Hardwood floor problems (Louisville: appliances, credit card, new home)

[MSL2828]

Hello,

I am having a tough time with the hardwood floors in my new home separating so that there are now gaps in a lot of areas. People say it is because I keep the furnace high (around the low to mid 70s) and I need a HVAC humidifier. Some also say just wait until summer and the gaps may close up but I doubt if they would revert back to its new condition (they cannot "heal" themselves and also by then, my 2 little ones would have enough food crumbs in them to keep them from really closing up!) I am just curious if there are lot of people in Louisville with humidifiers here to keep their hardwood floors from separating? Or do people just keep their furnace low here (even if it is low, I am sure during winter, the air is dry enough to dry wood out.) Are there lots of people just living with gapped floors? Can these floors be fixed or will it cost a small fortune to fix them?

My previous home that I stayed in for 3 years had the wood with very slight gaps and just moved into a brand new home and this time, some gaps are big enough to put 2 credit cards in after about 2 months.

Now I long for vinyl flooring...

Thanks for any suggestions.

[johnsonkk]

You may want to try another forum - http://www.city-data.com/forum/house/ if you don't get the answers here you're looking for. Most people I know have humidifers in their basements but not in their main floor. Even having one, they normally turn it off during the winter months. Having a humidity-meter (hydrometer) will help you answer some questions that a hardware store may ask you regarding your problem. You shouldn't exceed 60%, especially in the winter months but I don't know if humidity is your actual hardwood floor problem.

[MSL2828]

Thanks Johnsonkk for the quick response. Our builder said if I turn on my furnace, it will dry the wood and cause the gaps. So I was curious if there are lot of people specifically in the Louisville area that have HVAC humidifiers because a lot of homes have hardwood floors and if so, then builders should include that as part of the home appliances. And if not, I was curious to see if there are a lot of people that have gaps in their wood floors. I came from the West Coast and mostly lived with either vinyl, tile or carpet. So dried wood floors and HVAC humidifiers are new concepts to me. I had searched the \House forum too but it seems like I am the only one with wood floor gaps! Just live and learn, I suppose!!

[johnsonkk]

I had my answer backwards. I meant to say DE-humidifer. Most people I know have in their basement a DE-humidifier that they only turn on during the late spring, summer, and early fall.

Now when the temps get cold, below 25 degree, some people turn on their humidifier that is attached to their electric/gas furnance to ADD moisture to the dry, winter air. I can see the humidity adding to your wood spacing problems but the distances that you state seem too great to be just a humidity issue with your flooring.

[flooryou]

I believe that you have an acclimation issue. If the floors were brought straight in and installed, then they were dried out by the low humidity conditions of your house, it would cause gapping. They should have been delivered after the ac was operational and allowed to acclimate for at least 72 hours. You need to get a hygrometer and try to maintain humidity between 40% and 60%. For more helpful advice on Hardwood flooring issues visit http://flooryou.net/forums/