I had the floor replaced in 1 room after water damage done by a leaking faucet. The insurance company took care of all the work. In the area damaged by the water the oak planks were removed and the area was completely dried using fans and large commercial dehumidifiers. The flooring was installed in December of '05. During the late spring, we started noticing ridges along the edges of the boards. It spread throughout the entire new floor where every edge cupped up. It was the worst in the summer when the humidity was the highest.

I believe the problem is due to expansion. The insurance company does too. The flooring may not have been acclimated long enough in the room, or the conditions may have been too dry when the floor was installed.

I do have a warrentee on the work and the Insurance company believes that if the floor is sanded to even out the surface and then refinished, this will solve the problem. Even if they do this work, I will still get another year warrantee on the work.

I want this fixed once though! The cupping has gone down a bit already with the humidity level dropping a bit. With higher humidity next summer, will the expansion come back and start cupping again? What happens to the floor as it contracts this winter? Will the mass that was sanded away form the opposite effect and start showing small depressions across the floor along the seam lines?

The adjuster has already seen the problem and acknowledged it. I have the restoration company (hired by the insurance) coming in today to look at it and to schedule a flooring company to repair it. Should I allow this sanding and refinshing to be done now? Is there a better time, or does something else need to be done to repair the problem?

Thanks,
Diane

If they sand a cupped floor, what you will end up with is a crowned floor when the moisture it gained, leaves.

I say the subfloor and what is below it, wasn't dried out enough. I wonder if mold is growing under the flooring??

You have a vapor transmission issue. (The space under your floor is wet) Is it over a crawlspace?

Yes, it is over a crawlspace. The room the floor is in is an addition to the house. (6 years old). The crawl space of the addition is much drier than in the original house and it was built with a vapor barrier under the slab. There is no mold or humidity on that side of the house.

The original floor which was there for 5 years had no moisture problems (until of course the dreaded leak which caused the replacement of the floor.) All the moisture levels were checked and documented when the floor was installed too, including the subflooring.

The rep from the restoration company was leaning toward the crawlspace too. For obvious reasons he would like to find it to be a problem with the house. He went down and checked this past friday, but conceded that there didn't seem to be moisture down there. We were having a rainy spell for a couple of days too.

I may install some additional ventilation for the summer to be safe. Maybe a fan in one of the vent openings. It can't hurt.