hardwood floor cupping in summer

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. We had hardwood floors installed in our new home in January.

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5 tips to prevent hardwood floor cupping this summer.

. Floors should also be inspected on a regular basis for signs of cupping so that the appropriate measures can be taken. That way the house will have a chance to adjust and acclimatize preventing the hardwood from soaking up any excess moisture. I have experienced a cracking noise in the winter on my wood floors.

Dry Cupping Wood Floor. Excessively gapped wood floor. Think about the cut of the wood.

It has been two full winters since the floors were. In the summer the noise goes away. The most common reason for cupping is moisture or water damage.

If the cupping is throughout your home humidity is likely the cause. During a hot humid summer when indoor humidity can rise up to 90 solid wood floors tend to expand. During the summer all wood floors tend to expand because wood reacts to moisture.

Reichel offered these suggestions. The summer and the winter are the two seasons that are mainly responsible for the cupping of hardwood floors. This imbalance could either be moisture from the concrete environmental conditions in the space being to dry and drying out the top of the wood andor a wood floor that wasnt properly acclimated to the environment prior to installation.

5 Tips to Prevent Hardwood Floor Cupping This Summer. Buckling is like the opposite of cupping bowing upward into a peak instead of inward and sometimes even lifting off the flat underlayer surface. For example summer produces more moisture in the environment.

So wood floors will buckle from water or too much humidity in summer. Clients who are concerned about too much moisture in the environment creating issues in their hardwood floors during the summer should most likely choose quarter sawn wood especially if they choose wide plank floors. Lets face it no matter if you installed a light-colored oak hardwood floor a darker-toned cherry wood floor or something in between like hickory you want your floors to look good.

If a floor experiences cupping a complete reinstallation may be in order. How to Prevent Cupping on Hardwood Floors. Its surprising how quickly some people can point out a hardwood floor that is not.

The winter months bring holiday cheer. Floor beds get affected by the change in humidity. 20-22C and humidity 40-45 and you need to remember that different wood flooring species react differently.

There are multiple sources of moisture that can be the culprit in a cupped floor. The floor usually fits tightly to each other like jigsaw puzzle pieces. Causes of Hardwood Floor Cupping.

Using a dehumidifier during winter and summer can be a great way to address this issue. Cupping is when your hardwood floor has a concave shape. Floors cup for one reason as a response to moisture.

Hardwood floor moisture problems. Another reason that causes warped floors is poor acclimation followed by improper installation. These measurements apply to average temperature ca.

Now that the summer is here and the humidity has gone up we are noticing a significant amount of cupping and in. During the hot humid days of summer we field calls from clients whose solid hardwood floors are cupping. Here are some tips to keep hardwood floors from cupping and buckling.

This is not a sign of a problem with your flooring though as this shrinkage and expansion is quite normal. When building a house there are many contractors who will. The cupping is due to some type of moisture imbalance in the wood flooring itself.

Faulty Plumbing and Leaks. High Relative Humidity Even the most carefully installed flooring can be subject to hardwood cupping especially during the humid summer months. The best way to prevent hardwood floors from cupping is to make sure they are professionally installed.

In fact wooden flooring that has been properly prepared and installed will indeed show. The floors sat in the house for over a week before being installed. When installing hardwood floors the best practice is to have the heating and cooling systems in place and running for a couple of weeks.

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. The acceptable RH range for wood flooring in the Northeast USA is between 30 - 50. Air with a high moisture content MC or high relative humidity RH causes wood to gain moisture.

During the summer months especially when the humidity levels are high hardwood floor is vulnerable cupping. Do this by running an air conditioner on hot days and by. 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.

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. This causes cupping in solid wood floors. Cupping wood floor.

If the RH in your home is below 30 you can be certain that you will see gaps in your wood flooring and probably cracks as well. Homeowners take pride in their wood floors. The main cause of cupping in hardwood floors is the presence of excess moisture in the immediate vicinity.

Extreme moisture can cause cupping when the edges raise higher than the middle of the wood planks or even buckling. Moistures get accumulated under the plank floors which results in cupping. Sometimes faulty plumbing can cause cupping issues.

Using a dehumidifier might also be recommended in areas where hot humid temperatures are the norm during the summer months. 5 tips to prevent your hardwood floor from cupping. Sometimes faulty subfloors can cause hardwood floor cupping.

The best prevention is to keep your homes relative humidity below 50. One of the most common causes of a cupped floor in our market is when a floor is installed in the summer before the air conditioner is working. This is a reaction due to a humidity level disproportion in the wood plank.

The floors are 38 Durawood Stained Brazilian Oak from LL. The wet subfloor wets the bottom of wood flooring which causes the bottom of the planks to swell causing cupping in summer she said. New Hardwood flooring Cupping and Buckling.

In these two seasons the change of humidity is frequent and significant. When a wood plank cups its edges become higher than its centre.

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