Greetings all,

I am new to this board and also a newbie for installing a hardwood floor - so be gentle!

I got an itch to install a hardwood floor in our dining room (15 x 13), purchased Oak flooring 2 3/4 inch. I have found the tips on installation here very helpful and cannot wait for my maiden journey to begin. I am somewhat handy so I decided to go for it. If all goes well, than I will tackle the hall, family room, kitchen and most of the upstairs & office - I just love hardwood.

Here is my situation. Our home is 4 years old. I have the wood in the original boxes (shrink wrap removed) sitting in the very room it will be installed in. The subfloor is standard plywood. I did some leveling and the room is perfect. I have also measured the walls at different points to make sure they are squared, etc..

I read a little on acclimating the wood. We have very very low humidity here, the room is a constant 70-72 degrees. First, should the wood be removed from the cartons and stacked in any partuclar way?

I do not own a moisture gauge. Do I need one based on my situation?

Thanks in advance for your help. I am sure I will have more quesions too!!!

Without a meter, it is impossible to tell accurately. As the installer/homeowner it is all on you. Me personally, I would bust the end's of the cartons open and let is set in the room for a week or so and nail it down. Not technically correct, but if you are only using 2 1/4 you should be ok. Don't forget the felt paper!!

There are guestamated time frames for acclimation. But if you dont test the subfloor and the hardwood it's a crap shoot. IMO it's not worth the risk, especially more risk on a solid product, as opposed to a more stable engineered product. Also more of a risk since you injected moisture into the subfloor with the leveling.

I would consider purchasing a moisture meter with pins ,(perfect for testing the wood subfloor & Hardwood ). It also sounds like your planning to install additional areas in the future, you will want to test. The cost is not that much, especially considering all your work, and the possible reprocussions.
Or.... Times are slow, you may be able to hire an Installer to test prior to installation. But as mentioned, you will need to test later as well.

I also wanted to mention, but too late to edit....
You mentioned "very very low humidity". You will want to have, and keep, your RH between the manufacturers specified range. In the winter months you may need to run a humidifier. While running HVAC in the summer, will raise the RH. The idea is to arrive at a consistant RH between the range, and acclimate the hardwood in this "normal living condition".

Testing the subfloor & hardwood for MC is seperate but as important as the RH in the living areas. Of coarse the RH affects the hardwood & subfloor, but there are other variables that affect the subfloor MC. This is why I say it's a "crap shoot" if people just stick the wood in a home for a week and think they're good to go.

Floorologist, did you mean the HVAC will reduce the humidity in the summer?
As far as acclimating flooring in the boxes with the ends open, I did that on one job only. Dang 4 inch hickory and the ends of the boards dried and became narrower than the middle. Now I open them right up and if possible, rack them out on the subfloor.
I suppose waiting longer would have allowed the boards to acclimate consistantly, but you know how it goes: Susie says hurry up I've got a party happening soon.
Anyway, I put new material on the job, and re-delivered the "oval" shaped material to a site where I could rack it out and get it stabilized.