Plumber? Hardwood floor moisture problems: – Cupping: When a wood plank cups, its edges become higher than its centre. The house is on raised brick piers. Good luck. Am I looking at weeks? Thoughts? If the crowning doesn’t improve, is it possible to only sand and restain a small area? The best weather conditions for wood are 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit at 30-50% relative humidity. Call Prestige Wood Flooring is you have cupping issues! If you find cupped floors in your home, make sure you address the issue quickly to avoid further damage. I would have a certified wood flooring inspector come out and evaluate the situation because once they give their opinion on cause, you can make a better decision on remedy. Any Professional insight you can provide will be greatly appreciated. How to Repair a Crowned Floor. I just noticed a small area where about three floor boards are also crowning. The Common Fallacies, Challenges, and Problems with Using Dehumidifiers in Crawl Spaces. Should I place a new protector pad? The engineered wood floors are installed on a raised pier and beam foundation. Some of the characteristics of air that we deal with every day are: 1) Warming air lowers its RH 2) Cooling air raises the RH 3) Cooling air too much causes condensation 4) Outside air contains moisture. It’s very important to make sure no repairs are done until the EMC (Equilibrium Moisture Content) has stabilized. The root cause of floor cupping is moisture. Last year I spent $5000 installing n Atmox dehumidifier in my crawl space with top rate plastic. If that remedy doesn’t meet your expectations, I would look for a certified wood flooring inspector at http://www.nwfa.org and have them evaluate the situation. We live in a pier and beam house in East Texas. This is a reaction due to a humidity level disproportion in the wood plank. We plan to replace these floors. Hickory floor cupping. After the floor has been wet for more than 1.5 days, the floor has a 90% chance at flattening out the cupping, but a 10% chance there will still be some cupped boards. Warping and cupping are the two main types of floor damage and each cause varying degrees of deterioration. I would reach out to http://www.nwfa.org and find a certified inspection professional in your area to take a look at the entire floor. There was a leak in the pipes that was minor and we didn’t notice the cupping till later after we got the leak fixed. Serv Pro was in our home for 5 days with 6 fans and dehumidifier. We live in Canada and our house is normally heated with a heat pump in winter and even a wood fireplace that we use every day. It all depends on the time of year and how badly the floor was damaged. Hickory floor cupping. E. When the wood flooring is to the expected in-use (e.g., normal living) and manufacturer’s required ambient conditions within the facility, and this coincides with the subfloor moisture conditions, and these conditions are being maintained, the flooring may be installed immediately. Almost immediately my floors started cupping, some areas are raised and some have vertical cracks in the wood. JK. Fixing Crowning and Cupping. Typically during spring and summer, you have more humidity causing all wood to absorb moisture. Elevated Crawl Space Moisture Problems … With the passing of Spring break, and the upcoming Easter weekend, days become longer and temperatures rise. Thanks for the questions and sorry for the problems. Good luck. There are several reasons this happens: • Flooring incompatible with the environment in which it is installed. Help! Thanks. Do you know what's going on when your hardwood floor starts cupping? The installer suggested we have the flooring removed, place a moisture barrier over the slab and have a new floor installed. There is a slight rise in the floor in the area and two or three boards are cupping. Cupping can be described as when the floor is no longer perfectly flat but, has a slightly undulating effect with the edges of the planks being slightly raised compared to the middle of the plank, making it concave when viewed from above. thanks so much! Cupping can also occur in rooms with dry humidity. Some water damaged wood planks have about 1/4″-1/2″ difference in plank height due to cupping… All planks have about 1/2″ gap in between due to shrinkage over time. If the air is dry, wood fibers will release some of its moisture back into the air and it can shrink back down. But, I’m guessing that’s the air and not the wood. How long does the wood flooring need to be in the house before it can be installed? Home » Moisture Meters » Wood Division Knowledge Base » Can Wood Floor Cupping Be Fixed? Even before you call a professional, if you have a reliable wood moisture meter you can use to take multiple readings throughout your home, you’ll have a much better idea of what kind of situation you have on your hands. If the area that you live in has less than 30% humidity most of the year, then using a … It could be a ventilation issue under the house, fluctuating relative humidity in the crawlspace and/or home, improper acclimation of the floor prior to installation, etc.. But once again, the moisture problem that caused the cupping has not been dealt with. The big issue, however, is still moisture. In addition, there are small cracks between planks indicating water seeped into planks and was not simply sitting on surface of hardwood floor. