Hardwood floor cupping

The wood flooring subsequently crowned when it dried out and had to be replace even though it was a new floor. Moisture affects solid wood floors and engineered wood floors in slightly difference ways. In fact, in some cases exact OPPOSITE situations create wood floor cupping in a solid versus an engineered. Wood Floor Business has a great article that breaks down the difference, which you can read by clicking here.

Increase the relative humidity in the room with cupped floors to percent to prevent cupping from the air being too dry. Cupping can also occur in rooms with dry humidity. If the floor board looks concave you have cupped hardwood floors. Think of it like placing a small strip of water onto a small drop of water – the paper will curl up and away from the water.

The same thing happens to wood flooring. Wood flooring that is installed prior to the HVAC system being installed may result in wood floor cupping. Flooring that is installed before the structure is fully enclosed may cup.

Failure to properly performing testing of concrete or wood substrate prior to installation of the hardwood. Kiln-dried wood boards which are subjected to moisture only on one side will expand on that side, and that is when concave shape of the board can be seen. Wood flooring owners should also monitor the MC of the wood flooring after installation to remediate any potential future moisture related problems. Sanding the floors with a floor sander using 36-grit sandpaper can often level out floors that are severely cupped.

A special hand-held floor sander could be needed in order to reach planks that have deeper cups. If floor sanding fails to resolve the problem, the only other alternative may be to replace certain planks. Four years ago, we removed the carpeting in our family room and had it replaced with oak cross-cut hardwood flooring. We recently had a complete kitchen remodel and installed oak cross-cut hardwood floors.

Our hardwood floor in the kitchen has recently cupped. Cupped floors , also called. For more than 1years, NOFMA certification has provided a mark of distinction for wood flooring. As the name implies, the surfaces of boards that suffer from cupping have a concave shape. They bow inwar resembling the bowl of a spoon — or the inside of a cup.

With hardwood flooring being the fastest growing segment in the flooring industry, problems also increase in number. One of these problems is the floor lifting from the sub- floor surface and is commonly called buckling. There are few wood flooring problems more upsetting than cupped floors.

Almost all wood floors will experience some contraction and expansion as the seasons change. This usually occurs when no acclimation period is followed or insuring environmental conditions (before, during and after) have been addressed. The bottom of the wood is moist and expanding more than the drier top, hence a cup shape.

The fact it is over your entire floor would indicate you have poor moisture control in your basement, crawl or slab. When humidity levels are not maintained properly during the summer and winter months, they can create problems for your hardwood flooring. Wash the floor with a high-quality, wax-cutting hardwood floor cleaner.

Hardwood Floor Repair: Cupping. Any residual wax on the floor can gum up the sandpaper and make sanding more difficult. Wood floor cupping can be avoided or fixed by following a few simple steps. If your hardwood floors have a wavy appearance, they are likely cupping due to wet mopping or an underlying moisture. Second most cupping on wood floors is not completely moisture related in a sense.

When installing any wood floor wether it be pre finished or not it has to be spaced. Unfinished floor every fifth run gets spaced with a nickel. Both problems occur across the width of the flooring material. The result is the appearance of a cupped floor. Splits and checks also can appear.

While hardwood floor cupping can be reverse it is a nuisance to manage. So, why not take precautions beforehand to prevent this phenomenon from taking place. One of the best prevention tactics is to control the moisture content and humidity levels in your home. Step 1: Enter Your Zip Code.

However, the new hardwood floor replaced an old hardwood floor. Never had any issues with the old wood floor. In addition, the other rooms in the house on same floor with new hardwood floor are also hardwood , we’ve never had any cupping issue.

Remember, when your wood floors are cupped , they’re telling you that there is an imbalance in moisture levels between the top and bottom of the flooring , so if nothing is done to fix the imbalance, the floors will keep cupping , eventually leading to buckling and severe damage. Wood floors need to breath, there will be some expansion and contraction when first installe but should they should settled down. If there’s enough water, it can be absorbed by the hardwood flooring above, causing staining, cupping , or crowning. Laminate, composite and engineered floors are great but they do not tolerate any significant level of moisture or water damage to their wood. Determine of the floor is salvageable.

Solid wood floors that have cupped but are not completely buckled stand the best chance for restoration. The most common condition causing cupping is the sub- floor having higher moisture content than the wood itself. The moisture moves from the sub- floor into the drier wood flooring , leaving the bottom higher in moisture content than the top of the boar causing the bottom to swell more than the top of the board. Learn how to prevent it and how to treat it. When hardwood is properly maintained it is one of the longest lasting flooring materials available.

But when it is not properly maintained there is the risk of hardwood cupping and buckling. Finding the best way to clean hardwood floors will take some time and patience, but with the right tools and techniques, you’ll be able to keep your floors looking their best. Remember that the time you spend maintaining your floors pales in comparison to how much time you’ll spend enjoying your floors.

We strongly advise you use a qualified solid hardwood floor trades person for laying a solid hardwood floor as the concequences of an ill fitted solid hardwood floor can cause serious damage to your home or property.