What percentage of humidity (and temperature) should a house have for hardwood floors in a dry climate?

Question

I live in Alberta, Canada.

I had it installed by Rona. I complained about some of the tiny gaps between the wood. The installer told me my house was not humid enough at 33% and that this would cause the floor to shrink and the gaps get bigger. He also told me to keep the temperature at a constant and not be too cold.

What % in winter?

Answer 1

The recommended humidity is 30-50% depending on the time of year. The temperature is wherever you are comfortable it doesn't affect them that muchas long as it is a relatively constant temp.

Answer 2

Dry climate in canada? The best home insulation technollogy comes from your country. The inside humidity levels ,in cold weather, and how to transfer it out with minimal heat loss, has been best addressed by your country's continued research and development to resolve this sometimes horific dillema. I say that the flooring material was not properly acclamated to the site prior to installation. Many other considerations such as sub-floor barriers and proper wall-gaps further complicate the installation. Most hardwood furniture is happiest in a 55-60% humidity environment. This humidity level will benefit you as well, as long as you take great pains to minimize dust mite habitats. It will also lower your heating bill and be more comfortable to all.

Answer 3

I keep the temp at about 73-76 and the humidity stays around 40% though sometimes it is a lot less. My floors are doing just fine.

Remember in the old days they used a coal furnace to heat and had no way of controlling the humidity. Most older houses had/have hardwood floors.

Answer 4

I live in calgary. i have been a professional hardwood installer for 4 years (but have about 7 years experience). I tell all my clients and the wood manufacture's instructions always say to set your humidfier around 45%. this will help to prevent shrinkage and gapping in the drier winter months. i have seen though that humidty of this amount year round can cause some slight condensation on your windows. i'm sorry but i don't have a solution for that becuase i don't know as much about windows as i do floors.

hope this helps.

Dave
Hardwood Solutions
www.hardwoodsolutionscalgary.com

Answer 5

Temperature at 68 - 72 degrees F, humidity at 35%, perhaps less at cold outdoors temps to prevent excess condensation.

Our hardwood floor tends to separate in the area where a main heating duct (plenum?) runs underneath. Insulation helped.

Answer 6

It shouldn't really matter that much once the floor is laid. If they have done the job well the timber would have been less than 12% humidity. Now it's down it's always going to expand and contract, you really shouldn't need to change your living habits for a floor.