Humidity and its Impact on Wood

Humidity and Its Impact on Wood

The National Wood Floor Association (NHFA) shared a great article this week about “Relative Humidity“.

One of the easiest ways to avoid wood flooring installation failures is to have a clear understanding of relative humidity (RH) and its impact on wood. Wood swells and shrinks as it absorbs and loses moisture. This will happen as a direct result of the environment it is placed in due the temperature and RH of the surrounding air.

As a general rule, wood floors will perform best when the interior environment is controlled to stay within a relative humidity range of 30 percent to 50 percent, and a temperature range of 60 degrees to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but optimal conditions will vary in different regions based on average moisture content and RH.