seasonal wood floor cupping
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. Seasonal gapping and minor seasonal cupping is normal.
Engineered and solid hardwood both contain real wood which will warp when it absorbs water.
. Warping happens when wood dries unevenly in the process of losing moisture. If water seeps into a plank wood flooring it will expand on the side closest to the moisture. This makes the board swell and expand.
In some cases this can take days weeks or longer. Taking moisture reading of the underside of the timber and comparing this with a reading taken from the upper side will confirm this. Cupping is when the edges of a board are higher than its center creating concave shapes.
Related
While this effect identifies a serious leak usually caused by household appliances such as the dishwasher or plumbing problems that can be easily addressed and fixed the more difficult and sneakier culprit is water vapor. What happens when that moisture releases from the floor and it returns to its original state. Never attempt to repair a cupped floor until all of the sources of excessive moisture have been located and eliminated.
Wood floors expand and contract in each season. Humidity plays a huge role in the upkeep of your hardwood floors. The humidity levels in your home likely change naturally from season to season especially if you live somewhere with humid summers and dry winters.
Species thickness wood grain orientation and. If the cupping is minor and is the result of seasonal changes in temperature humidity and surface wetting the floor will likely return to its original position. It is natural for wood floors to expand and contract throughout the year and seasonal Relative Humidity swings can have a big impact here.
Wood expands and contracts with seasonal differences in humidity and the older a floor gets the greater the chance that these movements will cause cupping and gaps. This can be verified only with a moisture meter that takes readings of the underlying subfloor. The cupping of hardwood floors can be caused by seasonal change as well.
Cupping is a result of underlying water damage typically coming from beneath the floorboards. If seasonal change has caused the hardwood floor to cup then it will flatten out naturally. The paper will curl up away from the water.
This is when the real wood floor problems start like hardwood floor raising up often accompanied by cupping or swelling starts Severe cupping will require refinishing but sanding a cupped floor before the moisture is gone can result in crowning where the center of the flooring lifts instead of the edges. Cupping happens when wood absorbs excess moisture causing it to swell and crush the boards together as they deform at the edges and forms a cup- like shape. In the Future Although many installers have become more aware that they need to use moisture meters on all their jobs just using a moisture meter isnt enough.
This condition occurs with gaps as the flooring shrinks. It is not hard to see the effect in wood flooring either. Cupping also happens most in our current season of winter.
Its likely that the humidity level has plummeted from over 50 to 30 or lower a humidity level where wood flooring begins to suffer. Also if the humidity in the house is higher or lower than when the wood floors were acclimated at the time of installation then cupping can occur. Remind customers that minor cupping may be due to seasonal changes and that this kind of cupping usually disappears on its own when the.
Cupping may occur in a fairly uniform manner throughout your house. The cause of cupping is an imbalance of moisture through the timber. Changes in weather conditions.
Cupping Its caused by moisture imbalance. The amount of seasonal gappingcupping depends on many factors. Wood floor cupping can happen from everyday items in your home such as refrigerators ice makers or toilets leaking.
This can be a result of a spillage on the floor or because of the hardwood flooring gaining moisture from the sub-floor material. Crowning is the opposite of cupping and causes your hardwood floors to arch up. The air conditioning of your house can also sometimes cause hardwood floor cupping.
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. If there is an insufficient gap between boards for expansion the edges of the expanding planks are forced upwards and cupping occurs. Because the cupping was not going to go away with seasonal changes and the floor was buckling he had to replace the floor at his cost.
Seasonal Changes to Your Wood Floor. The flattening out process of the cupped hardwood floor depends on its causes. Your wood floor may react to changing humidity levels if it is located in an area that experiences dry winters or humid summers.
Cupping buckling and crowning are three common excessive moisture related wood flooring problems. To correct the cupping all of the flooring must be re-sanded and refinished. It is not hard to see the effect in wood flooring either.
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. With the rapid change in weather from warm and humid to cold and dry the environment in your home is changing as well. When the bottom becomes wetter than the top floorboard it causes the boards to expand more on the bottom part than the top.
Seasonal temperature and humidity fluctuations will have an effect on wood floors. When the moisture content rises in the bottom of the board the board expands pushing up the edges and cupping occurs. The general effect is easy to demonstrate by putting a small strip of paper onto a small drop of water.
If the cupping is due to a faulty HVAC heating ventilation and air conditioning system then. The edges of a board becomes higher than its center. Improper installation of flooring.
As weve learned wood floor cupping is caused by the expansion of the floor planks due to moisture. Flooring also may cup when a wood floor experiences conditions that cause rapid drying on the surface. This makes curve to a bow crook cup or twist.
Sanding a cupped floor flat before it is brought to a normal moisture content can eventually result in a crowned floor convex surface once the drying process is complete. Wood will try to match its internal. When purchasing a solid or engineered wood floor your salesperson should tell this to you so you arent caught unaware and think your floor has a problem after its installed.
Cupping is a wood floors natural reaction to moisture. On the flip side low humidity will cause your floors to dry out and shrink. This means that in high humidity your wood floors will absorb more moisture causing them to expand and cup.
The degree of cupping should not be too drastic.
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