LESLIE: Todd in Louisiana wants to work on a wood-flooring project. How can we help you today?
TODD: Yes. I was listening to your station the other day and somebody had called in and stated that they had put in some wood flooring. And they had put it in, at the time – well, let’s put it this way: they had a contractor put it in and it was done during a time of the year where the gentleman had left a little gap or swelling. And then when the other season came on by, instead of swelling, it contracted, so the gaps that he left were even larger. So I’m trying to see, at what point in time of the year is the wood going to be already contracted, so I know how to adjust for this?
TOM: Well, in Louisiana, you don’t have the temperature swing that we might have to deal with, for example, in the North, which is a bigger issue.
TODD: OK.
TOM: So you’re – I don’t think it’s going to make a difference in your particular part of the country. But generally speaking, wood is going to shrink in the winter and swell in the summer.
TODD: OK.
TOM: High humidity is going to cause everything in your house to swell. And that’s where doors start to stick and that sort of thing.
TODD: OK.
TOM: But the rule of thumb here is that if you’re going to put in hardwood floors, you want to put that material in the house and let it acclimate there for a few days, you know, before you actually start the installation.
TODD: OK.
TOM: You don’t want to take it from one climate, bring it into the indoor climate and start banging it in right away. You do want to let it acclimate a little bit, for a little bit of time.
TODD: OK.
TOM: So I don’t think it’s as much of a concern for you in Louisiana, for those reasons.
TODD: OK. Hey, I appreciate it.
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