Please help. Is it possible to fix cupping? I did not do the work. A hardwood floor contractor did it. I supervised the entire process and selected the vapor barrier and glue products. The wood is 3/4" solid Cumaru. I have a slab. Moisture test was 5 lbs. I used Mapei Planiseal WFM on entire slab. Then glued down with Mapie Ultra Bond 980. The wood was climatized and the contractor took moisture readings and said it was good. The floor is now about 6 or 7 weeks old and is starting to have cupping. This is common to the entire floor. What should I do ...if anything Thanks.

It amazes me with all the quality engeneered products out there that people will try to reinvent the wheel and do something like this. Solid cumaru is about the most unstable floor species on the planet. Any signs of moisture imbalance(weather ecessive or lack of) will give you some problems. the floor is taking on moisture so you need to identifiy the source and eliminate it first. Once thats out of the way you can evaluate the floor at that point.

The moisture is not coming from the cement so it most likely is just ambient moisture from outside. I live in Georgia and it can be humid here. How can I pinpoint exactly where the moisture is coming from?

The wood is cupping but not from mositure below huh? From the top...it should be _____? How dry is it there?

I said I installed a vapor barrier (Mapei WFM. The spec. says it reduces up to 20 lbs down to less than 3 lbs) and I said it's Georgia, which is humid.

Did I hear you say you glued 3/4 Solid direct to the slab ??? Sounds like LL Bellawood . But even they dont suggest gluing 3/4 Solid direct.

I did some of my research here in the forum and found that it can be done. I posted the question here looking for advise. If you don't have any then please do not post. thanks

With all the rain Georgia has had in the last two months it could be an external factor.

Find the source first.

http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... ontrol.htm

Almost assuredly your floor is picking up moisture from elevated humidity levels in the air above the floor. First thing to do is go to an industrial rental supply house and get one or two big de-humidifiers. Make sure they are hooked up to a drain or through a small window opening to allow for continuous running.
This will give you time to go out shopping for a permanent de-humidifier that will be pleasing to your decor.
Did I mention, do this NOW?
BTW, we here on this forum try to wade through a lot of questions that have missing information so if sometimes it appears one of us is being rude, in actuality, we are just trying to elicit the missing information.
Anyway, what WERE you thinking, gluing solid unstable wood direct to concrete? IF you get the humidity down to 45% or so, and maintain that year-round, your floor may survive.

go to radio shack or the like and buy a digital hygrometer for 20 bucks. You will need this to monitor the indoor air quality. It should be close to 45%. If its real high then more than likley you have your answer. If its real low then you may have a diffrent problem altogether. You mentioned before that readings were taking prior to install, you need to get some current readings and compare them to what it is now. Cumaru can be tough to get the pins in to get an acurrate reading so make sure the pins get down in the boards. (btw those non ivasive surface meters dont give accurate readings on most high density exotics so dont use them here) You can mark the pin locations with your meter then drive some finish nails into the holes then touch the pins to the head of the nails to get a reading at diffrent depths. Most cupped floors I see will read 8-9 on top and closer to 14 on the bottom of the boards.

Excuse me ? Sometimes one needs some more facts before arriving at a solution. I was trying to offer some help, with over 35 years experience. You had no idea where I was going. I didnt intend to ruffle your feathers. Good luck .

I bought a dehumidifier at Lowes. The reading was "50" when I turned it on. It's down to "45" 1 day later. I'm trying for "35". Is there a web site where I can post pictures so people in the forum can see what I'm talking about? I will get the hygrometer gauge at radio shack. That was a good tip about the finishing nails. thanks.

The hygrometer referenced is to read ambiant humidity levels in the home. The "nail tip" was to be used in conjunction with an invasive moisture metre to measure the moisture content of the floor.

You can post the pictures in our gallery at the top right menu. Just make sure the images are not larger then 256kb.

Keith

Wait a second here, if the wood is gaining mositure from the air and not the substrate ie top wetter than bottom....would it not be crowning instead of cupping?