hardwood floor cupping in summer

Find deals on floor repair kit on Amazon. While this may seem like a mystery there are actually a few reasons why this happens.

Preventing Your Floors From Cupping And Buckling T G Flooring

The simplest way to think of wood floor cupping is to imagine the edges of each plank sticking up higher than the centers.

. When the floor separates from the subfloor thats when the cupping occurs. High Relative Humidity Even the most carefully installed flooring can be subject to hardwood cupping especially during the humid summer months. The questions mostly come twice a yearin the summer as humidity rises causing floors to expand and in the winter as humidity falls and floors shrink.

Engineered floor on left solid floor on right. But while doing so the moisture from hardwoods evaporates and floorboards tend to contract creating gaps between planks. Cupped planks will.

The general effect is easy to demonstrate by putting a small strip of paper onto a small drop of water. During the hot humid days of summer we field calls from clients whose solid hardwood floors are cupping. Extreme moisture can cause cupping when the edges raise higher than the middle of the wood planks or even buckling.

Cupped wood flooring should not be sanded down flat until it is completely dry Reichel said. When wood gains moisture it expands. Changes in weather conditions.

If the cupping is. Cupping of the floor boards is one of the most likely problems you can encounter with your hardwood floors during the summer. During the winter season for example we crank up the heat to stay warm.

Air with a high moisture content MC or high relative humidity RH causes wood to gain moisture. The paper will curl up away from the water. In many instances the wood planks cup because excessive humidity in the air makes the wood expand closes the gaps between slats and in the presence of excess moisture forces the wood to cup.

How to Prevent Cupping and Worse during the Summer Months. During the summer months many homeowners notice their wood floors start to buckle. Read customer reviews find best sellers.

With enough moisture your boards can begin bending. It ends up looking a little like an accordion. Hardwood flooring must be given time to adjust to surrounding moisture levels by means of a process known as acclimating or conditioning before it is.

The floors are 38 Durawood Stained Brazilian Oak from LL. Any wood floor can suffer from cupping. It is not hard to see the effect in wood flooring either.

Hardwood cupping can lead to more serious issues such as cracked boards and peeling finish and could eventually cause the flooring to buckle. Wood planks may curl up creating a cup or the area in the middle may begin to expand. If you have hardwood flooring youve probably noticed that cracks seem to appear in the winter and then disappear or fade away in the summer.

One of the most common causes of a cupped floor in our market is when a. The type of wood flooring you have will determine how much risk you face in a high humidity environment. During the summer even the most carefully installed wood floors tend to expand and sometimes cup or even buckle.

Regarding a solid wood floor you need to know if it. Lets take a look at some causes and how they can best be dealt with. Ad Browse discover thousands of brands.

Humidity means moisture and moisture makes wood expand. We had hardwood floors installed in our new home in January. If you imagine a picture of a child drawing a boat in the water then the water will give you a good idea of what a cupped floor looks like.

The floors sat in the house for over a week before being installed. Air with a high moisture content MC or high relative humidity RH causes wood to gain moisture. Certain climates experience rather warm and humid summers and the season can result in elevated levels of moisture and with it the risk of cupping.

Once all is dry insulation can be done with one of the recommended systems. Using a dehumidifier during winter and summer can be a great way to address this issue. There are multiple sources of moisture that can be the culprit in a cupped floor.

Now that the summer is here and the humidity has gone up we are noticing a significant amount of cupping and in a. Wood will try to match its internal moisture content to the moisture content of the air around it. On the flip side low humidity will cause your floors to dry out and shrink.

New Hardwood flooring Cupping and Buckling. During the summer even the most carefully installed wood floors tend to expand and sometimes cup or even buckle. This is not a sign of a problem with your flooring though as this shrinkage and expansion is quite normal.

Cupping occurs in solid wood flooring as a result of an elevated MC in the bottom of the flooring compared with the MC of the face. Cupping in Solid Wood Floors. The summer and the winter are the two seasons that are mainly responsible for the cupping of hardwood floors.

Improper installation of flooring. Humidity affects different floors differently. In these two seasons the change of humidity is frequent and significant.

In fact wooden flooring that has been properly prepared and installed will indeed show seasonal cracks between the. These events occur because of woods relationship with moisture in the air. Humid temperatures are the norm during the summer months.

Air with a high moisture content MC or high relative humidity RH causes wood to gain moisture. Thats why today well look at problems that hardwood floors could experience during the summer. Wood flooring that has become compression set may eventually develop permanent gaps between the boards that could result in drafts excessive creaking and an unsightly appearance overall.

Its important to understand this in terms of installing hardwood floors as well as determining the underlying cause of cupping and buckling. High humidity poses a greater danger with solid wood when compared with engineered wood. During the summer all wood floors tend to expand because wood reacts to moisture.

This means that in high humidity your wood floors will absorb more moisture causing them to expand and cup. These events occur because of woods relationship with moisture in the air. The best way to prevent hardwood floors from cupping is to make sure they are professionally.

Floors cup for one reason as a response to moisture. Humidity plays a huge role in the upkeep of your hardwood floors.

Hardwood Flooring Humidity Cupping Crowning