Three years ago we installed solid red oak on the main floor of our Burlington home. I want to share what we have learned because I would make a different decision today.
What we installed: 3.25 inch solid red oak, #1 common grade, nail-down on plywood subfloor. 1,100 sqft total. Total cost installed: $15,800.
Year one: Beautiful. No complaints. We were thrilled.
Year two: Winter of 2022-23 was dry. We did not have a humidifier. The floors developed 1/8 to 3/16 inch gaps between boards — visible, you could feel them with your foot in socks. In May when humidity came back, most closed up. Two runs of boards in the dining room cupped slightly and did not fully recover.
Year three: We added a whole-home Aprilaire humidifier ($1,100 installed). The gaps are now maybe 1/16 inch in peak winter, which is acceptable. The two runs that cupped in year 2 still have a slight wave — not terrible but visible in raking light.
What I wish we had done: 5-inch engineered white oak with a 6mm wear layer. It is more dimensionally stable, looks identical, and the wide planks I wanted are actually easier to source in engineered. The premium over solid for the same visual result would have been maybe $1,500 more — way less than the $1,100 humidifier I ended up buying anyway.
Sanding option: We will eventually re-sand and refinish to remove the cupped boards. Cost quote was $3.80/sqft for screen-and-coat or $6.50/sqft for full sand/stain/poly. Scheduling that for fall 2026.
Burlington humidity swings hard. If you are not committed to humidity control, go engineered.