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. How to fix hardwood floors that have cupped. The same can be said for the conditions in the occupied space. Hi. A. Thanks for the question. For more information, please visit http://www.nwfa.org. Thanks for reaching out. What are your thoughts? This week I noticed cupping in only a retangular area about 5ft by 15 ft. Warping happens when wood dries unevenly in the process of losing moisture. I’m so bummed since this is a brand new home. The crawl space is vented and dry. Hardwood floors are original to the property and are installed in living area which is over the lower level insulated and heated garage. So here are my questionns I’m hoping you answer: 1) will this go away over time? https://www.wagnermeters.com/.../wood-info/can-wood-floor-cupping-be-fixed How Much Do It Cost To Stain Hardwood Floors, How To Remove Grout From Shower Floor Tiles, How To Keep Hardwood Floors From Creaking, What Do You Use To Clean Fake Wood Floors, How Do I Remove Carpet Glue From Concrete Floor. I am using a dehumidifier which has lessened its affect. We may share your information with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. This information would then be compared to current conditions, along with other things, to see what, if any, conditions have changed. I live in South Carolina and we’ve had a very humid, wet summer. Sometimes the early stages of cupping can be noticed when light comes in from a window and reflects onto a wood floor. We are stumped! The living room of this house has 140 year old original 4″ wide 3/4″ thick wood floors underneath the wall to wall carpet, half of the wood planks are super water damaged, the other half are in good condition. Thanks. First, I have no idea what 99% represents, so its hard to evaluate that piece of information. 2) Can 1/4 inch expansion gap have a compounding effect on cupping? Sorry for the issues with your floor. The oak was cupped, so I left it exposed for a couple of years. Please help us. Hope this helps. ____ Acclimation is when the flooring had reached the conditional moisture context where it will be installed. If the floorboards absorb humidity from the air or … Alternatively or in addition to dehumidifiers, stress or binding of your floor can also be released at the vertical obstructions such as walls. Gap and cracks between hardwood planks. Thank you! The planks have some shrinkage and a few of them are still cupped. It is not hard to see the effect in wood flooring, either. Thank you. What do you mean by “grown” ??? When I say “grown”, the overall dimensions of the floor has grown due to moisture and this may be why you are seeing the lifting of your floor. If/when the relative humidity drops, the boards may not go back to their original shape and can buckle away from the subfloor, or even splinter and crack. Thx for any info. Cupping occurs when there is moisture present. Q: When I moved into my house 1 1/2 years ago I had carpet and ceramic floors removed and new hickory prefinished hardwood put in my entire downstairs. What can be done?! Chris. The part where the kitchen, dining room and living room are located is a concrete slab. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. There should have been moisture testing done on the concrete prior to installation to guide installation and there should have been moisture testing done on the wood prior to installation to ensure it was properly acclimated. Take MC readings of the wood subflooring at a minimum of 20 test locations per 1,000 square feet, and an additional 4 readings per 100 square feet thereafter, and average the results. I have added some information from NWFA that should help out. 2. Less or more than these ranges can affect your hardwood floors negatively showing signs like gapping, buckling, cracking, splits & checks, cupping and crowning.. Help! In some minor cases, fixing the source (high moisture conditions in your home) is a great first step. We installed hickory 5″ x 3/4 ” think floors in our Maine home. To ensure a proper job of drying your hardwood floors and minimizing the damage, the best thing you can do is call a certified expert. It is a new place for us .. so we are baffled … here are some pics for you – would love your thoughts on the subject. The contractor is correct that that sanding will not help, it will potentially make it worse. We called our contractor & he said that happens sometimes due to moisture in the concrete floor & all we need to do is run a de humidifier in that area. Jose: With a new addition and concrete, I would imagine the concrete was not sufficiently dry prior to the floor installation. It is the start of the condensation season inside North Carolina crawl spaces. We run a dehumidifier in the basement or central air conditioning in the summer when the (weather outside) humidity is high to protect our hardwood floors. Many Thanks! Restoration company got to work immediately removing water, set up fans, dehumidifiers. The downstairs wood floors are beautiful and have no evidence of warping Im hoping you have a solutions that means we don’t have to replace the floors. 