[maniexx]

Hardwood, as a natural flooring material, is affected by extremes of damp or dryness, so try to keep your indoor relative humidity between 35 and 60 percent. Wood flooring installation below grade in a basement (or in any room where moisture could be a problem, like a kitchen, laundry, or bath) is not a great idea. Neither is leaving your hardwood floors in a very hot or cold home while you are away; leave the HVAC on at a low setting. Direct sunlight can damage hardwood too. Close the curtains when the sun is coming into the room, or for a longterm solution, apply UV-absorbing film to the windows.

[cuu508]

Ceramic or Stone Tile

[narisseproe]

Broiling, freezing, moist and muggy, dry as a bone . or somewhere in between. Whatever the climate is like where you live, it is likely to affect your home decor choices. How will popular types of flooring hold up to different climate conditions? Let's find out.

[sahars]

Radiant heating works by installing a heating element on the subfloor before you lay the stone or tile in place. Think of it as a warming plate for your flooring. Then you control how much heat you use depending on the overall conditions outside. Remember, heat rises. So it’s a great place to start warming your home. You’ll love it on the coldest winter mornings, and you’ll find yourself gravitating to those rooms instead of running away.

[imanikin]

Let’s start with the most obvious flooring choice to help keep your home as warm as it can be: carpet. Carpet is made up of plush fibers tufted into a fabric back. It’s laid into place over a thick padding, which further insulates the flooring from the cold. It takes heat in and absorbs it, holding it in place to help keep your feet warm.

[fonzie77]

And because luxury vinyl tile is built in layers, including an insulator layer, it’s softer than what you’d get with ceramic or porcelain tile. That makes it a great place where you frequently stand, including your kitchen or bathroom. here

[hotdrop]

Carpet is a great way to keep your bedrooms warm. Carpet is also a great addition to family rooms, where you may lie on the carpet and play board games, or let your kids play with their toys. more

[gullungen]

Stone or tile is the perfect choice for kitchens and bathrooms. It’s one of the most durable choices you can make, especially where water resiliency is an issue. And if you include radiant heating underneath, it can be one of the warmest flooring options you can make.

[TodX]

If you’ve lived in Denver for any length of time, you know temperatures can vary significantly every month of the year. The coldest month is usually January, but that doesn’t mean cold fronts can’t cause temperatures to dip unseasonably low every month of the year. Even in the summer months, you might have to pull out a blanket to take away the chill in the air.

[irstax114]

absorbed by nylon or wool fiber. The reaction to humidity or moisture is greater with level loop nylon carpet because the yarn is BCF (Bulked Continuous Filament). That is to say, the yarn is made up of continuous filament fiber which you can compare to fishing line; long lengths of unending fiber in the carpet, running from one end to the other. Think of it like this; carpet made with continuous filament level loop yarn is like a chain link fence. When you grab one section of the fence; the entire fence moves. If the carpet is cut pile
the reaction is much less, think of this type of carpet as a picket fence. When you grab it, only one picket is affected as the sections are not connected. That covers simply, the moisture and humidity affect part. Temperature will affect the backing and on most tufted carpet the primary backing is woven polypropylene
and in many cases, so is the secondary backing. As mentioned earlier, polypropylene is not affected by moisture but it is affected by temperature. So if you have both the moisture in play and temperature you can have a very active and reactive carpet on the floor. If flooring material is not acclimated in the
space prior to installation it can create fits for the installation contractor and the end user. Acclimation, which is a very controversial and contestable
subject, means the flooring material has had an opportunity to relax in the installation space. The space should be at the temperature and humidity it would be when occupied by human beings. This is a bone of contention in the industry
and with end users, general contractors, architects and designers. The issue is going to exist as long as projects are “Fast Tracked” and people conform to and
employ “green initiatives.” This means the space may not have fully operational HVAC (heat and air) until the C of O (Certificate of Occupancy) is furnished, which can’t be done until the space is inhabitable. The space can’t be deemed inhabitable until it can accommodate occupants, which puts things in a Catch 22position. In other words we’re trying to put the cart before the horse which creates all kinds of problems and not just for the flooring material but other materials in the space as well. The other issue that has a tremendous affect on the flooring material and the installation is moisture in the substrate. This is actually a problem that has reached epidemic proportions of flooring failures and it is very misunderstood and mystifying to the point of being unbelievable. Moisture in concrete, which is always present regardless of how old the concrete is, moves in and out of the concrete. The moisture moves from high pressure to low pressure, so when the HVAC system cycles there is moisture vapor movement in and out of the concrete. As the temperature and humidity vary in a space the
movement of moisture does to, this is the law of physics at work. To deny this science is like denying human beings breath. Concrete should be thought of as a living organism. It is affected by changes in the environment. As moisture vapor moves in or out of concrete it affects the flooring material applied to it. If the flooring material is permeable, like broadloom carpet, the moisture vapor can move through the carpet. In this process the moisture vapor brings with it the alkalinity inherently in the concrete. The alkalinity of concrete is at least 12.5 ph. more

