Updated Guidelines for Installing Wood Flooring

Codes and Standards
Published

The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) has updated its comprehensive guidelines for the proper installation of wood flooring. Thanks to a collaboration between the NWFA and NAHB staff, the guidelines are available to NAHB members at no cost.

NWFA has found moisture-related flooring problems to be a long-standing issue for home builders. Many of these problems can be traced to improper installation.

NWFA spends a significant amount of time each year educating flooring contractors on the proper installation of wood flooring. In 2015, after noticing a disproportionately high number of claims for improper installation of wood flooring, NWFA reached out to NAHB to extend its education to builders.

As part of that cooperative relationship, NWFA makes its Wood Flooring Installation Guidelines available to NAHB members at no cost.

Some of the areas covered by the guidelines include:

  • Elevated moisture in the home from the construction process
  • Tighter building envelopes that greatly reduce the ability of this moisture to escape
  • Inoperable HVAC systems during the construction process (again, slowing the reduction of moisture)
  • How all of this affects the performance of wood floors

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Member Benefits

Aug 22, 2025

NAHB Members See Big Savings in 2025 with New Discounts on Business Tools, Automobiles

Whether you're looking to cut business costs or make smart personal purchases, the NAHB Member Savings Program offers significant savings for members. And in 2025, NAHB has unveiled several new savings opportunities from leading companies including Best Buy, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, QuickBooks and RAM Trucks.

Workforce Development | HBA | Codes and Standards | Sustainability and Green Building

Aug 21, 2025

Santa Fe Students Build ‘Tiny’ Homes to Test Energy Efficiency Codes

To benefit the community and provide students hands-on construction experience, the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association recently completed the Northern New Mexico Ice Box Challenge.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Aug 22, 2025

Slight Gains for Townhouse Construction

Townhouse construction expanded more than 9 percent on a year-over-year basis per data from the second quarter of 2025.

Economics

Aug 21, 2025

Existing Home Sales Rise in July

Existing home sales rebounded in July as mortgage rates retreated from the recent peak and home price growth slowed, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Economics

Aug 21, 2025

New and Existing Homes Remain Largely Unaffordable in Second Quarter

While new homes remain largely unaffordable, builder efforts to improve housing affordability paid dividends in the second quarter of 2025, according to the latest data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Cost of Housing Index (CHI).