As solid wood is a natural material, it needs room to expand and contract, and if there are no gaps, it will start to buckle and rise from the floor. Always make sure your wooden floor is laid by a professional, who will take the need for an adequate expansion gap seriously.
Solid wood flooring takes in moisture when there is a high level of humidity in the air and then the flooring lets that moisture go when the humidity in the atmosphere reduces again. When humidity is high, the wood expands.
There are a few reasons why your laminate floor may be lifting, such as moisture under flooring, lack of proper expansion spacing, improper installation, climate change, or uneven slab or subfloor surfaces. Lifting, buckling, warping, or peaking in laminate flooring is unsightly and potentially unsafe.
Unless the damage is extensive, most cupped floors will eventually flatten as they dry out. As we've pointed out, minor cupping is normal and to be expected.
Lifting of the laminate floor is due to acclimation issues. To fix it, remove the baseboards to relieve the pressure. Gently tap boards back together and move along the floor patiently until the gaps are filled. Boards that have lifted and warped should also be replaced.
If the buckling is only minor, in many cases the boards might return back to normal. If the boards are still showing areas of damage and buckling, you'll need to replace them.
Cause 1: Extra Moisture
The most common cause of an uneven floor is from an excess of moisture or water damage. The water can come from a leaky pipe hidden within a wall or groundwater. This water can directly affect your flooring causing the wooden beams and sub-flooring to warp.
More often than not, the reason for the moving and shifting of your laminate floorboards is because it may not have been installed properly. What is this? Usually, a tongue and groove feature is used as an installation method, making the need for nailing down each of the laminates redundant.
The first 24 hours are critical, and the longer the wood is in contact with water, the worse the damage will be. If you remove the water from your hardwood floors quickly and properly dry them, you may be able to save the wood (or most of it).
The best fix for swollen laminate flooring is to disassemble the floor and install new boards after addressing the source of water that damaged the board. Remove the board, one row at a time until you get into the bubbling board, and replace it with a new one.
Use a transition strip of molding to fill that 3/8-inch gap you left between the floating floorboards and the walls. Add a bead of construction adhesive to the gap first, and then slide the transition strip in place. This will do a lot to prevent the floating floors from moving.
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.
Since it is a floating floor, the planks tend to contract when it is cool and expand when it is warm. Therefore it is crucial to take precautions to prevent buckling.
Any new laminate floor product, including Swiss Krono, needs to sit in your house for at least 48 hours in the room it will be installed in order to acclimate or to become accustomed to a new climate or conditions.
Humidity can make your laminate floor boards shrink or expand a bit. This fluctuation in humidity levels can cause them to click loose and move, resulting in openings between the boards. Fortunately, you don't have to remove the entire floor to close these open joints.
Run the hair dryer along the swollen flooring until you start to see it contract. Then, use a roller or straight edge to flatten it out. If the piece of laminate starts to swell even more while drying it, you will need to replace it.
Buckling or Warping
Buckled wood floors are almost always a result of moisture damage. Laminate flooring is stirred by water in various ways. High moisture content in the air triggers buckling or warping. Unnecessary water on the floor surface can also cause warping or buckling.
Use a dehumidifier placed at the highest setting possible to dry the floors. Place it in the center of the room and leave it on for at least 24 hours. Next, place fans around the room so the entire surface receives the blowing air. Place the fans at the highest settings possible.
For many water-damaged wood floors, the best way to repair the damage is to eliminate and replace the affected boards and then to refinish the entire floor. The proper way to replace planks in a wood floor takes time and the expertise of a craftsman.
If the water is seeping up through the floor, it could be a result of insufficiently-sealed foundations or there could be cracks in the foundation floor.
Buckling. Moisture causes expansion across the wood grain of your floor. When the wood can't expand anymore because it is blocked by something solid such as a wall, the floor rises and pulls up from the subfloor to relieve the pressure. Buckled, bent or heaved floors will never correct themselves.
To dry beneath wood floors which have been flooded, first you should remove any wet floor coverings such as rugs or carpet. Next, dry the floors completely by pumping out standing water, then mop and towel the surface dry. Use fans to circulate the air in your home, and have patience as your floors dry.