engineered wood floor cupping
When moisture buildup in floors occurs hardwood floor cupping can result. The following article explains how moisture develops in a crawl space what moisture does to hardwood flooring whos responsible for a moisture related hardwood floor failure and what can be done to prevent it before installing your new wood floor.
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While both engineered and solid hardwoods can experience cupping they do so in different manners because the offending moisture creates distinct effects in each material.
. Hardwood Floor Cupping is when the edges of a board are high and its center is lower. Solid wood floor cupping occurs as a result of an elevated moisture content in the bottom of the flooring as compared to the moisture content at the face. Any wood floor can suffer from cupping.
This generally develops gradually. What causes cupping of engineered hardwood floors. Cupping also called washboard is a condition where the edges of a piece of flooring across its width are high and the center is lower.
Other causes of hardwood floor cupping could include situations such as basement plumbing leaks that allow moisture to migrate up into the subfloor and into the wood flooring or the heat from a wood stove that drys out the air in the environment. Photo courtesy of Roy Reichow When youre talking about problems with wood floors nothing gets more attention than moisture and its consequences like cupping. It most commonly occurs with prefinished and engineered wood floors.
However several common situations that are known to cause cupping can be addressed and can even be reversed. Avoid cupping related moisture issues with an accurate wood moisture meter to test hardwood flooring. The simplest way to think of wood floor cupping is to imagine the edges of each plank sticking up higher than the centers.
Dry cupping is more common with engineered wood floor. Solid and engineered wood flooring can both cup. Cupping occurs when hardwood planks bow inward creating a concave cup shape.
Wood floor cupping can be avoided or fixed by following a few simple steps. When the moisture increases the wood swells and then when it decreases the wood shrinks. The wood is wetter on the bottom of the board than on the top.
As you eagerly anticipate a successful installation be aware that problems such as warping buckling cupping and. When engineered wood floors get too dry dry-cupping may occur. Cupping can happen even to a flawlessly-installed wood floor depending on the conditions of the building and the environment.
It ends up looking a little like an accordion. Installing hardwood flooring is hard thoughtful work that if done properly can yield lifetimes of warmth elegance and beauty in a home or commercial setting. This alone can lead to cupping and buckling wood floors.
The moisture imbalance is proven by taking moisture meter readings at different pin depths. Cupping in hardwood floors refers to a condition that causes individual planks to rise at the sides. The good news is that hardwood floor cupping can be reversed setting the planks back to their original condition.
Anything from pipe leaks to a still-wet concrete slab to improper HVAC usage can cause cupping. Moisture imbalance through the thickness of the flooring is the only cause. If you imagine a picture of a child drawing a boat in the water then the water will give you a good idea of what a cupped floor looks like.
This is quite normal and the gaps generally disappear when the season changes and RH increases. 1 The most common cause of cupping is a direct result of job site. This is especially true if.
After all both engineered and solid hardwood consist of real wood which warps when it absorbs water. Causes of wood floor cupping. When one side of the floor is exposed to excessive moisture that side will expand causing the.
Wood Floor Cupping Other Common Problems. It can occur after water spills onto the hardwood floor and is absorbed by the wood but high humidity is more often the cause. Normally when wood floors dry out gaps appear between the boards.
But lack of moisture can be just as big a problem as too much moisture. The National Wood Flooring Association states the following on page 8 of the 2018 Technical Publication Problems Causes and Cures. Dont assume that because youre engineered wood flooring is cupping in the winter that its a case of dry cupping.
The water will soak through the flooring planks from the bottom up causing the more common type of cupping. Cupping is a result of underlying water damage typically coming from beneath the floorboards. Cupping in hardwood flooring is caused by a moisture imbalance through the thickness of the wood.
This problem can happen with either solid or engineered hardwood flooring and is a response to changes in the moisture content of the wood. A concave or dished appearance of individual engineered flooring planks with the edges raised higher than the center. The driving force for cupping comes from a response of the wood to a change in moisture.
Cupping occurs whenever the individual planks of a floor become concave in the center and rounded on the sides thereby creating a sort of cup or bowl. Well discuss each construction separately as the dynamics are different. Cupping is a natural occurrence and in most cases its simply the result of moisture damage.
It may be considered to be the opposite of crowning where the center of a plank rises higher than the edges. Wood Floor Cupping and Product Quality. Many hardwoods are quite porous and will naturally cup when theres water damage.
Occurs when the flooring moisture is too low instead of too high. Where we live in Georgia the climate is very humid most of the year. A more extreme consequence of low RH is dry cupping.
What you need to know. Cupping has occurred when the sides of flooring are higher than the center of the boards-the surface of the board has a concave shape. Wood is hygroscopic meaning that it absorbs and releases moisture.
Cupping is a result of the changes in moisture in the room. If the wood expands significantly compression set can result as the boards are crushed together deforming the boards at the edges. In both cases your floor will lose its even smoothness resulting in its surface becoming irregular.
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