wood floor crowning causes

A cupped floor needs ample time to dry. We also insulated the underneath of our house. I left expansion gaps in the entire floor, but it is possible that I missed this one board. A little bit of knowledge and one good tool can help you. This is called Equilibrium Moisture Content. Wood floor crowning is the opposite of cupping and happens when the center of the board is higher than the edges. Wood is hygroscopic, so it gains or loses moisture in your home seasonally. After much recent research, not knowing anything about hardwood floors prior to installation, I realize that they only allowed the flooring to acclimate in the boxes for 1/2 day. For the floor to cup and then “relax”, there has to be changes in the moisture conditions within the house. The sub floor 2X6 tongue and grooves are dry as well. In our renovation we we polished up some old hardwood flooring but had to pull up some sections damaged boards and replace them. Any information you have regarding this problem and how to fix it would really help. Here is the link: https://www.woodfloors.org/certified-inspector.aspx Hope this is helpful. A crowned wood floor is another problem that is usually the result of a moisture issue. Four months later the floor has again cupped in the same area and it is worse than before. I have severe cupping in the floor. Unless, obviously, there is some eminent danger of bodily harm due to the cupping. In certain instances, different homes may also have drastically different efficiencies based on construction practices. We are their 4 months, I noticed the cupping right away, my builder said that the wood was tested for moisture and passed. I use a shark steam mop on my real hardwood floors. Like cupping and buckling, crowning is a defect a wood floor can develop when exposed to moisture. We installed bamboo floors in our master bedroom. These changes are usually gradual, and short-term fluctuations tend to only influence the surface of the wood flooring. Unfortunately, it’s also possible to cause crowning in an attempt to fix cupping. If you see serious cupping, you’ll need to first identify the source of the moisture. There was water supply piping beneath the floor that has been abandoned. If the floor is exposed to water for an extended period of time, moisture will saturate and cause crowning. The builders have said that 2 layers of damp proof membrane were put down when the extension was being done as they knew we were having underfloor heating and a wooden floor. Separations or cracks in between the board. Good luck. Some moisture-related problems are visible to the discerning eye. Anything is possible, but this wouldn’t be anything I have heard about. I told the installer and he felt it was possible moisture in the wood. You should expect to see gaps form between wood flooring boards during the winter. One thing we did notice is that the areas with the worm like stains are higher in moisture than the rest of the normal planks. They will evaluate your conditions and write you a complete report on the findings. We were concerned so we had two termite in spite inspectors come out as well as the contractor. We have since sanded and varnished the total area. Outside of the kitchen is our dining room with hardwood flooring. Wood flooring owners should continue to monitor the MC of their wood flooring after installation as well in order to avoid any moisture-related problems. If topical could be from a spill or possibly a leak above it. Crowning can also happen when cupped wood floors are sanded before the moisture is addressed. Is the something I can coat the boards with to solve? Hire only an NWFA certified inspector. Now that its summer again, they’re badly cupped again. Will I need to remove linoleum for it to be able to dry out? Buckling is the most extreme reaction of hardwood floor to moisture. The moisture content above the hardwood is higher than the moisture below the hardwood (i.e. Thanks for the question. In an attempt to dry out and reverse the cupping? Today we carry wood moisture products for lumber mills, building inspectors, installation contractors, wood hobbyists, and the owners of wood floors. Before you look for a “fix”, you are better off getting the environment back to its original temperature and relative humidity as soon as possible and then leave it to see how the wood reacts. Unless the damage is extensive, most cupped floors will eventually flatten as they dry out. I live in south Louisiana — our house is 70 years old elevated on cement blocks. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend this for everyone, but it gives a drastic example of what you speak. The floor was fixed after the that. How our 950 moisture meter works is it has a hygrometer built in to read temp, humidity, and calculates your the EMC (Equilibrium Moisture Content) of what your wood floor should be. This is why owners of wood floors should consider using a quality wood moisture meter as part of a preventative maintenance program. We agreed. As for the remainder of your questions, a certified installer in your area would be able to give you more specific information. Home » Moisture Meters » Wood Division Knowledge Base » Wood Floor Cupping & Other Common Problems: Spotting the Trouble. can this be reversed? © 2014 Flooristics, LLC. The rate at which a wood flooring product reacts to