99 $77.98 $77.98 BaseAire AirWerx55 Commercial Dehumidifier Removal 113 Pint at Saturation, 53 PPD Crawl Space Dehumidifier, Compact, Memory Starting, 5 Years Warranty, for Any Water Damage Restoration Sites, Basement. How To Install Laminate Flooring Door Threshold Uk, Installing Laminate Flooring Under Door Threshold, How Do You Lay Laminate Flooring Around Door Frames, Laying Laminate Flooring Around Metal Door Frames. Hope this helps. The cupping still remained until the fall/winter and the floors went back the way they should be. Puffed-up areas on the floor or crowning, especially in moisture damage areas. Call Prestige Wood Flooring is you have cupping issues! Ran fan over the top of the area for days. My builder went under the house and didn’t notice anything. Knowing what the concrete, plywood, and finished wood floor moisture content/condition where, prior to installation, would give a solid baseline for where the floor components started and should have all been measured prior to installation. How to Fix the Floor. About 18 months ago 1 x 6 select t&g oak flooring was installed in my home. Unfortunately, it’s also possible to cause crowning in an attempt to fix cupping. Downstairs half of the floor was hardwood and the other half carpeted so we converted It all to hardwood. We keep an eye on the % of humidity in the winter. [Tweet “The most common signs of buckled hardwood flooring are cupping and crowning. Our cottage flooring as all pine (rather wide boards). My suggestion would be to have an independent inspector come to your home and evaluate the situation. It’s possible that it wasn’t acclimated properly. I would definitely find out what’s causing that. If the floorboards absorb humidity from the … You might be able to figure out how to remedy the situation yourself if you find it’s due to humidity in the air or a leak or spill. Changes in the relative humidity and temperature in the occupied space, the crawlspace, or both. Just running a fan or dehumidifier for a week will not solve most problems. I have completely encapsulated my crawl space this last fall and have a dehumidifier in my crawl space. A dehumidifier works by removing moisture from the air. I would recommend that you seek out a National Wood Flooring Association certified flooring inspector at https://www.woodfloors.org/find-a-professional.aspx to evaluate and give you specific recommendations. The contractor that installed the floors did not deliver the flooring until the day before they installed the floor. You can either get one and take static readings in these space’s during the seasonal changes with something like this https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/th-200-thermo-hygrometer/ or you can place something like this https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/smart-logger/ in each space and it will log data, over time, so you can download and compare the information between seasons. I think restoration company did everything right. Like; Save; skyelily24. It’s hard to say whether you will see more peaking in the spring. Keep in mind, the issue may not necessarily be in this area, this may just be the weakest link in the floor and where the issue manifested. They sit on a subfloor with a crawl space underneath. Wood, even when it’s treated and sealed, is still a porous, fibrous material. Most of the water was carried out into the garage, however 10 ft by 5 feet was completely soaked. We have a crawl space under the house. Everything we have done has not worked. Where those measurements appropriate for the living conditions within the addition? Common Causes of Wood Floor Cupping. But if you catch it early and can address the moisture issue, there is hope in getting your floor back to normal. Cupping is one of the unfortunately common issues that can plague hardwood floors. Your email address will not be published. Also, make sure that there is black plastic covering the crawl space. The builder has said that there is absolutely no moisture in the crawl space that would have caused the cupping. Please see below the information from NWFA. We run a dehumidifier in the basement or central air conditioning in the summer when the (weather outside) humidity is high to protect our hardwood floors. The floors are cupped and