Q: I just bought the house yesterday and had the wood delivered right after the closing, oak, 3.25″. Somehow I haven’t activated my account with the gas company, so the heat has been off just right after wood was brought into the house.
The heat will be off till Monday, 28th afternoon. Meanwhile, the temperature is about 18 degrees at night and going to be 16 tomorrow night. I put few electric heaters and humidifier, the temperature was about 59 degrees when I left.
Would my wood be ruined or it can restore itself after the heat is back on? How long it should get acclimated after heat is back?
A: I don’t think you have too much to worry about here, as long as it is dry in the house. I would get the heat on and keep it up to living conditions for 5 days anyway. If you are installing in more than one room, break up the bundles into groups for each room. Stack it in each room, but not in front of a heat vent or rad. It would be great if you had a moisture meter, but I know it is not likely, unless you are a professional in the trade. Then you could check the moisture of the flooring and compare it against the moisture of the sub floor, which should be within 4% of each other. Normal readings for oak are 7-9%. A hygrometer can be helpful also, and they can be bought at any electronics store such as Source (former Radio Shack) for about $35.00. Place it on the floor in the room and wait 15 minutes or so. It will tell you the temperature and relative humidity at floor level.
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