Hi,

5 inch wide prefinished hickory, new installation over red rosin paper and 3/4 plywood

A week or so ago, I noticed my floor was cupping and quickly discovered the icemaker line was leaking. I would say it was a steady drip for 3 or 4? days. I could see a slow drip in the basement from below the wet areas. The worst area under the fridge was/is cupped to the point that you can see the tongue of the board easily. In front of the fridge, the gaps between the boards are tight, but cupped. No cracks.

I just installed new kitchen cabinets over this flooring and do not have the tops installed yet. I have one month before the counters are delivered. My plan is to remove the cabinets and replace the flooring from the back wall to about 3 feet out. Past 3 feet it's fine. The worst of the damage is along the wall and it gets better as you move away from the wall. The way the flooring was laid out I can pull the boards from the damaged area and work off the good flooring and reinstall new boards over the wet/drying area.

I know installing dry flooring over a wet subfloor would be dumb and put me right back in the same boat. I should be able to leave the subfloor clear for two weeks before the flooring and cabinets will need to go back in for the counter installation. I think/hope that will be enough time to dry the subfloor, from the basement it already looks better. I did notice some mold along the one joists and started cleaning that today.

I know some say to wait it out, but two dehumidifiers and lots of fans are doing little after a week. I don't mind the work or expense for a box of new boards. My biggest fear is that if I wait, they won't completely flatten, then I'll have to try and replace them after I have the quartz counters installed and I won't be able to do it so I'll have to have the floor sanded and I won't be able to match the prefinished color.

What do you recommend I do to make the installation of new boards go as smoothly as possible?

Also, should I put a layer of plastic down just to prevent any moisture that may be in the subfloor from getting through.

A million thanks, (Oh, and yes I was the moron who didn't tighten the ice-maker supply line when I reinstalled the fridge. So that's awesome.)

Take out wet boards as soon as you can so the sub-floor can dry. The channels on the back of the boards draw moisture along by capillary action so the longer the hickory flooring is left in place the more potential for a bigger problem. A hair dryer can speed up the drying process. Do you have a moisture meter? They range from $20-200, but you need one to make sure the area is ready for new flooring.

Thanks for the reply!

I am picking up a meter tomorrow along with a few boxes of flooring.

Any other tips?

I pulled up the boards last night and I'm glad I did. The paper under there was really damp. Would have taken month to dry. I put some oil dry down over night and that dried up the top layer nicely. I'm guessing 10 days and it's dry as a bone. Amazon will deliver my moisture meter Mondy and I'll get some readings.

Right now my RoHS moisture tester says the subfloor is 11.16% (average over 10 spots) and my flooring is about 7% so I think I'll have to wait a bit longer for the subfloor to dry.

I have this meter, https://goo.gl/KxqtGU can anyone tell me what wood groups to use on the subfloor and the hickory flooring? I've been using C for both.

From the packaging, "Four measured wood species for you select: A is for Teak, Afrormosia, Walnut etc; B is for White Poplar, Keruing etc; C is for Lauan, Ash, Elm etc; D is for Basswood, Larch, Pine etc."

Also, the subfloor moisture averages are almost the exact same over a 3 day period, does that mean it's as dry as it's going to get? I'm running a dehumidifier above and below the subfloor, 4 fans and 40% or less humidity in the room with A/C. It feels really dry and and area 5 feet from the wet area is 10.87% ave.



As always, thanks,

You may get a drier reading by waiting, but the readings now are close enough to start the repair. Hickory is a dense hard wood, so I would guess Group A. It doesn't really make much difference which wood group you use if you have wood that has been on site, laid previously, to compare with your patch wood. You know that the rest of the floor is behaving well, so match the new wood moisture content to that and you will be able to patch the new wood in without gaps. I like to install a patch when the new flooring is a little on the dry side, so the boards will fit better, then if possible wait for the final acclimation to take place before sanding.