This time I got to inspect my own floors. Yes, these are floors that I installed myself, but they are in my own home. (Note: I do not condone inspecting a floor that you installed or had some financial involvement.)
A couple years ago, I installed 2¼-inch solid, site-finished hickory in one room; red oak in two rooms; and white oak in another room. I watch them season to season, and, just as suspected, the hickory gaps the most in the winter. This year, however, the gaps closed faster than usual.
I was gone for several days last month while my daughter was at the house. The first morning after I got home, the house felt muggy. The thermostat read 75 F degrees and 66% RH. No wonder it felt muggy. I looked at the thermostat a little closer, and saw that the fan was set to "On" rather than "Auto." I changed it to "Auto," and by the end of the day, the humidity was down to the 50% range. (My daughter admitted that she changed it to run the fan to get rid of some cooking odors.)
A very simple change to a house, and it had a big impact. Many people would have reacted to the mugginess by lowering the thermostat. That just makes things worse. I have been paid very well to inspect situations where the root problem is this simple thermostat setting, in spite of me asking about it over the phone before I make a site visit. This simple change would have voided the warranty if I had installed engineered flooring in my house, but luckily I installed solid instead.
Which is partly why I put together a How to Prevent Cupping and Worse in Summer Months." If you are interested in these kinds of summer wood flooring issues, sign up for the webinar here.
