Best Time of Year to Install Wood Floors: Does Hardwood Flooring Installation Have A Season?

What Part of The Year Is Idea For Installation of New Wood Floor?

If you’re gearing up for a huge remodeling project, then you are probably also wondering when the idea time to work on your flooring project is. Most remodeling projects include installing hardwood flooring in your home which is a big process within itself. With all that dust and debris flying around, you’re going to start wondering when is the best opportunity to install hardwood floors? We’ve created a handy guide with tips and trick to let you know when the best time to install your flooring is. This guide will help save you money and hopefully help you feel more confident about your remodeling project!

Make a Remodeling Timeline

First things first, you should sit down and record on a piece of paper all the rooms that will be included in your remodeling project with a list of what needs to be done in each room. If you’re tearing something down, then that needs to happen before anything is installed. The best piece of advice we like to give people when taking on home improvement projects is to stay organized. This will keep you from getting flustered further down the road.

Install Cabinets and Countertops After Installing the Flooring

The Best Time to Install Hardwood Floors

So, when is the best time to install hardwood floors? Our advice is to save that for last. You’ll want to wait until all other projects in the room are complete before moving on to installing the flooring. This will prevent any unwanted dirt or debris from getting on your brand new hardwood floor. It’s also good to see how the room is turning out before you decide on what kind of flooring you want. You’ll be able to picture what the room will look like once the flooring is added.

Really, The Season Does Not Matter, But Winter and Fall are Ideal

The only reason that we would consider the best time of the year, or a particular season, is because of the different humidity levels that are present in different times of the year. Fall and winter typically will have dry conditions as well as lower temperatures. Dry air is nice for flooring but not too dry, or we could have issues with expansion as the higher levels of moisture that are present in your home in the spring and summer may damage your hardwood flooring.

What is more important is how consistent that you keep the humidity levels in your home throughout the year. That is why it is imperative that you use your home's HVAC system to control the moisture in your home. In an ideal area the moisture levels in your hardwood flooring should not change more than 5% at any time. So if you install your flooring in a home that is too dry it will be difficult for you to stay within the 5%.

Instead, try to install your wood floor on a subfloor that contains no more than 12% moisture, and no less than 6%. If you can acclimate your new wood floor to those conditions before installation, then keep the relative humidity under 65% throughout the year, you should have no problems. Fall and winter are a great time for installers, because they don't need breaks during installation to cool down!

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff....Like Temperature