Not many homeowners think of the Winter as a season to renovate their home. If anything, the Winter is a time of hibernation, where to postpone any home redecoration until the Spring or Summer, when it is warm out. However, the Winter may be the best season for homeowners wishing to renovate or replace their engineered hardwood flooring. Here are the top four reasons why.
The Importance of Proper Sub flooring
Depending on your home, you may have sub flooring or a concrete slab beneath your floorboards. When installing hardwood flooring, the condition of your sub flooring matters, as it can affect the quality of your flooring for years to come. If moisture is trapped in your sub flooring, as it becomes easier to do in the Spring and Summer months, this moisture can be absorbed by your floorboards. This leads to flooring issues like rot, mold, and other nasty surprises you do not want to have happen in your home.
The risk of this occurring is much less during the winter months because there is less moisture in the air, and so less accumulates in your sub flooring. If you are contemplating whether to install hardwood flooring now or wait until it is warmer out, do not delay. This is the best season to do so.
Winter Dryness Limits Mold and Moisture
One of the main issues when installing flooding in warmer, humid climates is the accumulation of moisture under your floorboards. If left untreated, mold will develop, which not only affects the structural integrity of your home, but your respiratory health as well. The last thing you want to breathe in is mold. It can damage your lungs, increase the probability you will develop asthma, and negatively affect your quality of life overall.
Health and safety precautions are one major reason why contractors are adamant about installing flooring when the weather is dry. If your sub flooring accumulates a lot of moisture, your floorboards may suck the moisture up and expand. Since space is limited for floorboards, they will buckle and warp over time. This not only looks unsightly in your home, but it also presents a health and safety issue, as you are more likely to trip and fall with bumpy and gaped floorboards.
The Winter Is the Best Time to Schedule Appointments
Since most homeowners do not think of the winter as the prime renovating season, they are more likely to postpone their renovations until the Spring or Summer. As a result, your favorite flooring contractors usually have a more open schedule during the winter months. If you contract them to install your engineered hardwood flooring during the winter months, you are more likely to be able to get the contractor you want at the time that you want.
Since flooring contractors have fewer appointments during this time of the year, they will be more focused on your installation job, and less worrisome about losing other clients due the lack of demand for their services until the warmer months.
Floorboards Expand and Contract Due to the Temperature
Problems with moisture, the contraction and expansion of wood, and the development of mold, are all factors that require you to let your floorboards acclimate to the weather conditions before installing them. The rule of thumb is to let them sit for a few weeks before using them. Wood is porous and will soak up and release moisture over time. Although this does not present an issue for most homeowners who are satisfied with their hardwood flooring for years, your floorboards may expand and contract with the temperature if they are not prepared properly.
This is why flooring contractors have a difficult time spacing floorboards properly during seasons when the temperature and climate shift regularly, like in the Spring and Summer. Floorboards expand during the hot and humid months. This leaves gaps in the floor when the floorboards contract as it grows colder outside.
While the opposite is true, and floorboards installed in the winter can crack if your flooring contractor does not leave enough of a gap between floorboards, this situation is much easier to correct by leaving small gaps in between the floorboards.
For all your engineered hardwood flooring questions and needs, visit Invision Hardwood & Décor today. We have installed hardwood flooring for satisfied customers in Thornhill, Richmond Hill, Woodbridge, and Vaughan. For more information on the installation process or the benefits a hardwood floor will have for your home, please visit our website.
