St. George Flooring
St. George flooring store selling and installing carpet, tile, hardwood and vinyl in a climate that moves wood floors.
St. George Flooring sells and installs carpet, tile, hardwood and vinyl across the area. Of those, wood is the one that behaves differently here than it does in the catalogs, because a wood floor never stops responding to the moisture in the air around it.
Background
Wood is hygroscopic: it absorbs and releases water vapor until it reaches equilibrium with the surrounding air, and it changes dimension as it does - swelling across the grain when it takes up moisture and shrinking as it gives it back. Manufacturers specify an indoor relative humidity band, commonly something like thirty to fifty percent, on the assumption that a heated and cooled house stays inside it. Southern Utah's outdoor humidity is frequently in single digits, and a house running air conditioning through the summer and heat through the winter can sit far below that band for months at a time.
The consequences are predictable rather than mysterious. Solid wood shrinks and opens fine gaps between boards during the driest stretch, then closes them again when conditions change - seasonal movement, not a defect. Wide planks move more than narrow ones because the movement is proportional to width. Engineered wood, built as a veneer over a cross-laminated core, moves substantially less and is the more forgiving choice in a dry climate. Practical steps help: acclimating material in the house before installation rather than off a hot delivery truck, leaving the expansion gap at the perimeter that the baseboard hides, and running a humidifier through the driest months if the floor is solid and wide.
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Nearby: Zion Stone Gallery, A Plus Garage Doors, Express Tints.
Categories
Address
3146 E Deseret Dr, Suite ASt. George, UT 84790
Contact
- Work Phone: 435-414-0202
- Website: https://www.stgeorgeflooring.biz/
Frequently asked questions
Why do gaps open between my hardwood floorboards in winter?
Wood absorbs and releases moisture until it balances with the surrounding air, shrinking across the grain as it dries. Southern Utah air is extremely dry, and a heated house in winter is drier still, so boards narrow slightly and fine gaps open between them. They usually close again as conditions change - it is seasonal movement rather than a defect.
Is engineered wood a better choice than solid wood in a dry climate?
Generally yes. Engineered flooring is a wood veneer over a cross-laminated core, and the alternating grain directions restrain movement, so it expands and contracts far less than solid wood at the same humidity swing. Solid wood is still workable here, but it benefits from narrower boards and attention to indoor humidity.
What does acclimating flooring mean?
Leaving the material in the room where it will be installed long enough to reach equilibrium with that air before it is fastened down. Flooring delivered from a hot truck or an unconditioned warehouse carries a different moisture content than the house, and installing it before it settles builds movement into the floor from day one.
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