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Can You Stack Laminate Flooring to Acclimate? (Explained)

If you love wooden floorings but cannot afford these expensive floorings, you can think of laminate floorings. Laminate floorings are cheap and require some detailed attention for installation.

But they give the impression of perfect wooden floors. Stack and acclimate these floorings before you install them.

Can you stack laminate flooring to acclimate?

You can stack laminate floorings to acclimate or adjust its temperature and humidity with that of its installation environment. To stack laminate floorings, lay a base of planks. Then make layers of planks in criss-cross orientation. And keep gaps between the planks.

Stacking laminate floorings for installation is a vital step of the whole planning. Do not forget to acclimate your planks to get the best installation and perfect impression of wooden flooring.

How high can you stack laminate flooring?

Laminate floorings need to be acclimated before installation. You have to unpack the flooring planks and stack them for acclimation.

Acclimation needs time. To let the planks get adjusted to the environment, allow it time and space.

Stack the planks with a little gap and in a criss-cross manner for them to let the air pass through them.

You can stack the planks. But do not make it too high or more than 3 feet. Stack them lower for best results.

Stacking them higher will cause an unbalanced situation, and the planks can fall as well. It can cause damage to the planks.

How to stack laminate flooring to acclimate?

Laminate floorings are made of wood and fibers or plastic. These are sensitive to water and humidity. That is, the floorings can change their texture and formation when they come in contact with water.

So, it is necessary to let your laminate floorings acclimate before installing them. Acclimation needs to be done for a specific amount of time. And it is done by stacking the laminate floorings.

The steps on how to stack your laminate floorings are given below:

Place the floorings in the room of installation:

You have to stack your laminate floorings in the room it is going to be installed. 

The humidity of the air and the temperature of the surroundings has to match with that of the floorings. Otherwise, the flooring may deform or crack after installation.

Unbox the floorings:

Before stacking the floorings, unbox them to adjust to the environment. If you stack your laminate floorings without unboxing, they will not acclimate.

Perforate or remove the plastics from the floorings:

You have to remove or perforate the plastic wrap around the laminate floorings. It is done to let the humidity and temperature of the surrounding come in contact with the floorings.

Lay down the base for stacking:

You have to leave your floorings in the room of installation stacked for a few days.

The floorings should be stable. So, form a base for the stacking. Place the floorings for the base in the same orientation. Lay them down uniformly by keeping one or two-inch gaps between them.

Stack in the criss-cross configuration:

Then you have to stack the next layers of floorings in a criss-cross orientation. Alternate the orientation of the rows after each layer of stacking.

Keep a gap between every flooring. Do it in every layer of the stack of laminate flooring.

Balance the laminate floorings:

You have to stack each layer uniformly. Do not stack in a disoriented manner. In that case, the floorings will not stay in balance, and the stack can fall at any time.

Without balancing the stacking, the floorings can fall. And this can cause scratches and deformation in the floorings. Sometimes, the flooring can even break if it gets a hard fall.

How long do you have to let laminate flooring acclimate?

Acclimation is the process in which the moisture content of the laminate floorings adjusts with that of the environment of the installation. It is an important process for laminate floorings. It can cost you time and money if you do not acclimate your laminate floorings before installation.

Laminate floorings adapt to the humidity and temperature of their surroundings if given the perfect amount of time.

Taking the time and being patient while acclimation will give you your desired flooring. It will be flawless.

In general, you have to stack and leave your floorings for about 24 – 72 hours to acclimate. But different laminate floorings need different times for acclimation.

Engineered hardwood comprises different layers. You have to acclimate it for 3 days before installation.

For Geo Wood floorings, you have to acclimate it for 24 hours.

In the case of Cali Vinyl Plus floorings, acclimate it for 1-2 days.

After buying your laminate floorings, check the instructions for acclimation before installation.

What conditions are critical to correctly acclimate your laminate flooring?

Time:

The proper time for acclimation is the most critical condition for laminate floorings. They need time to adjust to the installation environment.

New paint:

If the room is painted fresh, then you have to wait for it to cure properly. Set your floorings for acclimation after that.

Fresh paints and woodworks need to be cured for at least 3 days.

Heater:

If you have built-in heaters, you should turn the heater appropriate for the installation of the floorings.

Turn the built-in heat to around 80 degrees. And you have to do it at least before 3 days of installation.

Temperature:

For acclimation, the temperature of the room must be between 64 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

You have to adjust the temperature of the floor as well. Make sure that it is no more than 59 degrees Fahrenheit.

This temperature may vary depending upon the location of your house or place of installation.

Humidity:

Use a Hygrometer to measure the humidity level in your room. It should be somewhere between 25-70 percent.

Humidity is an important factor when you are acclimating your floorings.  So stack your floorings beforehand to let them adjust to the humidity content appropriately.

Cured concrete:

Concrete curing takes a lot of time. It can take around 60 days to cure. So plan to get a proper implementation of your plans.

Let the concrete cure before acclimating laminate floorings.

Clean floor:

Your floor of installation must be clean and free of dirt. A clean environment will ensure a good acclimation of your laminate floorings.

Is 24 hours long enough to acclimate laminate flooring?

Laminate floorings add a new dimension to the decor of your house. It gives your house or room an aesthetic vibe. But these floorings require some processing before installation.

Acclimation is an adjusting process. It takes some time. And the nature of the material used for making laminate flooring determines its acclimating period.

Some materials require less time to acclimate. Some materials take more time to acclimate.

In general, laminate floorings can take 24 hours to 72 hours to acclimate. It totally depends on the material in use.

So, 24 hours might be enough for acclimation of some laminate floorings. And other laminate floorings might require more than 24 hours.

You have to be careful when you plan on stacking laminate floorings for acclimation. Check the instructions in the box of the floorings to check its material and acclimation period. Do this before you install your floorings.

Does laminate flooring really need to acclimate?

Laminate floorings are actually made of fibers or plastic and engineered wood. These materials are layered to give a wooden surface to your floorings. These floorings are cheaper than actual wood floorings.

Acclimation is the adapting process of the floorings with the installation environment.

There are different layers in laminate floorings. And these layers need time to adjust with the surrounding temperature and humidity.

Laminate flooring acclimation makes it match the environmental factors and makes it ideal for installation.

Acclimation makes the floorings planks ideally conditioned. It also helps the floorings to lock properly when installed.

Therefore, the acclimation process is a must step before the installation of laminate floorings.

What happens if I don’t acclimate laminate flooring?

Laminate floorings are not fully made of wood. They are layered in such a way that it gives the impression of wooden floorings.

The main or core part of laminate floorings is made of fibers or any other synthetic material. This part can get affected by the surrounding humidity and temperature.

Various problems can occur if you don’t acclimate laminate floorings before installation. Some of them are:

  • The floorings may expand or compress due to varying temperatures
  • Gaps can appear between the joining areas.
  • It can make your floor unstable.
  • The consistency of the flooring may change.
  • It will increase the necessity of adjusting your floorings.
  • You might need to do the floorings from the start again if the floorings do not fit anymore, etc.

Can you walk on laminate flooring after installation?

Laminate floorings are low maintenance and easy to install. But few things are to be kept in mind while planning to install it in your house.

Proper acclimation of laminate floorings and curing of the floorings after installation are the two steps that require the most attention.

After the acclimation period, you install the floorings. But you cannot walk on the laminate floor yet. You have to let the laminate floor cure before using it.

If you do not want your hard work to go in vain, do not walk on laminate floorings before waiting for 24 hours or more.

You have to let the floor heal properly before use. Otherwise, your floor will be uneven and damaged.