter day with an outside temperature of 10 f 12 c and rh of 70.

One of the reasons for this is that the bottom layers are made of cross sided layers that move on opposite. This creates a concave u shape in the board. Relative humidity levels of 35 65 other lauzon engineered hardwood floors relative humidity levels of 35 55 lauzon solid hardwood floors. In terms of your flooring excessive relative humidity can cause several issues.

Moisture levels can be read with a meter like the wagner mmc 220 this is a pinless meter and allows you to get an accurate reading without sticking pins into the floor and creating pinholes.