wood floor cupping in summer
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. 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.
Cupped Hardwood Floors
In the early summer months humidity abounds especially if you live in hot Southern climates.
. It ends up looking a little like an accordion. The simplest way to think of wood floor cupping is to imagine the edges of each plank sticking up higher than the centers. The material from which hardwood floors are made is especially susceptible to moisture due to the tendency of wood to absorb it particularly when it is present in large quantities to adjust its own moisture levels to match those of its surroundings.
Floors cup for one reason as a response to moisture. The suggested moisture range of most Hardwood floors is 6-9. While moisture from below is the usual cause of cupping wood floor cupping can also occur from rapid surface drying.
How to fix hardwood floor buckling hardwood floor buckling water damage why is my hardwood floor buckling summer related hardwood floor problems. 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. Reasons Wood Flooring Buckles or Cups.
Solid wood flooring moves constantly as the humidity level changes expanding when the humidity is high and contracting when the humidity is low. If the cupping is throughout your home humidity is likely the cause. Air with a high moisture content MC or high relative humidity RH causes wood to gain moisture.
The best prevention is to. High relative humidity RH is. There are few wood flooring problems more upsetting than cupped floors.
Just running a fan or dehumidifier for a week will not solve most problems. Of course you can check RH levels in your house with a hygrometer. A crucial factor is the relationship between air humidity and wood moisture.
Cupping of the wood floor can be a natural reaction to these seasonal moisture changes if they occur to a minor extent. The dry winter with the heat on will reduce the humidity level more. In fact wooden flooring that has been properly.
Seasonal Expansion and Shrinkage in Hardwood Floors. In these two seasons the change of humidity is frequent and significant. When this occurs hardwood flooring tends to do the reverseit expands.
Remedies for Cupping. Any wood floor can suffer from cupping. How to Prevent Cupping and Worse in Summer Months During the summer even the most carefully installed wood floors tend to expand and sometimes cup or even buckle.
How To Fix Hardwood Floor Buckling Flooring Experts Com. This can happen especially in new construction especially if the floor was installed before any HVAC system is connected to your home. With this type of cupping use will see gaps that develop as the floor shrinks.
Even the most carefully installed flooring can be subject to hardwood cupping especially during the humid summer months. If the humidity level inside or under the house is much higher than the wood flooring was. 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.
The summer and the winter are the two seasons that are mainly responsible for the cupping of hardwood floors. Only install acclimated wood floors. The main cause of cupping in hardwood floors is the presence of excess moisture in the immediate vicinity.
This is not a sign of a problem with your flooring though as this shrinkage and expansion is quite normal. Almost all wood floors will experience some contraction and expansion as the seasons change. Hardwood floor cupping is usually caused by the top of the floor drying out.
This can also happen if the humidity is higher in your crawl space or. To help protect your hardwood floors against cupping follow these 5 tips. This can cause warping issues such as cupping or in severe cases even cracked and split planks.
However if the problem is extensive it may be necessary to reinstall the entire floor. There are multiple sources of moisture that can be the culprit in a cupped floor. This problem is particularly pronounced during a hot humid summer or cold dry winter.
Why Does My Wood Floor Buckle In The Summer. This means that in high humidity your wood floors will absorb more moisture causing them to. Dry air will pull moisture out of a hardwood floor causing cupping.
As noted previously moisture movement within wood can be slow. During the summertime humidity levels tend to be higher than during the winter when indoor moisture levels are often dried out due to your heating system. Wood will try to match its internal moisture content to the moisture content of the air around it.
We have assembled the Wood Floor Business Content Library which organizes our most pertinent print and online features by topic. During the hot humid days of summer we field calls from clients whose solid hardwood floors are cupping. Cupping can occur if there is too much moisture in your concrete slab crawlspace basement or below-floor wood floor.
Cupping happens when the edges of a board are higher than its center due to moisture which causes the wood to expand. One of the most common questions we are asked is why a floor cupped. PDFs of new and archived content are available.
During the summer all wood floors tend to expand because wood reacts to moisture. In many cases of slight to moderate cupping eliminating the source of the water and drying out the flooring can save the floor. By far this is the biggest potential problem during the summer and its one that definitely dont want to encounter.
Humidity plays a huge role in the upkeep of your hardwood floors. The cupping of hardwood floors usually happens due to the change of humidity. When the relative humidity is above zero the air contains water vapor.
If the cupping is more severe it could indicate a serious moisture related. Extreme moisture can cause cupping when the edges raise higher than the middle of the wood planks or even buckling. Viewfloor 5 mins ago No Comments.
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