My Hardwood Floor Got Wet And Buckled

As suggested in the wood flooring 101 section of our website the type of wood flooring you have limits the range of possible repairs for your wood floor.

My hardwood floor got wet and buckled. Dishwasher or washing machine a fire with water used to extinguish the fire water spills accidents pet accidents a high water table in the ground that then forces. Wood can get wet or moist in a number of ways a flood from outside from the rain leaky pipes or frozen pipes ice damming a toilet overflow a leaky roof a hurricane or storm an appliance breaks or leaks e g. Wet floors should not be sanded flat until the drying process is completed. So your flooring may show signs of staining from small spills the wet floor may also begin to buckle and cup when large amounts of water are absorbed as the planks swell.

Because the wood needs to accommodate this excess moisture it moves upward and the expansion causes it to buckle. M ajor storms like sandy can cause extensive water damage to hardwood floors but panicked homeowners should not rush to replace what appears to be beyond repair. Moisture is the downfall of many hardwood floors. A flooded hardwood floor can have up to 40 moisture content and can retain well above the normal amount of moisture for weeks if left to dry on it s own.

Degree of water. If spilled water sits atop the flooring for too long or if moisture seeps into the wood from the subfloor. Sometimes if you let it dry out. Hardwood floors will buckle if they are subjected to excess water.

For example if a toilet overflows and the water reaches the hardwood hallway the hardwood planks swell with moisture. Solid hardwood flooring offers the broadest range of options as you can sand and scrape away up to 1 4 of an inch of the wood to remove cupping or surface mold and. Sanding a cupped floor flat before it is brought to a normal mc can eventually result in a crowned floor convex surface once the drying process is complete. Up until recently my eng wood floors looked great with a smooth surface and sat perfectly flat and solid onto of the cement.

Water is the enemy of hardwood flooring. Due to the porous nature of wood moisture can be easily absorbed into the material. At this point the floor may now be ruined and need to be replaced. Cupping in engineered wood floors.

The type of wood flooring you have affects the repair options available.