Causes Of Cupping In Hardwood Floors

It is not hard to see the effect in wood flooring either.

Causes of cupping in hardwood floors.

But it can also happen because of excessive drying on top of the board. Change in the amount of moisture in the air relative humidity. Wood is hygroscopic in nature and thereby tends to absorb moisture from its surroundings causing problems in hardwood floors. But the problem is really just cupping which happens when the top of the board is drier than the bottom of the board.

Dry cupping is a problem i see all winter long with engineered products. The planks that make up wood flooring expand and contract based on the amount of moisture in the room. 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. It expands during one season and contracts in the other.

As we ve learned wood floor cupping is caused by the expansion of the floor planks due to moisture. When the moisture increases the wood swells and then when it decreases the wood shrinks. Cupping is a result of the changes in moisture in the room. When the moisture increases the wood swells and then when it decreases the wood shrinks.

Typically the cause of the imbalance is excess moisture from the subfloor. If your hardwood floors have a wavy appearance they are likely cupping due to we. Excessive moisture also creates buckling in solid wood floors engineered wood and laminate. The general effect is easy to demonstrate by putting a small strip of paper onto a small drop of water.

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. Whenever there is too much moisture the wood expands. The paper will curl up away from the water. The good news is that hardwood floor cupping can be reversed setting the planks back to their original condition.

What happens when that moisture releases from the floor and it returns to its original state. Can hardwood floor cupping be reversed. As you can see moisture and wood don t go well together. Wood floor cupping can be avoided or fixed by following a few simple steps.

Regarding the nature of the damage buckling is the opposite of cupping. If you live in an area with humid summers and dry winters or even vice versa your wood floor can react to the changing amount of humidity in the air. The boards typically lift right off the floor. Another common cause of hardwood cupping is a sub floor that has higher moisture content than the wood itself.

This can happen to hardwood floors installed in a new construction home without heat or air conditioning when the floor is installed. It bows the other way forming grooves and peaks.