What Makes Hardwood Floors Buckle

Floor buckling is the most extreme reaction to moisture in a hardwood floor.

What makes hardwood floors buckle. This is usually caused by sanding a cupped floor before it has completely dried although moisture on the upper side of the floor caused by plumbing leaks or wet mopping may cause floors to crown as well. This is when the real wood floor problems start like hardwood floor raising up often accompanied by cupping or swelling starts. Understanding what makes a floor cup whether solid or engineered can help prevent wood floor failures or once the cupping has happened can assist in diagnosing the source of the problem. Hardwood floors buckle when the humidity levels in the lower levels of the house are too high in the crawlspace or basement explains the basement health association in the article negative effects on hardwood floors.

Homeowners with wood floors are frequently faced with buckling or peaking floorboards. Here s a rundown on why cupping happens. Moisture is the downfall of many hardwood floors. Floor buckling happens most often after a floor has been flooded for an extended period of time.

Once the root cause of peaking is identified the hardwood floor peaking problem can be fixed. Hardwood floors will buckle if they are subjected to excess water. Although the damage appears atrocious and costly to fix you can easily repair the issues yourself after becoming familiar with the common causes behind it. Buckling occurs when the wood flooring actually pulls up from the subfloor lifting several inches in one or more places.

Buckling is when the hardwood floor lifts or separates from the sub floor. For example if a toilet overflows and the water reaches the hardwood hallway the hardwood planks swell with moisture. Moisture primarily is the main cause of buckling. At this point it is likely that a floor would buckle.

Fortunately this is not a common occurrence. A buckled floor with only minor damage can sometimes be repaired simply by removing the excess moisture but serious buckling will necessitate replacing the hardwood boards. If spilled water sits atop the flooring for too long or if moisture seeps into the wood from the subfloor. Causes of buckled hardwood floors.

Because the wood needs to accommodate this excess moisture it moves upward and the expansion causes it to buckle. If you see an area with minor buckling and or other slight signs of water damage it won t hurt to take the easy way out first and try this quick and simple repair.