Wood Floors Rising Up

Floor buckling happens most often after a floor has been flooded for an extended period of time.

Wood floors rising up.

Placing a space heater or a fan near the wet spot can speed the process. The root causes of buckling and peaking to fix buckled or peaked wood floors it s essential to understand what causes the wood to warp. Here s how that happens. Like cupping wood floor crowning happens because the boards are exposed to a moisture imbalance over an extended period of time.

Buckling occurs when the wood flooring actually pulls up from the subfloor lifting several inches in one or more places. Solid wood flooring takes in moisture when there is a high level of humidity in the air and then the flooring lets that moisture go when the humidity in the atmosphere reduces again. When temperatures rise and or humidity levels rise your wood will expand and if there has been an insufficient expansion gap left around the perimeter of your room the risk is that the wood will pop up as it expands because there s nowhere for it to go. Crowning can also be caused by previous floor cupping.

Wood floor crowning is the opposite of cupping and happens when the center of the board is higher than the edges. When the wood can t expand anymore because it is blocked by something solid such as a wall the floor rises and pulls up from the subfloor to relieve the pressure. This typically involves a plank or series of planks and the causes can include expansion after installation moisture or flooding or problems with your subfloor among others. During warm humid weather wood expands during dry weather it contracts.

Both problems are usually because of water damage but although that s the most common cause it s not the only one. If the flooring is linoleum. Towel up all the water you can and allow to dry. If the hump in the floor feels spongy or gives underfoot when you walk on it the most likely cause of the problem is underlayment that has come loose from the subfloor.

Fortunately this is not a common occurrence. Floor buckling is the most extreme reaction to moisture in a hardwood floor. Moisture causes expansion across the wood grain of your floor. When humidity is high the wood expands.

If solid wood floors are fitted without an expansion gap problems which can sometimes be severe are likely to arise. Buckled bent or heaved floors will never correct themselves.