In Ottawa and the surrounding Ontario region, indoor humidity levels drop significantly during the winter months. Learn how to protect your hardwood floors from seasonal gaps and cracking.
The Problem: Why Gaps Happen
In Ottawa and the surrounding Ontario region, indoor humidity levels drop significantly during the winter months. Since hardwood is a natural, porous material, it breathes. When the air becomes too dry, the wood loses moisture and shrinks, resulting in unsightly gaps between planks or even structural cracking.
Our Professional Prevention Strategy
🔬 Precision Acclimatization
We never rush an installation. We ensure all hardwood materials sit in your home’s controlled environment for at least 48 hours to reach an equilibrium moisture content before we lay the first plank.
💧 Humidity Monitoring
We recommend maintaining your home’s relative humidity between 35% and 55% year-round. Installing a whole-home humidifier can save your floors from permanent damage.
🏗️ Engineered Hardwood Advantage
For areas of the home more prone to temperature swings (like basements or over crawl spaces), we often recommend Engineered Hardwood. Its cross-layered construction makes it much more stable than solid wood during Ontario’s dry winters.
Expert Tip: “Don’t panic if you see tiny gaps in February! Most natural wood will expand again in the spring. However, if the gaps don’t close by summer, it might be a sign of a deeper installation or humidity issue.”
Ready to Protect Your Floors?
Does your floor have winter gaps that won’t go away? H-Wood Flooring offers professional inspections and repairs in Ottawa, Kanata, and Nepean.