Wooden Flooring Preparation

Not many people atually ask where the wood for wooden florring comes from. The obvious answer is “trees”, however, it is not that simple indeed. Wood is very familiar to you; your walls, your table need it, your computer needs it to be holded up, and even your butts need it to sit and read this article.

I don’t think many people actually ask where the wood for wooden flooring comes from. “Trees” would be a fairly obvious answer, to be sure, but believe it or not, it’s actually not that simple. Wood is something we’re all familiar with; it’s in your walls, on your tables, holding your computer up, and probably even holding your butt up as you read this article. Obviously wood is a natural fiber that is manufactured from the stems of large trees, but if you’re interested in wooden flooring, there is a bit more learning you should do on the subject. For one thing, you should only ever use treated wooden flooring. This is because the cellulose in the stems of the trees transport water and nutrients from the roots underground up to the leaves above. Untreated lumber will absorb the water from any humidity and will then expand because of it. Although this swelling effect is good for trees, it’s not at all good for your wooden flooring, and will eventually lead to costly repairs, if not all out replacement. What good is wooden flooring if it’s not going to be a very long lasting floor? That’s half the beauty of it; don’t spoil it by going cheap with untreated lumber. Treated lumber is the only way to go.

You should plan to receive your lumber at least a few weeks before you plan to actually put it down on the floor in the form of wooden flooring. There will be certain ways of storing the wood that must be followed, depending on the local climate conditions and temperatures. Your lumber provider should be able to give you details on this when you purchase your lumber. Daily fluctuations in temperature and humidity can also affect your wood, but there are plenty of humidity monitors and temperature meters out there to help you keep track.

You’ll also likely be using either concrete or drywall, if not both, along with your wooden flooring. It’s important that the flooring lumber not be placed anywhere near your drywall or concrete until they are completely and totally dry. As mentioned above, wood floors and humidity do not mix happily, and the bottom sides of the lumber may not be treated, or treated as well as the tops, so before your wooden floor is actually a floor it’s particularly vulnerable. A common method of checking to see if the concrete or drywall is dry is placing a clear plastic sheet on that area for a few days and making sure the sheet remains dry. A dry plastic sheet means it’s safe to install wooden flooring.

Pay special attention to the area that you place your lumber for the duration of the process known as acclimating. Any areas with high moisture under the flooring or behind the walls should be avoided. Also be wary of any appliances or space heaters as they can affect the readings of the monitors and meters you are using to keep track of the climate around your lumber. The last thing you want to do is go to install wooden flooring, only to find that that lumber is ruined simply because you stored it in the wrong place.

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