Yes & No is the answer to this very important question. It really depends on the time of year and the relative humidity in the area where you are building. Our Traditional New England Wide Plank floors are kiln dried and will arrive at your home site with moisture content between 6 & 9 percent. If you are replacing floors in your existing home you will most likely need to acclimate you new wide plank flooring to your homes environment which will most likely be under 10% moisture

If you are building a new home, it is not uncommon for the moisture in the home to be over 10% mainly due to the new construction materials. In this case if you acclimated your new Wide Plank Flooring in this environment, it's likely to pick up that additional moisture. In this situation it would be ideal not to acclimate the flooring until the moisture level in the home has dropped below 10%. The best way to lower the moisture level in a new home is to have the heat running with a dehumidifier in the winter or an air conditioner in the summer time. If you're building in the western U.S. where the humidity can be below 6%, it's a good idea to acclimate the flooring for 7 to 14 days, but it will never go below 6%.

The other item you should be aware of is the humidity outside and whether that humidity is getting inside during construction. It is best not to install Wide Plank Flooring if the humidity outside is high and all the windows and doors are open during construction which will allow the moisture outside to come in and be absorbed by your new flooring. In short, the best procedure is to use a moisture meter and check the sub floors as well as other wood in your home. When the moisture level in the home and the wood is between 6 & 8 percent, it is considered ideal. However, 9 to 10% is acceptable.