High levels of humidity can cause hardwood flooring to.
Floor separation softwood humidity.
Wood floor types damage diagnosis repair damaged wood floors.
Air with a low moisture content or low relative humidity rh causes wood to lose moisture.
When wood loses moisture it shrinks.
Cupping can also happen when spilled water gets absorbed by your hardwood floors.
They weren t there in the summer solid 3 4 hardwoods will expand and contract with seasonal changes in moisture.
As we just saw however this range can often be difficult to achieve in certain areas of the country during certain seasons.
Almost every wood floor will show some separation between boards particularly in the winter months when homes are heated and the air is dry.
Those are the reasons why engineered wood flooring is a safe bet for any high humidity areas such as bathrooms or kitchens.
This is especially noticeable with site finished floors whose final appearance after the work has been done is near flawless.
However if humidity really is an issue at your home pay attention and take the time to check it carefully and get professional advice.
Even just a few days of humidity can cause wood flooring to cup which means that the edges on the wooden board are higher than its center.
High moisture level should not be a problem in this case.
Install flooring when it has the right moisture content.
Often it s a floor owner concerned with new hardwood floors separating or gapping.
The national wood floor association nwfa states that normal relative humidity levels should range between 30 50 to ensure successful long term performance of your wood flooring.
Relative humidity can be measured with a humidity gauge which can be bought at hardware stores and ideally should fall between 30 and 50.
To avoid cupping keep your indoor humidity levels between 40 60.
The interior temperature and relative humidity of a house determine the correct moisture content for a wood floor.
Crawl space moisture and hardwood flooring crawl space moisture and hardwood flooringto understand the cause of wood floors cupping or buckling when you re sure there is no water damage due to a flood or leak you must understand the relationship between relative humidity your wood floor and your crawl space during the summer months in the northeast region wood subfloors and floor joists.
As sales manager for wagner meters ron has more than 35 years of experience with instrumentation and measurement systems in different industries.
The wood shrinks because it loses moisture and gaps.
