wood floor cupping in summer

Extreme moisture can cause cupping when the edges raise higher than the middle of the wood planks or even buckling. Even the most carefully installed flooring can be subject to hardwood cupping especially during the humid summer months.

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Air with a high moisture content MC or high relative humidity RH causes wood to gain moisture.

. Another reason that causes warped floors is poor acclimation followed by improper installation. The idea is to run an air conditioner to lower humidity in summer and run a humidifier to raise it in winter. So wood floors will buckle from water or too much humidity in summer.

Any wood floor that has shown cupping was directly related to moisture from below. Reichels Recommendations on how to reduce humidity inside a house. With summer temperatures in the 80s and 90s and humidity inside some homes 60 or higher youre likely to see some changes in your wood flooring.

During the summer season indoor humidity can rise to levels as high as 90. In many cases of slight to moderate cupping eliminating the source of the water and drying out the flooring can save the floor. During the summer months especially when the humidity levels are high hardwood floor is vulnerable cupping Sure it had the typical moisture retarder requirements under it but the overwhelming force of higher humidity from the basement was causing the floor to expand which causes cupping.

The wet subfloor wets the bottom of wood flooring which causes the bottom of the planks to swell causing cupping in summer said Mrs. Any wood floor can suffer from cupping. The humidity in the summertime can cause wood to expand and potentially makes the wood concave in or cup.

During the summer all wood floors tend to expand because wood reacts to moisture. During the summertime humidity levels tend to be higher than during the winter when indoor moisture levels are often dried out due to your heating system. The best prevention is to.

Just running a fan or dehumidifier for a week will not solve most problems. High relative humidity RH is. The simplest way to think of wood floor cupping is to imagine the edges of each plank sticking up higher than the centers.

With this type of cupping use will see gaps that develop as the floor shrinks. Remedies for Cupping. Throughout the fluctuations in weather wood expands and shrinks.

And if hardwood flooring is exposed to high humidity levels for an extended period of time the floorboards may cup or crown. By far this is the biggest potential problem during the summer and its one that definitely dont want to encounter. The summer and the winter are the two seasons that are mainly responsible for the cupping of hardwood floors.

When the relative humidity is above zero the air contains water vapor. The questions mostly come twice a yearin the summer as humidity rises causing floors to expand and in the winter as humidity falls and floors shrink. Reichel offered these suggestions.

The cupping of hardwood floors usually happens due to the change of humidity. Floors cup for one reason as a response to moisture. Most of solid hardwood floorings moisture-related problems such as cupping or warping are across the grain.

Dry air will pull moisture out of a hardwood floor causing cupping. Wood Floor Cupping From past experience. These measurements apply to average temperature ca.

It ends up looking a little like an accordion. How To Prevent Cupping Of Hardwood Floors Hardwood Floors Flooring Hardwood. One of the most common questions we are asked is why a floor cupped.

There are multiple sources of moisture that can be the culprit in a cupped floor. The wet subfloor wets the bottom of wood flooring which causes the bottom of the planks to swell causing cupping in summer she said. Hardwood floor cupping is usually caused by the top of the floor drying out.

The suggested moisture range of most Hardwood floors is 6-9. Ive seen where people will let the floor stay put in de-humidifiers crank the heating system to try to remove the moisture from the room but most of the time the floor doesnt go back to its original condition. I recently chatted with David Hochberg on his radio show Home Sweet Home Chicago about the impact that high.

A crucial factor is the relationship between air humidity and wood moisture. The dry winter with the heat on will reduce the humidity level more. 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 those of its surroundings.

In these two seasons the change of humidity is frequent and significant. As mentioned above cupping can occur when the hardwood is exposed to hot humid temperatures in the summer and then cooler winter temperatures. While moisture from below is the usual cause of cupping wood floor cupping can also occur from rapid surface drying.

This will cause the wood to expand and contract allowing moisture to enter the cracks between boards. Cupping happens when the edges of a board are higher than its center due to moisture which causes the wood to expand. Cupping results in permanent damage.

Keep your house warmer in summer by setting the air conditioner above the outside dew point. The main cause of cupping in hardwood floors is the presence of excess moisture in the immediate vicinity. As noted previously moisture movement within wood can be slow.

Cupping is the reaction a wood floor endures when exposed to a change in moisture content. Only install acclimated wood floors. 5 Tips to Prevent Your Hardwood Floor from Cupping.

Summer Humidity and Wood Flooring Home Sweet Home Chicago Radio Show. 20-22C and humidity 40-45 and you need to remember that different wood flooring species react differently. To help protect your hardwood floors against cupping follow these 5 tips.

What is Hardwood Floor Cupping. 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. If the cupping is throughout your home humidity is likely the cause.

Sanding will not fix this issue.

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