[Thanks in advance - Matt]

Location: Boston Mass
Room size: 12.5 x 16 (living room first floor)
Total Sq Ft. 185 (200 – fireplace hearth and one shorter wall at kitchen entrance)
Subfloor: ¾ OSB T&G, 2 x 10, 16 OC
Basement: Partially heated
Wood: ¾ 3” Brazilian Cherry (BC), Alumni Oxide finish, micro bevel
Heat: Force hot air


I have purchased 3” pre-finished BC (not from hrdwoodinstaller.com). It has a very nice aluminum oxide w/ a real small micro-bevel. They had a few 4x4 displays and the minimal bevel is what I liked most (I hate larger bevels). I am installing this in a living room that is 12.5 x 16 feet. It abuts a hallway (3’ wide threshold) and a kitchen (7’ wide threshold), which are both porcelain tile. The tiled area is ¼ higher then what the installed ¾ hardwood will be (I know because my dining room is ¾ oak and I have measure the delta between the dining room and the kitchen).

I have an unfinished basement that is partially heated (I have an open vent off the forced hot air system). I am planning on finishing this basement off (my next project), so it will eventually be fully heated. I need to install a dehumidifier, as it gets very humid in the summer.


Acclimation:
* I live in Massachusetts. How long do I need to let the wood acclimate? I have read 3 days to 2 weeks online. I’d rather be safe then sorry.

Floor Prep:
* I will screw the floor down before installing hardwood.

Perimeter expansion joint:
* I have read the perimeter expansion joint should be ¼ to ¾ of an inch. What is recommended?

Under-layment:
* Do I Need one?
* What is the best vapor barrier?
* What is a polyethylene vapor barrier?

Nail or staples:
* Should I use nails or staples?
* What length should I use?
* How often (ever 8” ?)
* Should I put nails/staples down more often seeing the underlayment is OSB and not play wood?

Fireplace (marble hearth):
* What size expansion gap should I between hearth and wood?

Kitchen/Foyer Threshold:
* Gap between hardwood and kitchen opening (roughly 7 feet)

Sealing BC:
* I know this sounds –nuts- but is it worth the time to seal the other 3 sides of the BC after it has acclimated? The top is pre-finished (aluminum oxide). My thought would be if the wood was sealed on all 4 sides then less (hopefully none) moisture could get in and therefore less change do to climate (it gets muggy in Mass in the summer). This obviously is a lot of work, however if it makes the difference then why not.

* If so, what should I use to seal the other sides?

Kitchen/Hallway Threshold
* The hallway and kitchen is porcelain tile which will roughly be ¼ higher the the hardwood. I would ideally like a flat transition between the two areas. Can I build up the hardwood base (w/ resin paper or something else) a ¼ so that the kitchen/hallway threshold will be flat?

[Thanks in advance - Matt]

Matt,

I've never seen prefinished brazillian cherry that wasn't sealed on all surfaces. In fact, I've never seen any prefinished flooring, except engineered, that wasn't.

Don

My two cents worth, bottom to top...
Use 1/4 artic birch plywood if you want it level; its too much to bulid up with either paper or 3 tab roofing shingles.
Don adressed the bottom coating, but I know many sand and finsh guys who back coat in high humdity climates; I don't live in one, so I can't help you there.
If your hearth lays out so the end joints of the wood abut it, just a slight gap will do. If not, treat it like a wall, or use a reducer made for that. Whoever sold you the BC, can sell you the reducer. Ask them.
I use staples on BC, but its a brittle wood, so say back from the ends 3" to avoid spiltting the tongue. Also , pay attention to the adjustment of your gun, the wrong entry angle can mean problems. I use 2" on 3/4 solid.
I used to use 15lb felt, but now use Aqua- BarB, a 30 -30 kraft paper. It has a perm rating of less then one; 1lb felt is 3 to 7.
Around here, in a small area like that 3/8 would be good, but again, you are in a higher humidty area, so I defer to others here.
You need to allow the wood to come within 3-4percent of the subfloor, before installing it. It could be there now, or it could takes several weeks to get in balance.
Oh, by the way, how come you didn't ask the person you bought the wood from, all these questions......

If the floor is imported from china it's probally coated on all 4 sides. It's not really done much to floors made here in the USA.