Wood Floor Got Wet And Buckled

Buckling occurs when the wood flooring actually pulls up from the subfloor lifting several inches in one or more places.

Wood floor got wet and buckled. How to fix a buckled hardwood floor. Find more information about hardwood flooring now. For example if a toilet overflows and the water reaches the hardwood hallway the hardwood planks swell with moisture. Due to the porous nature of wood moisture can be easily absorbed into the material.

Hardwood floors will buckle if they are subjected to excess water. 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. Moisture is the downfall of many hardwood floors. Floor buckling happens most often after a floor has been flooded for an extended period of time.

Floor buckling is the most extreme reaction to moisture in a hardwood floor. Because the wood needs to accommodate this excess moisture it moves upward and the expansion causes it to buckle. Fortunately this is not a common occurrence. Whether there is too much weight on the wood flooring or exposure to moisture understanding why buckling occurs is the first step to fixing it.

If spilled water sits atop the flooring for too long or if moisture seeps into the wood from the subfloor. Sometimes floors that appear dry to the naked eye can be soaked and the job might require industrial size fans and other equipment that removes water beneath the wood down into the subfloor. Nails may begin to lift glue may release causing separation between floor pieces and tongue and groove floors often cup or buckle when moisture has been absorbed. 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.

Water is the enemy of hardwood flooring.