Laminate flooring is considered a popular, royal and attractive pick among all in the market. Such floorings bring extreme shine and a beautiful look to any house. Although they are known for extreme reliability, you’ve to maintain them with extra consciousness.
Accelerating the laminating floor is a vital part of maintenance. However, people seem to be really confused over the topic. You’ll find different forum sites discussing and asking, “does laminate flooring need to acclimate or not.”
Well, professionals suggest acclimating laminate flooring well before installation. But you must follow the right procedure while acclimating the flooring. Else, your floor will get damaged and cause you non fixable damages.
What’s Next
How to Get Rid of Mold Under Laminate Flooring
Contents
Does laminate flooring need to acclimate?
Yes, your laminate floorings will require acclimation before installing.
Without competing for that part, you won’t get the perfect appearance or finishing. It’s true that laminate floorings are quite easy to install. But that doesn’t mean you can skip acclimating the flooring. You have to acclimate it to where you want to install it.
Suppose the laminate flooring has been manufactured at a specific temperature, and you’re installing it in an absolutely different atmosphere. Such sudden differences are never good for your flooring. Acclimating the flooring makes it prepared and protects your flooring from future defects.
The professional laminate flooring manufacturers recommend it to acclimate for 48 to 72 hours. It is vital for checking the specification of the flooring. Whenever you’re acclimating to the flooring, make sure you’ve gone through the manufacturer’s instructions in detail.
Why should you acclimate your laminate flooring?
Here comes the vital question: “why should you acclimate your laminate flooring?” This is recommended by a professional. So, definitely, it’s something significant. Let’s learn about the causes here:
Laminate is not made of 100% wood. It includes certain types of wool-like materials. And such materials are sensitive to temperature fluctuation. If you avoid this step, your laminate flooring will expand by its every plank. And the installation can go apart as well.
People often complain that their newly installed laminate flooring got buckled. Such issues happen when your floor planks expand or swell. You better take no risk and start acclimating to the laminate flooring.
What is the temperature to acclimate laminate flooring?
Well, you already know maintaining temperature for laminate flooring is essential. Experts recommend balancing the laminate flooring temperature and humidity with the room humidity and temperature level.
Make sure where you’re installing the flooring, the temperature of the room is between 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
The temperature should be constant during the acclimating process. Any frequent fluctuation will make the flooring expand or go detached from the place. If you have a radiant heating system, consider turning on 26.7 degrees Celsius for three days. Then try to install the laminate flooring for better finishing.
The temperature of the room while working should never go down to 15 degrees Celsius for better finishing. And the humidity level of the room during acclimation should be 25 (30% to 70%). However, you ideally try to keep it around 18 to 30 degrees Celsius for better installation.
How to acclimate laminate flooring?
Once you’ve set and prepared the surface, now you should jump into installing the laminate flooring. Try to follow these steps for a better and flawless installation:
- First of all, start by setting the room temperature and humidity level as required.
- Now get the laminate floorings and unbox them carefully.
- Next, remove the plastic wraps over the laminate floorings one after another.
- Now, it’s the ultimate time to store sealed laminate flooring. Don’t place the laminate flooring upright. Else it will create issues while installing the flooring.
- Now, run the room heating system. It should be around 48 to 72 hours. For better instruction, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Sometimes, floorings require 96 hours of heating as well.
What happens if you don’t acclimate laminate flooring?
Understanding the issues without acclimating to installation will help you to understand more about the process. There are specific common and unexpected facts you’ll notice while installing laminate flooring without acclimation.
Give a quick check:
- Your laminating planks will expand and move from the surface.
- The laminate planks will create shrinks and gaps. Such gaps can absorb air, and sometimes they blast as well. It could be dangerous for your household.
- If any of your laminate planks shrink, they will not fit on the floor at all.
- If your laminate floor shrinks, it can absorb dirt and moisture. And in the long run, your laminate floor will get buckled.
If you want to avoid such gaps, cracks, warping, or peakings, make sure you’re acclimating the floor well before installing.
More on LivingProofMag
How to Dry Laminate Flooring with Water Under It
Can You Use a Steam Mop on Laminate Floors
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does laminate flooring expand when it is humid?
Well, laminate flooring is made of wood-like materials that are flexible according to temperature and humidity. Such material is porous, which means it will expand on sudden changes in the atmosphere. The microscopic parts absorb air and extend it easily.
Can a laminate floor be permanently damaged by expansion?
Yes, if your laminate flooring gets expanded after installation, it might no longer be in the same place. As a result, the plunks will not fit as well, and you’ll get permanent damages.
Conclusion
Laminate floors are one of the most luxurious ick for your exotic house appearance. But installing and maintaining laminate floors carries a lot. However, you must have understood why laminate flooring needs to acclimate and how the entire process works. If you’re installing laminate flooring, try to follow and use all these tips and suggestions. Else, you won’t get the expected reliability in the long run.