NATURAL MOVEMENT IN HARDWOOD FLOORING

Wood is a beautiful, natural substance, and when used as flooring can totally transform your house, immediately adding value. If you are thinking about having hardwood flooring fitted in your house, or if you currently have it, then it's crucial to acknowledge and accept that it is a natural, living material, and may undergo certain environmental alterations.

The planks which constitute your hardwood flooring will, over the course of their life, be subject to expansion and contraction, and it is totally natural. When there are a number of steps you can take to minimise this pure movement, there's absolutely no way to completely stop it from occurring. The good news is that this motion will be very slight, and will probably go undetected.

So what can cause this pure movement in your hardwood floors?

The most important source of movement in hardwood flooring is the amount of moisture from the surrounding environment. During summer months, when windows are open, and heating is turned off, the humidity and moisture levels in your home are likely to be higher, meaning that your hardwood flooring may expand slightly.

Over winter, when central heating makes a drier environment inside your house, your flooring is more likely to contract. If you do begin to observe any motion or gaps appearing, don't worry - if the humidity levels grow again, these gaps will reduce.

While there's absolutely no way to completely stop any pure motion in your hardwood floor, there are a couple of actions you can take to reduce the amount of motion that occurs.

Among the most important things you can do in order to reduce movement in your flooring is to attempt to allow for a steady humidity in the house, as changing humidity levels are one of the chief reasons for pure motion -- the optimum temperature for the two humans and wooden floors is 18°C to 20°C.

During warmer months when humidity levels are obviously higher, a simple approach to prevent excessive motion would be to open your windows each day, even if only for 10 -- 15 minutes. Doing this will allow the humidity to vanish, with fresh air circulating your property.

During colder periods, attempt to maintain the humidity in your home between 50-65% to decrease movement. You can easily raise your humidity by placing a damp tea-towel onto a radiator, or using a humidifier.

Though some little movement on your flooring is inevitable and natural, by being careful and taking precautions, you can restrict the amount of motion to a minimum, retaining the original beauty and allure of your flooring.