We are having 3/4" nail down, sand & finished on site, 5" White Oak installed over existing plywood subfloor. The house is all pier & beam. The wood flooring is replacing a mix of ceramic tile (that was thinset) and vinyl which has all been removed.

One guy has told us that as long as the moisture content of the oak is between 8% and 11% it is ready to be installed and finished all at the same time even if the flooring has not spent anytime acclimating to our house. Another guy stressed to me the importance of letting the floor acclimate to the house. He suggested that it should sit for 3 or 4 weeks after the flooring has been laid before the final sand & finish. The idea is that this will give the floor chance to expand or contract before the final sand and finish. The first guy laughed when I sugessted that the floowing needs to sit laid out for several weeks before the final sand & finish and said that whoever told me that did not know what they are talking about. Now if you have not figured it out yet, I clearly do not know what I am talking about, but the idea of letting the flooring sit for 3 or 4 weeks before the final sand & finish just seems to make sense to me. Am I wasting time for no reaon by letting it sit unfinished?

Thanks for the advice.

The guy that wants to acclimate your floor, and let it settle before finishing is my guy!!

The other guy can go make a quick buck and blow smoke up someone elses keester.

On site acclimation is usually recommended. However, there are times when it is NOT a good idea. If the site is not and cannot be maintained at normal living conditions, which would NORMALLY be 45 to 50 % relative humidity and 65 to 75 degrees F., then off site acclimation maybe a better choice. One needs to determine what the NORMAL living environment will be in the home. And this depends on location. It does no good to "acclimate" flooring to a home that does not have the HVAC in operation, if there is one. And with a wider plank floor, you WILL get seasonal gapping, UNLESS you can maintain year round temps and humidity. Those are just the facts when dealing with SOLID wood floors. Ideally, one waits until all wet trades have completed their work and the house is at normal, living conditions. Then you monitor the RH and MC of the flooring and subflooring. When the MC is within 2% of each other, then you are good to go, assuming that the home is at normal living conditions.

It is a remodel and the house is being maintained at normal living conditions.

Is getting the floor acclimated for the correct RH and MC what is key or is it also important to nail down the floor and let it sit for 3 or 4 weeks before the final sand & finish? Both of the guys I talked to seemed to agree about the MC. The point of contention here is whether or not it needs to sit in the house nailed down, but unfinished for 3 or 4 weeks.

Thansk for the additional clarification.

I do the installations, but contract out the sand & finish part of the job, to an old geeeeeeezer.

He won't get on the floor with the sander, for 2 weeks after I install it.

"It has to settle to the nails, if I sand it now, it could lock in some squeaks"


Of all the homes we have teamed up on, there has never been one small complaint from my clients about the quality of sand & finish.

I do the installations, but contract out the sand & finish part of the job, to an old geeeeeeezer.

He won't get on the floor with the sander, for 2 weeks after I install it.

"It has to settle to the nails, if I sand it now, it could lock in some squeaks"


Of all the homes we have teamed up on, there has never been one small complaint from my clients about the quality of sand & finish.

I do the installations, but contract out the sand & finish part of the job, to an old geeeeeeezer.

He won't get on the floor with the sander, for 2 weeks after I install it.

"It has to settle to the nails, if I sand it now, it could lock in some squeaks"


Of all the homes we have teamed up on, there has never been one small complaint from my clients about the quality of sand & finish.


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If the home is now at normal living conditions, I typically will acclimate for a minimum of one week. I check the subfloor, flooring and environment with my moistire meter and hygrometer at time of delivery and again, one week later. If everything is within specs, then I will install. I will typically wait a minimum of one week, preferably two, after install before sanding and finishing, for further acclimation.