Climatising floorboards

**RedShirtGuy** · 13th July 2012, 07:57 PM

I've got a mate taking delivery soon of 85 sq.m. of Tassie Oak floorboards (from retail) for a home renovation. He's been told to climatise the boards in the house for a week or so before nailing them down.

Currently there is no floor, just the joists, with the dirt (some a bit soggy) a couple of feet below.

Should he cut most of the pieces to length and just leave them in rough position loose on the joists or is there a way he can stack the full lengths out of the way (in the house) until they're ready to be worked on?

He does have a well sealed wooden shed in the backyard that should be able to handle the full lengths if he can stack them out there.

Not really knowing, I told him that it would be best to expose as much of the boards to the air as possible by either lying them out where he can and possibly turning them over after a few days or by stacking and stickering them...and I doubt either of us have enough resources to make up enough sticks to do the whole lot at the usual ~300mm stick intervals.

I'm also guessing that leaning them up against the wall wouldn't be too good for them, even for only a week or two until we get them installed.

**Acco** · 13th July 2012, 10:14 PM

I'd ask in the flooring section over at reno forum.

Pretty sure that you just need to stack it to get it too acclimatise to the local enviroment where they will end up, and when I say stack, just lay it over the joists 5 or 6 boards high then sticker and another 5 or 6 boards high, in other words stack it the same way it's delivered. Do not leave them in rough position on the joist or he will end up with bananas.

**rustynail** · 14th July 2012, 05:32 PM

The most successful method would be to cut in the floor and lay the boards face down. The floor can now be used as a working platform as other work progresses. Once the other works have been completed, the boards can be turned over and fastened down. The longer the boards can be left face down the better. This method allows the timber to recondition accurately to its new environment.
If the ground below is frequently wet, it would be a good idea to permanently lay some black plastic to help control rising vapour getting to the flooring.

**RedShirtGuy** · 14th July 2012, 09:09 PM

Thanks folks. I'll pass the tips on to him and if he's still in doubt I'll hit up the reno mob

**TermiMonster** · 15th July 2012, 01:23 PM

What Rustynail said.

**HFQLuke** · 30th July 2012, 08:58 PM

You definitely need to acclimatise you timber in this instance. the flooring does not need to be face down but do make sure you leave enough expansion around the perimeter also make sure you Ieave a 3mm joint every 1-2 meters if the ground is wet underneath often.Black plastic stapled to the bottom of the joist is also not a bad idea. Allow for expansion and expect it. Also be aware that the floor will most likely ridge after sanding leave it like this for a few years and the next to you sand it it should stay flat. Hope this helps
www.hfq.com.au

**Stewie D** · 6th August 2012, 12:49 PM

I'd definitely look into why the sub-floor area is wet before I even looked at laying the flooring in place even just to acclimatise it.
Increase the number of brick vents, install an ag drain around the perimeter etc .

Stewie

Thread: Climatising floorboards

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Climatising floorboards

Acclimatising timber

Similar Threads

Floorboards

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions