Why and When Wood Floors Could Fail and what can be done to remediate those problems.
There are many reasons hardwood floors may fail. However, the number one most common reason for wood floor failure is due to excessive moisture or dryness. Remediation strategies require proper acclimation time and mediation of introduced moisture and dryness.
When we go to install wood floors they are either installed on a concrete slab or on subfloor made of plywood or OSB sheeting materials. Installing over concrete slab requires more attention to warranty installed practices because concrete naturally contains high levels of moisture.
Before installation the flooring material needs to be acclimated over time to the normal state of humidity of the house where it will be installed. That means using air conditioning, heaters or radiant floor heating as you normally would. You need to have your house operating in the conditioned environment that you will be living in. Do not put wood floors in your garage to acclimate or unconditioned spaces and expect them to be install correctly. All wood floors have an amount of time they need to acclimate. We will use a moisture meter or other type of moisture test to determine that the moisture content in the flooring is comparable to the moisture content of the other wood in your home, the subflooring and/or the cabinetry. In general floors want to have between 9%-12% moisture content as related to the humidity in your specific area.
Humidity can come into the house in several ways. If you live on the coast humidity can come in when you open your windows or doors. The fog rolls in and you get excessive humidity from the air. Make sure to close doors and windows during times of excessive humidly so that we don’t introduce additional moisture. If the installation plan is to glue the wood floor to a concrete slab; we need to isolate the moisture coming up through the slab. The correct method of preparation is to do a moisture test of the slab. There are several types of moisture tests. You can use a moisture meter or a calcium chloride test to read the level of the moisture in a concrete slab.  Concrete in general will always be moister than wood wants to be. So we need to isolate the moisture away from the wood.  One method is to seal the concrete slab. There are many sealers on the market and they have their limitations, so it’s important to know what kind moisture could occur over time and that the sealer can handle the pressure of the moisture coming up through the slab. There are several products on the market from epoxy based sealers to water based sealers and they all have their limitations on how much moisture they can reject or keep down in the slab. Another method is to use a physical barrier. One of the best moisture barriers is a 3 in 1 pad which has a padding, a moisture barrier and a sound dampening layer. The new wood floors will be floated on the concrete slab with either a click together system or a glued tongue and groove system. With this 3 in 1 type of moisture barrier system properly installed you will be sure to not have the issue of moisture coming up through the slab.
Example of a cupping floor.
When gluing wood floors to a concrete slab it can be more problematic. You can test your slab during the summer and it will be dry. But when you get a very wet winter you will get an increase of moisture in the slab. So when gluing wood flooring to a slab it is very important to either use a sealer on the slab or use the 3 in 1 padding material over the slab to block moisture from the wood flooring. Most wood floor manufacturers say that if you are sub-surface or below grade they do not warranty a wood floor installation. If you are surrounded by mountains you are considered below grade. When bringing wood flooring in to the dwelling to acclimate a solid hardwood floor needs approximately three weeks to acclimate. Again the true test is if the moisture content in the flooring material is the same as the other wood in the house. You bring the product into your home, open up the boxes and let it sit in your house in the conditioned air space for the amount of time it takes to acclimate. Engineered hardwood floors will acclimate quicker, usually in a few days to a week. The final determination is to test wood flooring and be sure it matches the level of moisture in the other wood in the house. High humidity and moisture levels will cause the material to expand. When floors fail due to high moisture levels the floor start to uplift. Â That is an indication that the floors have expanded against a cabinet, a doorway or a wall and has started to push upon itself and buckle at the weakest point. Floors can rise anywhere from an inch to a few inches. That buckling is because the floor is absorbing moisture and expanding past the expansion joints which pushes them up against the wall or a cabinet or a doorway. That is when the floors will buckle. Another failure scenario, which happens with glue down application on concrete, is that each flooring member starts to cup. This can be seen in the reflection of light and can be felt by touching the floor. The edges will be raised and the center will be sunk because the moisture is trying to escape through the edges of the wood. Buckling or cupping wood floors is because there is excess moisture. The problems from cupping or buckling will be seen in the flooring before mold issues become apparent. There are areas that get extremely dry conditions such as in Arizona, the valleys of California, and throughout the South West. These areas get very dry conditions that cause flooring material to dry out and crack which will create other types of problems. Sometimes you will also see large gaps occur over time between floor planks. Houses require the opposite remediation in this scenario where cooling units help keep temperatures down and result in less drying of material.
Example of a buckled floor.
Another reason floors can fail is because of unlicensed flooring installers that do not follow the manufacturer’s instructions and guidelines. Most flooring manufacturers require that the subsurface whether it is concrete or plywood subfloor be level with less than an 1/8 inch of change over an eight-foot span. This leveling issue is about peaks and valleys in the subfloor surface. Our licensed installers will take an eight-foot straight edge over the subfloor to check and see if there are any peaks or valleys. They will grind down the high points and float the low spots. If an installer does not meet that 1/8 inch requirement to level the subfloor the flooring will slowly start to break down at the joints. The wood floors will start to get those creaking sounds or the floor will have that bouncing feeling. The more movement in the floor the sooner the flooring breaks down. Another reason wood floors will fail is because of not having enough expansion joints installed. In moist months your floor expands around 1/4 inch on all sides and you have expansion joints of 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch which give enough room to expand. In the summer months the flooring material contract but is covered by baseboard and molding to hide the gaps.Â
Other conditions that may not be failure but may not meet expectations are color change and fading from southwest facing windows. Natural materials will start to discolor so most companies will tell you how to place your flooring to avoid them baking in the sun. If you have an oil based floor spotting from water can be a problem.
Hardwood floors installed in homes and businesses can suffer damage in the form of scratches on wood floors especially with polyurethane finishes. These condition issues could be seen as a failure of the flooring material but are more likely a failure of the expectations of the flooring. This type of damage can happen when moving furniture, scuffs from high heels and shoes or from pets running. That is normal wear and tear on a wood floor. This kind of damage can be remedied by controlling the animals, putting pads on the legs of furniture and by people taking off their shoes. But in general it is a natural wood floor, it will go through color changes, it will scratch and it will gain character.
We at Green Goods are here to assist you with your FSC and Green Guard Plus hardwood flooring needs. We are committed to promoting and installing environmental and renewable flooring products. We can professionally install your wood flooring following the manufacturer’s specifications.
If you are looking for beautiful flooring materials visit our online showroom at greengoodsusa.com. Â We are ready to help you install beautiful hardwood floors in your home or business. Please contact us at 866 254 9494 and at [email protected].
Written by Mikel Robertson, Co-founder of Green It Now, Inc.,Â
Facebook Twitter Houzz LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Pinterest Google+
