Hi everyone,

I am ready to lay down 3/4in. x 3 1/4in hickory prefinished solid hardwood from Floor & Decor. It's been sitting in garage in BOXES for about 2 weeks now.

The house is new construction. Flooring is tongue and groove with joist space out at 12" OC. There is no ac running or heat.
We're planning 1/2" expansion gap around the perimeter. If there's tiles , there's going to be a 3/8 metal schluter trim with 1/4 expansion gap. This will mostly run parallel with the hardwood planks.

What steps should I take to prevent cupping, expansion issues with this being new construction? I'm worried that hickory is a little more unstable that regular woods. This is in Georgia.

The Plan sounds pretty good but here's a few points to consider;

For 3/4inch hardwood, you can and should leave the same thickness as an expansion gap around the perimeter. At this time of year you wont have expansion problems, but come next summer you'll be glad for the extra breathing room.

All manufacturers recommend that the hardwood is installed in the climate it's expected to perform all year round. This means you should get the AC/Heat systems up and running, any in floor heating tested and 90% of the finishing work done before you install the wood. Tiles and Paint go first, so the excess moisture from that stuff drying doesn't creep into the floor. Definitely bring in the boxes from the garage and leave them in the middle of the room for a day or two before the starting. Consistency is the key - once the floor is in, keep the climate control running for the rest of the project and onward.

With solid hardwood, you generally do not need an expansion gap at the tile terminations, 1/4 inch will look really bad unless you're planning on using a reducer or t-cap to cover the gap (which will depend on the thickness of the tiles) I'd go flush to the tiles with a transition/threshold piece that you can taper down to match the height of the tiles so it looks nice and flush. If you leave a 3/4 gap for expansion on the other sides of the room, that'll make up for the lack of gap at the tiles.

As always, once the floor is installed, be diligent about keeping your humidity between 40-50% for the best performance all year round.

So painting and tiles have been done.

When you said same thickness, what does this mean? I was going to leave 1/2 expansion gap where it meets the baseboard. Is that what you meant?
Climate control won't be install until I have hardwood and all the fixtures in.

The tile termination is a schluter strip that has a 1/4 expansion gap
Like this:
https://sccpublic.s3-external-1.amazonaws.com/sys-master/images/h1d/h45/8835051159582/SCHIENE-NEW.jpg

If the hardwood is 3/4 inch thick, the general rule of thumb is that you should leave at least 3/4 inch at the perimeter for proper expansion.

Since you've stated the climate control will not be on (which is ill-advised) you'll likely see the hardwood expand after installation if you install it while the climate is dry (less than 40% Relative humidity) and a 1/2 inch gap may not be enough. You could get away with 1/2 inch, but I'd only risk it if I have the climate control on and could guarantee the the humidity levels will be consistent all year round. Ideally, you should follow the installation instructions that came with the material for exact directions, this is just my take on it.