Polyurethane Hardwood Cupping

Hardwood floor in basement cupping q.

Polyurethane hardwood cupping.

However you still need to take special care when cleaning this type of floor as you can damage the floor or the coating if you re not careful. The simplest way to think of wood floor cupping is to imagine the edges of each plank sticking up higher than the centers. When problems arise or when a floor fails it can be costly. My basement was finished by the previous owners about 30 years ago and they put down hardwood floors possibly directly on the concrete.

Any wood floor can suffer from cupping. For flawless wood floors avoid these 11 wood flooring installation and finishing mistakes. The moisture will therefore try to move inside and cupping will start taking place when the moisture cannot escape through the floor boards due to impermeable sealants such as polyurethane. It ends up looking a little like an accordion.

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. The wet subfloor wets the bottom of wood flooring which causes the bottom of the planks to swell causing cupping in summer said rachael. Polyurethane finished wood floors are more durable than the wax coatings of the past. Cupping in solid wood floors.

When moisture interacts with a hardwood floor the side of the boards closest to the moisture expands. As suggested in the wood flooring 101 section of our website the type of wood flooring you have limits the range of possible repairs for your wood floor. The boards have bowed up in a large section in the center of the floor and you can bounce on them. The general effect is easy to demonstrate by putting a small strip of paper onto a small drop of water.

Hardwood floor in basement cupping q. Cupping occurs in solid wood flooring as a result of an elevated mc in the bottom of the flooring compared with the mc of the face. The type of wood flooring you have affects the repair options available. This expansion can be in the form of cupping the center of the board is lower than the edges or crowning the center of the board is higher than the edges.

Installing a wood floor requires a substantial investment in materials and labor. Solid hardwood flooring offers the broadest range of options as you can sand and scrape away up to 1 4 of an inch of the wood to remove cupping or surface mold and. My basement was finished by the previous owners about 30 years ago and they put down hardwood floors possibly directly on the concrete. Clean your floor regularly by sweeping and damp mopping and work on any spills quickly so they don t set in and.

The two major types of polyurethane are oil based and water based each of which has different advantages.