these changes varies by species and construction. We have baseboard heaters. Wood floors are quite common in office or business settings, for their durability, appearance and easy care. I realize I am asking for a lot of When the floor dries and returns to a normal MC, these sanded edges will be lower than the center of the boards. AprilAire: https://www.aprilaire.com/. Where cupping often results from moisture beneath the boards, crowning usually happens when water is left sitting on top of the boards. Cupping in hardwood floors is caused by changes in moisture levels, whether decreases in the air RH above or increases in moisture from below. Since then we have noticed cupping of the original wood flooring. It all looked really great and matched up well. The main drain for the street runs under the new extension so could that possibly have something to do with it – with the recent bad storms we have had? So, expansion and contraction of hardwood flooring are normal. Karen. We called the floor installer in and he was stumped. Anything higher your flooring has the risk of buckling. Cupping and crowning can take place within a few days after installation, or it may take a few weeks or even months to manifest. I would want to have evidence, either way, what the RH% and air temp do throughout the year. There was no pool of water or damp patch. I had a sink overflow and I estimate that about a gallon or less of water could have gone to the floor on the other side of the wall directly adjacent to this area (not sure). Thank you for reminding me that doing preventative measures is better than cure even when it comes to flooring. Sometimes it’s a matter of obtaining better environmental systems to regulate conditions more succinctly or obtaining better cross-ventilation in basements and crawlspaces. Buckling is an extreme reaction to moisture and fortunately, doesn’t happen very often. Trying to figure out the cause. Kind regards. Upon removal of those, there may be more visible sections that need to be replaced proactively. Your email address will not be published. Box 91171 Also, can you seal in moisture that wil cause cupping later? Toward the fall we noticed some cupping in the dining area near our bay window. We kept ac on and now it’s buckling again. Thanks for the comments. However, can use a humidifier to add moisture to the air during a dry period. Water penetrates the wood, causing it to expand on the bottom, but the dry part on top does not. We are not there all of the time and are wondering if you know of any whole house humidifiers that could be programmed remotely to keep the humidity at a decent, consistent level while we’re away. As far as removing the linoleum, it will be much easier to dry out the subfloor and/or determine the extent of the damage without the linoleum. When you see cupping, you need to identify the moisture source. My dishwasher had a leak, which was discovered right away and the floor was dried. The exposed decking in the window seat measures 27 but the floor joists against the house measures only 8. Thanks for the question and sorry for the problems. If the gutters are thought to be the culprit find out why and remedy it. Good luck. Doing this may pretty much solve the problem. Thanks for the question and sorry to hear about the troubles. I wish I knew definitively if the cupping is a result of improper installation, or just the way the humidity is happening in my house. During our first heating season, we have seen some gaps in the wood as you described. We built a new home last year with 4” white oak. Light-colored woods will make these cracks appear even larger. However, severe cupping indicates a serious moisture imbalance. and has now caused the cupping… Since I can’t determine a source for a water leak… I live in an apartment, should I place This 6-9% range is likely to be the average of all types of wood products used in a normal household environment, assuming common heating and cooling equipment is used to ensure human comfort. I am more inclined to think either interior conditions have change, RH% and temperature, or the slab doesn’t have an intact vapor retarder below it, allowing for residual moisture from the soil to enter the slab from below, making the wood floor wetter on the underside. Good luck. In fact, commercial property owners and homeowners should never stop monitoring the MC of their hardwood flooring if they wish to keep it pristine, beautiful, and flat. He asked that we wait one full season to see if it improved over the winter. My opinion is that ANY product installed appropriately and with realistic expectations will perform appropriately. We know we will have to replace the porch but we did not want to open it up before winter because we don’t know what we will find and don’t want to Nigeria stuck with an unfinished project due to weather constraints. You can find one at https://www.woodfloors.org/certified-inspector.aspx Good luck. That’s what he loved about the solid wood. We are installing new 3/4′ nail down prefinished hickory hardwood flooring on our second level to finish off a kitchen remodel. I have a newly installed oak variable plank wood floor installed throughout my home on the first floor. When there is an excessive amount of moisture and humidity in the air, and you’re not controlling the environment your wood flooring is in, the wood reacts