Warped Wood Floor Problems in Michigan

Identifying The Cause & Solutions For Damaged Floors

As temperatures and humidity levels in your home vary, wood flooring will expand and shrink in its width and thickness. When it expands too much, buckling occurs.

Hardwood flooring provides beauty, natural appeal, and warmth to homes. It has been appreciated by homeowners since the earliest of days.

Wood flooring is one of the most challenging floor types to install and maintain. If the proper steps aren't taken to preserve your investment, it can easily be ruined.

At Ayers Basement Systems, we can provide a variety of solutions to help you upkeep your home's flooring, preserving its value, beauty, and functionality for years to come.

Meet with one of our professionals at Ayers Basement Systems to see what we can do for you; we're ready to help! We offer free quotes for a variety of related services within the Michigan & Indiana service area. Call or e-mail us to schedule an appointment!

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Cupping Wood Floors

Cupping occurs in wood floors when the edges of the boards are higher and the center is low. Cupping floors are a sign that the moisture levels in the wood are uneven from top to bottom. This happens specifically when the wood is wetter on the bottom of the board than on the top. As the wood expands with moisture, the boards are crushed against each other, causing the edges to lift upwards.

Wood floors will experience cupping when moisture becomes trapped underneath the wood. This has a tendency to happen when there has been a flood that has seeped into the floor. However, the most common cause of cupping wood floors is due to humidity being trapped in the wood from below.

When wood floors are placed directly on top of concrete with no vapor barrier installed underneath, humidity will pass through the porous concrete and saturate the wood. If the first floor of your home is built over a humid crawl space or basement, that could also contribute to a cupping floor problem significantly.

Is Wood Flooring a Bad Idea?

Wood rots, burns, and has varying strengths from piece to piece. No two pieces of wood are alike; it expands and contracts with moisture, temperature, and humidity. It is the home of termites, carpenter ants, and countless other pests. Who wants to deal with that?

Crowning Wood Floors

Sometimes, a contractor will sand and repair a cupping wood floor before the moisture content has returned to normal. As it dries out, the floor will instead show signs of crowning.

Crowning wood floors show the exact opposite symptoms of cupping floors. The wood will bend up in the middle and down on the edges.

This kind of flooring problem is sometimes caused by moisture imbalances in the wood, but it's much more common to see this occur as the result of the improper repair of cupping wood floors.

Some contractors will attempt to repair cupping wood floors by sanding them flat. However, as the wood dries out and returns to its original shape, the sanding will result in crowning wood.

Cupping and crowning also occur naturally, especially in the case of wider wood planks. This is because the outer "bark side" of lumber will swell more than the side of the lumber closest to the heart of the tree.

Repairing Cupping & Crowning Wood Floors

One of the best ways to repair hardwood floors that have shown signs of buckling is to simply dry them out. Once the hardwood has become dry, it may return to its original shape.

Repairs may still be possible even in extreme cases where the wood is buckling several inches above its original position. First, one must eliminate the source of water, and remove several floorboards to allow air to circulate and dry out the space. A powerful dehumidifier may be a key part of this kind of solution.

Sagging Wood Floors

Many times, a swelling, buckling floor can be repaired with little trouble or expense. However, if the wood has begun to show rot or water stains, it may need to be replaced.

If your floorboards are not buckling, but instead the entire floor itself is sagging, then you may have an entirely different problem.

Sagging floors are often a sign of a crawl space issue. The crawl space beams may be experiencing advanced rot, causing the supports to sag.

Otherwise, your issue may be sinking or insufficient crawl space support posts. Sinking crawl space jacks commonly occur when your supports are built on weak or insufficient supporting soils.

In some cases, your home may not have been designed with enough crawl space supports to properly bear the weight of your home. In this case, you will need additional support to prevent further damage.

Crawl Space Structural Repair

Installing adjustable steel crawl space jack posts can address crawl space structural issues. These steel crawl space jacks posts can be installed in your home quickly--usually within a day. They will not only stop your floor from sinking but you can also adjust them to return your floor to its original position.

Crawl spaces showing signs of structural damage due to mold rot or mold problems should also be encapsulated This will help to halt the damage and prevent further issues.

Professional Moisture Control Contractors in Michigan & Indiana

We pride ourselves in quality at Ayers Basement Systems. We provide long-lasting solutions for moisture problems of all kinds. To preserve your wood flooring through proper moisture management in your home, or you'd like a waterproof solution for your floor, we have just what you're looking for!

Our services include providing homeowners with crawl space repair, energy efficient dehumidifiers, and interlocking subfloor tiles that will create a moisture barrier on your concrete slab floor.

For a free quote for these or any of our services, call or e-mail us today to schedule your appointment!

We proudly serve the Michigan & Indiana area, including Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Muskegon, Elkhart, Battle Creek, Jackson, Mount Pleasant, Traverse City, South Bend, and nearby.

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