Had a real wake up call on a job in Charleston last month

I was installing this wide plank engineered floor in a big old house near the water. Humidity was crazy high, like 80 percent. I did my usual acclimation, left the boxes open for 48 hours, and started laying it. About halfway through the main room, the homeowner points out a tiny gap I hadn't noticed yet between two planks. I told him it was normal, but by the next morning that gap was a quarter inch wide and three more had opened up. The wood had sucked up so much moisture from the air after being laid that it swelled and pushed itself apart at the seams. I had to pull up 400 square feet. Now I check the indoor humidity with a gauge before I even unload the truck, and I won't start if it's over 65. Anyone else run into this kind of expansion issue in a coastal area?

2 comments

2 Comments

bethj442d ago

Yeah I saw a video about that, a guy in Florida had the same thing happen with some oak flooring. Said the salt air makes it way worse.

the_blair2d ago

My uncle's deck warped like crazy near Galveston.