to the elevated moisture by crowning. Unfortunately she didn’t get to explain. Any thoughts? However, homeowners will find Wagner Meters’ quick scan capabilities useful for regular home maintenance. Good luck. Causes of Crowning and Cupping The moisture content causes a change in the wood boards and as it absorbs the moisture, parts of the wood swell. Some say that 40-60% RH is OK. However, it does cover some of the more common ways moisture changes can negatively affect wood flooring. The humidity in the house ranges from 45-60. Personally, I would need more information before I made a switch in flooring finish and you should be aware that you can still have this same issue even with engineered products. These changes can also present a less-than-desirable change in the appearance of your wood flooring. Within about a month of installation, the floor cupped, just about every plank throughout the entire floor. With glued floors, buckling can be caused by incorrect mastics, inadequate mastic transfer, subfloor separation, or subfloor contamination. I live in Colorado, north of Denver. Keep in mind, many humidification/dehumidification solutions are integrated into the HVAC systems within houses. I’m assuming the only option at this point is replacing?? You can use fans to speed things up, if necessary. 2 pieces have swelled to the point where the gap between has elevated the edges to almost 45 degrees. The original flooring is oak which we recently covered with covered with vinyl planks. Now, I don’t know if it is a change in conditions (RH% and temp) on just the bottom floor which is impacting the upper floor, just the second floor, or possibly uniform, seasonal changes throughout the entire house. Crowning. Wood floor crowning is the opposite of cupping and happens when the center of the board is higher than the edges. If the unfinished surface of the flooring boards has been exposed to moisture prior to finishing, the flooring can become crowned due to expansion of the wood surface. I sympathize with your situation. I ask because one sales person, after telling her that I like doors and windows open as much as possible, said that would lead to a lot of cupping and crowning of my flooring with our seasons. Who Needs a Salt Lake City Flooring Defects Expert Witness? During the repair of the c… Our house is going on the market in 10 days, so we are stressing over the floor. Crowning in the center of a board. Or does it have to be replaced ? My question is whether such a small amount of water could have gone into the subfloor and caused the cupping or whether the board touching the wall was more likely the case. What should i do? Whether the wood flooring is solid or engineered wood, it can be subject to crowning and cupping. In your situation, the cupping is so slight that you may not notice the improvement much. So far no luck. After a few weeks we noticed the new boards have cuped. If the floor is sanded while the boards are still cupped, the sanding process will sand off only the raised edges of the boards. You question other people not having dehumidifiers and having no issues. We’re seeing some fine lines around our flooring and we have observed that there are parts that extend up to our walls. If you had access to that area under the house and could place a device like the Smart Logger, you could log the conditions to have a better idea of what was happening. Everything appears to be bone dry now and there is no evidence of dampness now or ever. Thank you so much Jason. Thanks for the question. Minor cupping is not a problem and is something that you should even expect. Moisture can come from leaking water or water vapor from the surrounding air. I live in England so will find out who the equivalent of NWFA is here. The flooring company who provided the wood and did the install came the following day and said we need to check if we have a leak due to the moisture that had appeared. We removed plaster lath from the first floor. Crowning is most frequently the result of improper repairing of a cupped floor. … [Read More...], In a perfect world, flooring material would never have defects but it’s definitely possible for some flooring defects to be introduced during the … [Read More...], Rob McNealy of Flooristics is one of the best South Carolina flooring defects expert witnesses around. Installing hardwood flooring is hard, thoughtful work that, if done properly, can yield lifetimes of warmth, elegance, and beauty in a home or commercial setting. More than 7 years old. Other causes of hardwood floor cupping could include situations such as basement plumbing leaks that allow moisture to migrate up into the subfloor and into the wood flooring or the heat from a wood stove that drys out the air in the environment. Legal teams throughout the state definitely … [Read More...], Putting flooring material on stairs can present unique challenges to the installer, but when done properly it can lead to a beautiful and durable … [Read More...], When flooring installers have the chance to install a hard surface floor, they know that the … [Read More...], Flooring surfaces both hard and soft require regular inspections from a licensed and certified … [Read More...], Flooristics, LLC – moisture, either way, what the RH of its ambient environment 30-50 % penetrates wood! 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