This site is amazing.....I didn't think my 6 month old kempas hardware floor looked right, I take meticulous care of it and followed mfg's procedures to protect my warranty when I installed it. But now it's cupping and I noticed that several of the boards looked like they were beginning to split in the middle.

We live in NW Missouri, where the heat and the humidity has been really bad for the last month. Unfortunately, our A/C quit before then and we thought that since the house is open and airy, we could muddle thru til our new heatpump was installed. But in the last week I've noticed that this room, which is a 20 x 30 addition with a crawl space (yes, we laid a moisture barrier over the dirt even tho it's a good 3.5 feet below the floor joists), was beginning to cup (didn't know the term til I read it here). I called Lowes' and they're trying to help, but the salesman told me that if there's no A/C in the house, then my warranty is voided because we didn't maintain the right humidity. I'm sorry, but is checking the humidity another one of those things I have to do several times a day???

Anyhoo, replacing is not an option, the expense was almost too much the first time around, so my question is this....HOW DO I FIX IT??? Can I have it all sanded down flat again and just refinish it or do I learn to love the ripple effect that we have and convince myself that I like the feel of the little ridges under my feet? The strange thing is that its only bad down the center of the room. The outside walls and the fireplace area are still nice and smooth. The crawl space is well ventilated and protected.

It's 3/4" solid Kempas with some sort of oxide (could be wrong) finish on it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Don't do anything right now.

After the home RE-acclimates, the Wood Moisture Content will lessen and the floor will flatten down... What we don't know is how flat it will return to.
If you sand and re-finish too soon, and the Wood Dries, then you will end up with the centers higher than the edges.


I suggest waiting until next spring, after the heating season, to make repair decisions.

At this point I'd try a dehumidifier, but that won't work if the windows are open.

In the old days before HVAC, they must have voided any warranty, huh?? LOL

There is a regional average moisture content level. In my area, that is 10% MC If it is winter and the flooring brought in and it is reading about 7-7.5% because they acclimated it to the heater being on and drying things out, I am going to figure my shrink and swell cofficient, and leave gaps in the flooring, so come the humid season, and the flooring swells, it will not have extreme cupping, if any at all and especially no buckling, unless you close the home up and it becomes a high humidity greenhouse(the old days homes where drafty. What was weather stripping??)

My grannies home in Kansas, had gaps when we visited during Christmas, and had slight washboard effect in the summers.

The main issue here is the wood has gained moisture and swelled.
Wait for a full season before making repairs.
The "quick fix" may result in a different problem.
Be patient.

6 month old floor means it was installed in the winter when it was dry due to the furnace (low humidity). Both Perry and Ray are correct. The problem is the floor was installed when the humidity was low and now, because the humidity is high, the flooring has swelled and appears cupped. Ray is right. Don't do anything right now except get the humidity down with a dehumidifier or AC. It will take time to return to it's previous state, IF it does. The longer it stays in it's cupped state, the greater the chance it will remain that way. You can purchase an inexpensive humidistat (about $20.00) in many places. Floors perform best at around 45 to 50% relative humidity. They can handle TEMPORARY dips and spikes but not prolonged excesses. You should wait till next spring to decide what needs to be done, if anything.

Ya, at this point, you need to get the humidity levels back to, or even slightly lower then it was when it was properly acclimated.

Let it get some slight gapping, and then if the cupping is still there, sand and finish it. That will be your edge crush.

I am so impressed with you guys! The floor was laid in February when the weather was 20 degrees outside and the humidity was very very low. It's only started cupping in the last couple of weeks and not all the boards are affected. The darker ones don't seem to be as cupped.

Was waiting on the heatpump to be installed, but to heck with that, I'm having a new A/C unit installed asap to minimize the damage.

Nowhere in the paperwork that I have with this flooring does it offer any troubleshooting advice. Such as what cupping actually is, what to do or how to protect from it. I learned it all here on this forum, therefore, in my most humble opinion, YOU GUYS ARE THE GREATEST!!! Now, hopefully, I'll be able to take the appropriate steps to minimize the damage.

Thanks Again!

They've already answered your question kayla.... what I want to know is how have you been able to stand all this heat up till now.... the heck with the floor? Lord have mercy

The heat has been a definite challenge! There's no such thing as me sleeping without air conditioning, so I migrate out to the RV at bedtime! With gas prices so high, it's not getting used for anything else.

A new A/C unit is being installed Tuesday. And I'll let everyone know in a week or two if the floor is flattening back out.

Thanks guys!