failing. One rookie mistake is to simply sand the floor down until it’s level again. The average of the wood subfloor readings should coincide with the manufacturer required temperature and humidity levels in the facility receiving wood flooring. Specifically, in the case of cupping, the crawl space (bottom) side of the floor board is exposed to a higher relative humidity than the living space (top) side of the floor board. the contractor put down hardwood in the new area to match the existing floors. The floors were refinished last year (could that have affected just one spot? Our new home was finished about 5 months ago. Is it possible to put new wood over the entire living room? Answers About Cupping Hardwood Floors And A Desiccant Dehumidifier Cupped Hardwood Floors Hardwood Floor Problems Heed The Warning Signs Wood Floor Buckling ... Wood Floor Cupping Why Is It Happening And How Do I Stop It 10 Unique Is It Okay To Have Different Color Hardwood Floors but the floorboards are clear off the subfloor! We use cookies to personalize your shopping data and ads. Wood Floor Cupping Prevention Measures Much warped wood floor due to water damage tends to be unrepairable. 3)Assuming it will dry over time, how much time would you guesstimate for one off time? This makes curve to a bow, crook, cup, … It is winter and when I leave in 3 days there’s will be no heat as it’s a seasonal cottage and we drain it and turn heat off. If the floor boards cups up (in a “U” shape on top), the humidity in the crawlspace or basement is much higher than that inside your house. D. Follow the flooring manufacturer’s moisture testing, acclimation, installation, and maintenance instructions to retain all warranty coverage. It may be best to visit http://www.nwfa.org to get installation guidelines for your next floor. So if the air is humid, the wood will absorb more moisture from the air and it will swell. I spent over $17K on my flooring and now I have cupping to all new hardwood. If your hardwood or laminate floor buckling or severely raising up, you will need to replace the flooring. How long should I wait before making a decision to sand? Hi Lynn, Usually problems with buckling or cupping in a wood floor are caused by excessive humidity inside or under your house. Depending on how bad the cupping is, left alone with no additional water, it may relax to an acceptable level. Is this an engineered, sanded and finished floor on wood subfloor, or concrete? 1) Did you moisture test the concrete slab prior to the installation of the wood? I was thinking that the mortar bed dehydrated the wood. Wagner Meters’ Orion® moisture meter line, https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ag-aQU8wF_D_gzF8Ivj26frARZsr?e=crx01Y, https://www.woodfloors.org/find-a-professional.aspx, https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/th-200-thermo-hygrometer/, https://www.wagnermeters.com/shop/smart-logger/, Hardwood Floor Problems: Heed the Warning Signs, Wood Floor Cupping & Other Common Problems: Spotting the Trouble. Wet hardwood floors that have been wet for more than 3 days are tougher to dry out and have less of a success ratio. My floor also has cupping, because it is over a very moist partial cellar and crawl space. You would be surprised what an expert can do to a floor that normal people, like you and me, might think is unrepairable. what should we do? Thanks so much for any advice you can give us. I live in Los Angeles where we don’t get adverse humidity. Thank you. Next, dry the floors completely by pumping out standing water, then mop and towel the surface dry. Water covered floor, was flowing out balcony of living area and flooded lower level garage. Dehumidifier Bundle-2 Items: 24oz Mini dehumidifier & 17oz Portable Dehumidifier for Home,White and Green Afloia $69.99 $ 69 . In general, more readings will result in a more accurate average. First, it wouldn’t usually be recommended to install wood over a wood floor, especially one that has known damage. Thanks for the question. I hope this information is helpful, best of luck! Cupping can happen even to a flawlessly-installed wood floor, depending on the conditions of the building and the environment. After all, both engineered and solid hardwood consist of real wood, which warps when it absorbs water. Knowing the answers to the above question may help lead to the reason. I’m contemplating legal action. You could have (and probably do have) moisture under the floor and on top of the subfloor. You need to know if there is a leak somewhere. If the cupping in the floorboards doesn’t go away, it could mean that the underlying moisture issue was not properly addressed and still needs some attention. I’m in the process of dehumidifying my crawl space. Where could moisture be coming from? Post author By admin; Post date February 4, 2020; No Comments on Hardwood Floor Cupping Dehumidifier; Can wood floor cupping be fixed how to fix hardwood floor problems can wood