Hardwood help - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

mhillc · 08-22-2009, 06:02 PM

Hi guys,
I'm going to install 2 1/4 brazillian cherry (bellawood) 3/4 inch in my living rm and hall.my problem is MC the hardwood is reading 6% and the subfloor is 13and14%. The subfloor is 3/4 t&g ply in great shape the house is only 6yrs old with a full basement .No water problems ever.I pulled the carpet up 3 days ago which i had installed 2 yrs ago.I have been running a dehumidifier in basement and fans on the floor for 3 days and no change in the reading.the hardwood has been in the house for 2 weeksand has the same reading from the day i carried it in so should i try to get the MC up in the hardwood or keep drying the subfloor.I know its all part of the acclimation but not sure if the ply is at its driest.
Any help would be great. Thanks

mhillc · 08-22-2009, 06:56 PM

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OK

finaltouchfloor · 08-22-2009, 11:34 PM

Just use felt paper as usual , maybe use 30 lb.If you bought the new bellawood 1/2 engineered verison none of this would matter. BTW -Bellawood is in the process of switching every product to engineered due to all moisture issues with thier exotic products. They will always have the solid oak, maple, etc in solid 3/4" because they a pretty stable.

the big 12 inch · 08-23-2009, 09:00 AM

If your house temp and humidity levels have been consistantly maintained you shouldn't have any acclimation issues with the wood and subfloor.I would use aquabar or 15lb felt for underlayment and open all the boxes or bundles and rack out the room(s)and let the wood sit for a few more days before nailing it down...as far as bellawood...I got no comment!!.good luck..

mhillc · 08-23-2009, 09:28 AM

My house is always at around 73 to 76 degrees i turn the air on in may and shut it off in november. and i was planning on putting down 30lb felt. I checked some of the framming in the basement and the MC was at 12 and 13%. I'm not a floor guy but i thought bellawood was supposed to be pretty good?

the big 12 inch · 08-23-2009, 11:25 AM

30 lb felt is not gonna be any better than 15lb..just more $$.And what infomation have you heard that would make you think bellawood was any good?Other than a ringing endorsement from Bob V...

mhillc · 08-23-2009, 12:03 PM

just figured 30lb was thicker it may be alittle better . as far as bellawood being any good you would know better then me im just going by some of the reviews on the internet .I also looked at mirage but way out of my budget.I just checked the subfloor again and still no differant 14% MC. What problems do you see me having with bellawood?

AcademyHardwood · 08-27-2009, 12:51 PM

My advice:

1. Do not Use Bellawood - there are many other better alternatives. Bellawood delivers so many defective boards, that contractors ask for an extra carton of planks.

2. Bellawood is known to split, break and crack - making many pieces unworthy of installation.

3. Do you really want to have to buy 15% more Bellawood, to make up for all those defective pieces ?

Besides that, the humidity and moisture levels in your home seem pretty high - do you live below ground level ?

I suggest sealing your sub floor and using a better quality engineered hardwood.

Floordude · 08-27-2009, 04:00 PM

If your subfloor is above 12%, DO NOT INSTALL THE FLOORING!!! Get that below 12%, as your interior with AC running is in the 8-10% range, and 6-8 in the winter with the heater going, unless you live in a very arid area of the world. Then all bets are off. You need to get the basement under control. A cheap thermo hygrometer from rat shack, to measure the temp and humidity, is a nice tool. Keep it 45-50%rH in the basement, and the wood subfloor should read perfect. 13-14%, is telling me the basement is a consistent 70-75%rH, pretty high, actually too high for wood above.

Does your meter automatically adjust for different species of wood? Does your meter have different settings for different species?
Are you calculating on paper and a calculator?

Exotics, take a longer time to acclimate to the desired moisture content, than our domestic wood species.