Question:
I am writing to find out what kind of wood I should use on a floor in a house that has extreme temperature changes. Â Â It is a vacation house in northern Maine that I visit for short times at any time of year. I do not leave the heat on when I am not there so the floor will go from 10 degrees or lower to 75 degrees or higher rather quickly.
What do you suggest?
Answer:
I would not use any type of hardwood flooring in a house with extreme temperature changes because of the rate that the floor will expand and contract. There is really no flooring type other than porcelain or natural stone (wood, laminate, vinyl or carpet) that can withstand temperatures lower than 55 degrees.
Responses to “Flooring and Extreme Temperature Changes – Reader Question”
March 25th, 2009 at 11:17 am
We are also looking for flooring for a vacation home. In our first place we installed pine with grooves and it seemed to do fine with expansion. This time we would like something more durable as there is alot of sand,etc.that gets in the grooves. I don’t want the maintenance of the pine flooring this time so we are considering either a nice wood look laminate which has a moisture warranty or a fibre floor in a wood look. Google Quick Step to see some nice laminate patterns. Tarkett has some nice patterns for wood look. The fibre floor is nice and soft to walk on and it absorbs alot of sound.
March 30th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
[...] Flooring for extreme temperatures – a reader wants a floor that can withstand extreme temperature changes. [...]
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
[...] Flooring and Extreme Temperature Changes – Reader Question (floortalk.wfca.org) [...]
March 17th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I’m sure there are excellent alternatives out there that would be able to withstand extreme temperature changes. Good luck with this!