Hi
We had our home built and closed on it in Jan of 07. Our Dining room had wood floor and Living room carpet. In May (or so) of 08 we had the same company that did the Dining room do the Living room in hardwood. The new stuff is cupped whereas the original floor is not. The cupping was evident from the install. The company preaches "moisture, moisture, moisture" but it's hard to swallow when the original floor is fine. Also the manager from the company came out with his moisture meter and our house was dry, even in the basement and between the floor joists. Another step we did before the new floor install was seal the sub-floor, can't remember exactly the name, but it was made for it.

My questions are
-Can a bad install cause cupping? The installer was pounding away pretty good.
-Any other possible explanation?

Below are some pics of two different areas where the original floor (bottom) meets the new floor (top).



Here is a pic of the new floor with a gap in between planks ends. There are several ends like this. To me it's showing compression due to dryness and getting colder. The cupping along the long side is still there.


Your expert opinions are welcome!

Was unable to view the pics from the links you posted. I am leery of answering your questions without seeing them.

Ditto. It appears that to view pics on that site, one must be a member. Try the Img tags again. To work, the link where your pics are posted must be between the two img tag icons.

I uploaded the pics to photobucket.com and that seems to work. Sorry about that.

IMO I cant see how this would be a moisture condition in your home. You mentioned that this was noticable right away. I would question if the wood was moisture tested prior to installation. A lot of companys only moisture test the subfloor. And seeing that the existing wood is o.k, they may have figured GREAT. The company is right saying moisture, and it's their responsibility to ALSO test the wood before installation.

Nailing of this floor did not cause the cupping.
Are you sure it came out of the box already cupped? Quote: the cupping was evident from the install.
A moisture imbalance between the top of thye board and the bottom of the board will give you that washboard look, but it is usually encountered after the install.
You mention "sealing the subfloor." Was this done immediately before the install and was it in liquid form?

The seal was painted on the sub floor several days before the install and it was dry. The installer complimented that we did it. The boxes of wood for the floor did sit in our house for 1-2 days before the install as well.

I could have come out of the box cupped. If it wasn't the install that would be the next logical cause to me.

We have not witnessed a period of time where the cupping is less/more. It 'seems' always the same.

If the new floor looked cupped immediately after the install, then it was cupped prior to being installed. It could look that way if exposed to lots of moisture overnight. Was the subfloor concrete or wood? Exactly what was used to "seal" the subfloor? Can you post photos of the older floor?

I would imagine if it was nailed down thats a wood substrate, what were the readings of the substrate and the wood prior to installation? Documentation?

That's exactly my question. Was the wood tested prior to installation ?

The time frame here is a little weird to me. The additional wood was installed May 08 ? That's a year and a half ago. Are you positive the cupping was evident right at install ? Or did it take a while.

What installer would install cupped wood like that, right out of the box ?

The OP did not say the floor was nailed down. Was it? All he/she said was the installer was pounding on it. The OP did say they have a basement with joists and I assume there is a wood subfloor over this basement. I guess it was nailed down but who really knows. The house could be a tri-level with a concrete subfloor for part of it. Those are quite common in my area. More info is needed. Or, the area in question could have had plywood underlayment installed over a concrete substrate. Also, a year and 1/2 later, the OP is questioning the installation. Something seems not right here.

No Gary, the floor in question is the new install, not the original

The "new install" is 1 1/2 years old ( The original install is almost 2 years ).

To me it's showing compression due to dryness and getting colder. The cupping along the long side is still there.

Now I am confused...does he mean it's showing past compression because it has dried out and was compressed before due to cupping and expansion? But it is still cupped??

I think the "compression" is referring to the end joints, like boards shrunk in the length. I would think the random endjoint gaps were there at installation .