floor cupping be fixed answers about cupping hardwood floors. Once the sheets were definitly installed, he placed some roll of white paper on top and then the flooring. Depending on the type of moisture issue, however, will determine how easily it can be fixed or how much effort it will take. Hard to notice unless looking for. But, we don’t know if this is a correct assumption because we don’t know what the conditions were/are, relative humidity and temperature, in the crawl space. Many moisture issues can be fixed through household climate control, taking moisture readings throughout the house, or seeking out undetected leaks or spots where moisture could creep in from other areas. Once the cupping process is underway, which is when the sides of the floorboards swell and rise higher than the center, there’s only one thing left to do: rip out the flood-damaged floor and replace it. Within a year after the installation about a half dozen planks have cupped. I don’t know if this is the proper way to install new flooring, but after reading your interesting article, I’m wondering if the wet plywood sheets could be the culprit of this whole mess, and that maybe, the installer should have waited for a couple of days before installing the flooring. Use a dehumidifier. At night, the air cools again, the humidity goes up and dew forms. pls suggest RELATED: Wood Floor Cu… We have some doubts about the inspector’s honesty because his report makes no mention of our comments on the installation. One danger to avoid in hardwood floors is cupping. This past weekend we installed a whole house steam humidifier and set the humidity control to 40%. They assured me they would send a copy of their findings. 2) What was the moisture content of the wood prior to install to installation? This imbalance could either be moisture from the concrete, environmental conditions in the space being to “dry” and drying out the top of the wood, and/or a wood floor that wasn’t properly acclimated to the environment prior to installation. Lucy: Your theory could be true, but it’s not necessarily exclusive. Here are some tips to keep hardwood floors from cupping and buckling. We are fearful that this could happen again. Restoration company also removed baseboards, drilled holes in walls to blow hot air into space behind dry wall. This includes everything wood in your home. All drywall in garage was soaking wet and was removed almost immediately. If the issue is taking care soon it is reversible. Cupping is a wood floor’s natural reaction to moisture. National Wood Flooring Association (www.NWFA.org) is the standard for which ALL installations of hardwood flooring must follow. We have cupping on our hardwood floors just around the dishwasher. Understanding Cupping, Warping and Buckling. Are the summer conditions in this space different that the winter conditions? How to Fix Common Hardwood Plank Issues. I have had experience with this first hand. Any unusually high or low moisture readings should be isolated and addressed individually. To avoid these mistakes, there is a way to test for a change in your home’s ambient conditions over time. Humidity isn’t the only enemy of wood floors, as cupping can also be caused by water spills on wood. Who do I call?? But this is not what I learned from reading several websites including yours. First, obviously you have some seasonal condition changes going on. If nothing else, the appearance of cupping tips you off that your hardwood floor is susceptible to moisture problems. Well it’s summer again and the whole house has cupped again. In many cases of slight to moderate wood floor cupping, eliminating the source of the water and drying out the flooring can save the floor. The MC differential from the top of the wood flooring board to the bottom needs to be within 1% and (in this area) between 6% and 9% overall. I would make sure the wood has reached its Equilibrium Moisture Content before sanding. What do you think? No moisture. I guess the first thing to do would be to get the installer involved to give you an explanation and a course of action to remedy the situation. Dew point levels increase. IE later today or first thing in the morning. However, several common situations that are known to cause cupping can be addressed, and can even be reversed. It can still react with the moisture content (MC) in the air around it. You have many things that may be contributing to this issue: We live where we have ledges all around us. Hello Mr Spangler, The humidity in the cellar was 90 per cent in the summer! We have so far been unable to determine where water could have entered the room (based on the damage.) In short, moisture. The wood floor experts at SVB Wood Floors have a few tips about how to control the humidity in your home in order to maintain your beautiful wood floors. Try to normalize your home’s humidity levels by using a dehumidifier.
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