Buckled Wood Floors: Causes and Fixes
Published May 11th, 2020
A homeowners’ worst nightmare is a damaged luxurious wood flooring. Of course, we all want to have a spectacular home, and a lovely wood floor often comes with it.
However, wood flooring requires a certain amount of maintenance to avoid unwanted damages. The most common disaster that you don’t want your beautiful house to have are buckled wood floors.
So what are the causes of buckling of wood floors and how can you fix it? Keep reading to find out.
What Are Buckled Wood Floors?
Buckling of wood floors is when your floorboards rise, causing humps and uneven surfaces.
Wood naturally expands and contracts as it reacts to environmental conditions. But severe expansions and contractions can prevent your hardwood floor from going back to its original shape. This is when buckling starts.
What Causes Buckled Wood Floors?
The most common causes of buckling of wooden floors are either due to environmental factors or faulty installation. These include:
Water
Leaking appliances or moisture from a concrete subfloor can buckle your wood floors. When it gets wet and moisturized, the wood needs to accommodate the moisture. Thus, causing the hardwood planks to swell. It would need to move upward and expand, which leads to buckling of the wood floor.
High Humidity
The buckling of wooden floors is also usual in high humid environments. That’s why if you live in an area that has humid weather, a wood floor is usually not recommended. Especially in small and windowless parts of your house, like the bathroom and kitchen.
Your wooden floor can absorb moisture from the air, and this will cause the wood to expand and to buckle. Fans and ventilation can reduce buckling, though.
Improper or No Acclimation
Acclimation should be done first before installing the hardwood floors. If not, the wood may expand or contract after the installation and will lead to the deformation of the wood.
Acclimation is a process where the wood planks stay within the rooms where it will be installed. This process has to be done for at least two weeks so that the wood can adjust to the temperature and humidity of the area.
Improper Installation
Taking care of your precious hardwood flooring is a plus and can prevent your wooden floor from buckling. However, if the installation is faulty, it will cause severe wood problems in the long run.
To address this, you should only hire professionals like Vintage and Specialty Woods to ensure that your wooden floor gets installed correctly. We are the most complete and thorough timber company you will find for your project. Our team of timber specialists ensures that you get the best quality and craftmanship for your high-end and complicated projects that require intricate work. Our gallery of past projects and satisfied clients speak for the quality of work that we do.
How to Fix a Buckled Wood Floor?
As mentioned, weather and moisture are the most culprits of buckling wood floors. If the buckling is minimal, you can try drying the damaged area and see if it returns to its normal shape.
You can also try putting a little pressure or a heavy object on top of the buckled wood to settle it back to its place.
If these don’t work, calling a professional is highly encouraged. Replacing and fixing buckled wood floor can be a lot of work.
Hire The Timber Experts For Your Next Project
Vintage & Specialty Wood should be your source of the highest quality timbers from around the world. When it comes to fabricating and installing reclaimed wood or specialty wood products in your home, we don’t cut corners. We offer many reclaimed wood and specialty wood products such as Douglas Fir, white oak, and much more. We also offer timber framing and wood flooring services as well. Contact our team today to speak to a timber expert about what Vintage & Specialty Wood can do for you.
About The Author
Judy Ponio is a professional writer for the Vintage & Specialty Wood website blog. Her passion for carpentry and wood working coupled with her commitment to fact based blogging has helped her articles help millions of people over the years.
