I am back in Denver on my out and about. It’s a new world here when it comes to install and new construction. As a flooring installer in the sunny South, we had it down to the numbers, our only concern was “change conditions.” We knew that the spring and summer would bring pain if we did not add in weed eater string, aka washer rows, so there would be room for expansion when the flooring swelled with higher humidity.
By the numbers in Denver right now, our EMC is 3.7%, and come July, our EMC will be 7%. We are looking at less than 4% change in the wood, or what we call seasonal change. That is not a huge swing like we see in the south, where our winter EMC can be 10% and our summer EMC can be 20%. This all is based on outside temps and RH, however, when it comes to the new construction, it’s all about how fast the home is dry. So let me go back to my favorite quote from my wonderful friend and mentor, Mickey Moore: “Get the house ready for the wood and the wood ready for that house!"
That is not a huge swing like we see in the south, where our winter EMC can be 10% and our summer EMC can be 20%.
My travels tomorrow will allow me to visit job sites, both new construction and remodel jobs. My hope is to see what the homes are doing from crawl space to main floor. We will be looking at the numbers and what they mean to the flooring. We have a few simple tools with us: Pin meters, laser temp gun, 40 foot, micrometers and (not in the photo) the hydrometer. I want to learn more about dry conditions, install conditions and change conditions; we have two full days of job site visits lined up.
I will be taking photos and trying to keep records of what we see here in Denver, stay tuned. [Editor's Note: You can see the next post about Wayne's Denver trip here.]
