Another hardwood floor that needed some attention. Check it out!   THE FIRST CUT

Old floors can be made to look like new!  Here’s a great example.

 This particular floor was in sad looking condition at first discovery.  After a  little hard work, these  old wood floors started to really clean up well!  This 60+ year old floor became a huge impact on this homes final interior appearance and with that, attracting a buyer became much more easier.  This floor received a complete stripping, medium stain application and finally protected with three layers of environmentally conscience water based finish.  Now they will last another 60 plus years!  Goodbye Carpet!

 Every year during the winter months I get at least a couple service calls asking me this question.  Why do my solid wood floors develop cracks or gaps between its rows?  This question isn’t as simple to answer as one may think. I’m going to try and answer it as best as possible without getting too long or technical about it.  (OK, I might get a little techie)  A lot of times people will jump to a conclusion and blame the installer or bad flooring material for this issue. The truth is, those quick conclusions are almost never the case.  A much larger percent of the time it’s caused by an overlooked or improperly controlled moisture imbalance within the home itself.

   Here in Michigan our big heating months usually take place from December through March.  Most homes where I live are heated by a natural gas forced air furnace system. The furnace fires up and starts circulating nice warm DRY air.  As time goes on this constant circulation of dry air removes moisture and creates a noticeable effect. The hardwood flooring dries out and its dimensions begin to change. (shrink) The effect can be very subtle or very dramatic depending on specie type and board width.   Did you know wood flooring has a comfort level?  Keeping this comfort level in check just takes a little understanding and a means of finding and maintaining it.

Let’s talk about comfort level. What is it?  What can you do to maintain it within your home? Comfort level is simply a mix of temperature and humidity. Generally a home with a temperature range of 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit should have a humidity level somewhere in the range of 35 to 55 percent. When these levels are met and maintained your hardwood floors should remain very stable holding a 6 to 9 percent moisture content within its fibers.   If the hardwood  percentage levels change, the measured dimension of the hardwood material will change.    A good way to keep these moisture levels in check during the heavy heating season is to invest in a humidifier.   You can buy them as a free standing unit or have one installed to work with your forced air furnace system. I have one installed in my home to work directly with the furnace and it’s easy to keep everything in check.  A twist of a small dial is all I do to increase or decrease the relative humidity levels within my home.  That’s how I find that sweet spot for me and my homes hardwood floors.

 How do I know what my levels are?  I can monitor this by using my handy digital hygrometer tool. You should be able to find one of these at any big box home improvement store.  This device tells you the two things you need to know.  The current interior teperature of your home and the current  percent of moisture inside your home.  My hygrometer also spells out the current condition for me. (Dry,Wet,Comfort) 

How much can a hardwood floor move?  Specie type and material width can play a big part on how dramatic the movement occurs. Different species have different change coefficients.  For instance American Beech has a larger change coefficient than Australian Cypress.  Knowing this helps me narrow down what species will work best in different settings. (More about that in another post)  To give you an example lets take a look at one of the most popular hardwoods, red oak.  I personally like red oak for its great looks, outstanding durability and its plentiful abundance. If I have a 4 inch width piece of red oak with a known moisture content of 6 percent. I know it’s going to stay in place relatively well if I maintain my homes temperature and humidity comfort level somewhere within the 35 to 55 percent range.  Now let’s increase the moisture a few percentage points. The hardwood floorings moisture content has gone up from the normal 6 percent to 10 percent. How would this change affect things?  I know that my piece of red oak has now increased its moisture content 4 percentage points.   Thanks to the Forest Products Laboratory, I know the percent point change coefficient for red oak . It is .00365. Using a math formula I can now translate what the change in dimensions would be. It looks like this…(percentage point change) 4 X .00369 = .01476 X width 4=.05904 inches. That may not seem like much, but if you multiply this figure by the number of rows across an entire room it can add up.  It works the same way when a specie of hardwood looses a few moisture percentage points.   Ok enough with the tech.!

 Solid hardwood floors have many great benefits. The list is way too long to include here. With a little proper care and maintenace you can keep them looking and performing the same way through all of Michigans wonderful seasons. Remember… To help decrease the chance of cracks and gaps in your hardwood floors make sure you find that comfort level and keep it in check.