[babisuu]

One of the biggest causes of flooring failures relative to the material coming off the floor and expanding or contracting is the cycling of the HVAC system or not controlling the environment in the space.
This is easy enough to do but it also means the cost of operating the space is increased.

[jeriellsworth]

This high alkalinity from the concrete can and will destroy the
tackifier, the sticky part, of If moisture is trapped beneath non-permeable flooring material, such as hard backed carpet tile or hard surface sheet goods,
it can cause the edges of the tile to curl or the adhesive under the sheet goods to turn to mush. These and similar conditions, can make one think the flooring
material is the problem when the flooring material is only reacting to a condition. The flooring material gets blamed as the problem because it actually physically manifests a change instigating this interpretation. This is not to say the flooring material may not be the problem, especially in the case of carpet tiles but that’s another story. [links]

[robertsfran]

Wood flooring is another matter altogether. As more wood is used in commercial installations you can’t lose
sight of what it is – a tree. To stay out of trouble think of wood flooring as a tree on the floor. Wood reacts to heat and humidity, it does it in the forest and it will do in on the floor. Wood gains and loses moisture which means it will expand and contract, which also means it will grow and shrink on the floor.
When it does this it can curl at the edges, lift at the ends, crack, split,
check and lift off the floor. Even if you bolt wood to the floor you can’t stop this reaction if the space in which the wood is installed is not controlled. [links]

[russ]

After all, this type of flooring will have very little expansion and contraction. At the same time, it is capable of protecting your feet against the cold floor. [links]

[atomesix87]

If you’re dealing with extremely cold weather, you should definitely choose carpet. [links]

[strania]

Ultimately, the weather can take a toll on your home’s flooring.

[KristofN1]

Ultimately, there are plenty of flooring types that can deal with the extreme temperature changes exceptionally well. Some of the best will be explored in greater depth below.

[The Doctor]

Sheet linoleum has many advantages, including water-resistant, affordable, endless design options and low maintenance. If you are going to be installing sheet linoleum in a home that is exposed to extreme temperature changes, it is best to choose a heavy gauge design. more

[Psychoactive]

This article has been viewed 360,091 times. [links]

[ninaheadley]

wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 94% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. [links]

[baloney]

This article was co-authored by Mark Spelman. Mark Spelman is a General Contractor based in Austin, Texas. With over 30 years of construction experience, Mark specializes in constructing interiors, project management, and project estimation. He has been a construction professional since 1987.

[HariposterAA]

Whether doing it for aesthetic reasons or to help warm up a cold room, carpeting concrete floors is something most people can do in a day or two. Why pay someone else to do it? By learning to prep the room for carpeting and using the right materials, you'll ensure that the job will go quickly and smoothly.

[elliottp]

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