Laminate Floors Humidity How Long Before Place

Laminate flooring can resist humidity in the air only if it is properly installed.

Laminate floors humidity how long before place.

Before you install your flooring you must acclimate your laminate to the environment where it will be housed. If you live in a very humid climate allow 96 hours. Allow the pergo floor to acclimate in your home for 48 hours before installation. To allow for this expansion place 3 8 inch spacers along the wall to leave a consistent gap around the edges of the floor.

Don t put them flush against the wall. Laminate flooring is held together by a mechanical click system made out of wood products. This means that you should let your laminate flooring sit in the room that it is going to be installed in for a day or two before you actually install it to allow for the material to get used to the room s humidity level. Humidity levels in your home are often affected by seasonal changes and laminate flooring responds by expanding and contracting.

The installation of your laminate flooring is the critical time to think about humidity. Installations on basement floors and slabs should include a moisture barrier. Keep it flat in unopened cartons. To do this arrange your boxes of flooring with flat and side by side.

Even the best laminate flooring is susceptible to moisture damage and shouldn t be installed laundry rooms and rooms with sump pumps or floor drains. The laminate flooring manufacturer will have suggestions on how long its materials should sit in the space before installation as well. However the most common method is to place the laminate flooring still shrink wrapped in the middle of the. Laminate flooring in the kitchen is okay as long as you re diligent about cleaning up spills and splashes.

The first thing to know when learning how to lay laminate flooring is that all laminate flooring will expand and contract due to temperature and humidity fluctuations. Laminate flooring manufacturers recommend leaving a 1 4 inch expansion gap around the perimeter of the floor to give the boards room to expand. Laminate flooring takes 48 72 hours to acclimate but it is always best to follow the manufacturers guidelines. If this wood dries out excessively the clicking system may fail.

When the air loses humidity the laminate flooring will contract.