First let me say I'm glad I found this site! I purchased enough 3/4" solid Brazilian Cherry to do my entire home about 1 1/2 yrs. ago. My home was in really bad condition & needed a lot of structural, plumbing, HVAC, etc. attention. All of that stuff is done now & I'm ready to start on the flooring. I've unbundled some of the wood & have noticed there are a lot of shorter pieces, they range from 12"-84" with the majority seeming to be between 12"-21" long. I do plan to use as much of the shorter pieces along walls, in closets, & in inconspicuous areas as possible. Will a floor look good with pieces in this range? Is this normal for this species of wood? I feel like an a@# for not checking it when I bought it, the short pieces were in the middle of the bundles, & I didn't even think about this, I'm a plumber, not a flooring guy lol Thanks in advance for any help, it's really appreciated!

Jimmy

Depending on the manufacturer that's not unusual. Open a bunch of boxes, you may find some boxes have a majority of nice lengths. I will usual mix it up over the entire floor, strategically, instead of installing a bunch of shorts in certain areas, so the overall look is random yet uniform. My floor has a ton of shorts, but it's really not noticable.

Very cool, I really appreciate it. A couple other questions, How long should the wood be acclimated? I'm going to move it to my basement so I can really work on the subfloor as a whole, I'm in the DC area & the humidity isn't bad now. Also, How much filling of the wood is acceptable ( it's unfinished )? Thanks again!

Jimmy

Are you installing the hardwood in the basement? The wood should acclimate in the area it's being installed. There's no real set time frame for acclimation, guys will use ballpark figures like 1 week for engineered, 2 weeks for solid. You would want the area to be maintained within the proper RH range, and the MC of the substrate within 2% of the hardwood.

Re: Filling unfinished. There's no specs on the amount of filler acceptable. It's actually typical for installers to trowell float filler over an entire unfinished floor prior to sanding, if needed.

No, it's being installed on the main living area. I just need to move it for a week or so to work on the subfloor, it's a little out of whack. I just want to work on the entire area as a whole instead of moving things back and forth. It will be easier to see things as a whole and make the appropriate adjustments. Thanks again for the help, I was kind of flying blind...I'll post some pics as I go along, it's really gonna make a difference getting it down!

Well, if you INSIST on putting it in an area with completely different environmental qualities (basement as opposed to main floor) then you should ballon wrap the entire load. Start by laying down a large plastic sheet on the basement floor, add a couple 2 by 4's to hold the flooring off the concrete, stack your lumber on top of this assembly then pull the plastic sheeting up and over the stack, including the ends of the pile, and tape tightly. This will protect it for the week or so that it will be down there. May I ask where you have stored it for the last year and a half?