Wood Floors Rising Up

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

Wood floors rising up.

However there are a number of factors that may cause a laminate floor to lift up in places after installation. The root causes of buckling and peaking to fix buckled or peaked wood floors it s essential to understand what causes the wood to warp. Floor buckling happens most often after a floor has been flooded for an extended period of time. Here s how that happens.

Placing a space heater or a fan near the wet spot can speed the process. Towel up all the water you can and allow to dry. When humidity is high the wood expands. In winter when homes are heated and the air is dry wood flooring gives up some of its moisture and therefore shrinks.

If the flooring is linoleum. When temperatures rise and or humidity levels rise your wood will expand and if there has been an insufficient expansion gap left around the perimeter of your room the risk is that the wood will pop up as it expands because there s nowhere for it to go. If solid wood floors are fitted without an expansion gap problems which can sometimes be severe are likely to arise. Solid wood flooring takes in moisture when there is a high level of humidity in the air and then the flooring lets that moisture go when the humidity in the atmosphere reduces again.

Fortunately this is not a common occurrence. Buckling occurs when the wood flooring actually pulls up from the subfloor lifting several inches in one or more places. Both problems are usually because of water damage but although that s the most common cause it s not the only one. When the wood can t expand anymore because it is blocked by something solid such as a wall the floor rises and pulls up from the subfloor to relieve the pressure.

Crowning can also be caused by previous floor cupping. During warm humid weather wood expands during dry weather it contracts. Wood floor crowning is the opposite of cupping and happens when the center of the board is higher than the edges. Moisture causes expansion across the wood grain of your floor.

Often wood floors that are bulged can dry out and return to their reasonable condition on their own especially laminated floors or parquets which have not been exposed to moisture too long. If the hump in the floor feels spongy or gives underfoot when you walk on it the most likely cause of the problem is underlayment that has come loose from the subfloor.