Can someone please help? I spent a fortune 8 months ago on a solid oak floor laid in a living room and dining room. The floor is laid over weyroc, the sub floor is soil/ rubble. The floor has expanded with each board cupping up to 4mm over a 150mm width. I've also laid a loose offcut on top of the floor and this has gone the same way. The problem is likely due to high humidity, not sure if its coming from the sub floor and whether or not a damp proof membrane will help? The floor is discrete nailed not floating. I’m trying to sort the problem before sprog #2 arrives in a few weeks!
Solid wood floor in 2 rooms cupping..
- Thread starter rogerpw
- Start date
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Did you contact the company that installed it for you? Not as a complaint, but as a worry and ask them if they know of a solution. They know exactly how it was installed and how wide the expansion gaps were.
If you run into a problem with them, more than happy to try to help when you give more details on the wood floor (measurements of the boards, measurements of the room etc etc)
If you run into a problem with them, more than happy to try to help when you give more details on the wood floor (measurements of the boards, measurements of the room etc etc)
C
cmother1
Are the boards cupping both ways (ie some upwards and some down)? If so it's sounds like the boards drying out, suggesting the timber needed to be seasoned or dried more before being made into planks.
If the boards are T&G fastened down with concealed nailing at the edges this will exacerbate the problem - 6" width is pushing it for this type of attachment.
Can't think of any cheap solution other than the obvious - more nails or, preferably, screws. Not pretty, I'll admit.
If the boards are T&G fastened down with concealed nailing at the edges this will exacerbate the problem - 6" width is pushing it for this type of attachment.
Can't think of any cheap solution other than the obvious - more nails or, preferably, screws. Not pretty, I'll admit.
Sorry, but don't agree with the preference of using screws to solve this problem.
For one thing, the exact cause has to be found first and for the other: you don't want to know how strong wood is. Screwing will not allow any movement at all, resulting in split boards - believe me, we've seen them.
It sounds IMHO more the wood is expanding, not shrinking.
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C
cmother1
Trust me - it's not a preference, only cheap...
The floor is 150 x 18mm natural oak random lenghts. Every plank is cupped, i.e. edges high. The fitter says its high humidity causing the problem. I've had it independently checked at 8 - 10% (surely not high?). Another (reputable) fitter says the floor is beyond salvage and should be replaced with new and a damp proof course fitted beneath. Given the floor base is weyroc, would this work (the floor is secret nailed)? Not sure where next to go with this, is the fitter responsible as no humidity readings were taken prior to fitting, or is the floor itself suspect? I left 2 planks loose in one of the rooms, 4 weeks later they also cupped, even though they were loose!
Cheers!
Cheers!
where did the wood come from? country? china/germany etc?
Who supplied the wood?
Who supplied the wood?
C
cmother1
I was wondering where the theory about high humidity had come from. If you've got a Weyroc sub-floor it should be pretty moisture resistant (you're supposed to be able to leave it exposed on site for weeks if you have to).
8% is about as low as you can go with air-drying so I'd expect your boards to now be stable if a little curly. Unfortunately I've never seen any way to successfully flatten them out again other than sanding a lot off (possible with your sub-floor?) or nails/screws (which given the hardness of the timber mightn't work anyway. Note also WYL's caveats about splitting)
Was the timber also glued to the Weyroc? Could it have been an adhesive that caused the underside of the planks to swell maybe? Still doesn't account for the loose boards though.
8% is about as low as you can go with air-drying so I'd expect your boards to now be stable if a little curly. Unfortunately I've never seen any way to successfully flatten them out again other than sanding a lot off (possible with your sub-floor?) or nails/screws (which given the hardness of the timber mightn't work anyway. Note also WYL's caveats about splitting)
Was the timber also glued to the Weyroc? Could it have been an adhesive that caused the underside of the planks to swell maybe? Still doesn't account for the loose boards though.
The flooring was bought from Floors To Go before it was recently taken over, it probably originated in China. The boards are only glued along 2 walls, the start run and finish run, don't think the adhesive would effect it.
Now you have to explain that practise. Fully bonded or only glued the T&G of those few boards?
The 2 rows of boards nearest the walls were glued to the weyroc, not T&G glued. Today the moisture of the weyroc was retaken at 7%. There is a theory that moisture from the subfloor is passing to the underside of the boards and causing the problem. Suggestion is to start again and rip up the floor & weyroc and dolomite fill the subfloor. This also means taking off skirting boards etc., the whole process messy given the rooms have been decorated to a high standard. Green weyroc boards which are waterproof would be fitted with a single sheet/ taped damp proof membrane over the top. Sounds expensive, does anyone think this is OTT?
C
cmother1
Whose is this theory about the Weyroc letting moisture through? Doesn't sound very convincing to me... How come the wood's water content is higher than the Weyroc's? Surely it would be the other way round.
On balance I'd say that you've simply got a dud batch of timber (& still think it more likely that the cupping is due to drying out rather than swelling. Why else would the loose offcuts have cupped - they're not even touching the Weyroc).
If it was a supply and fit job you should be able to get redress from the contractor. If you bought the wood yourself and hired the fitter independently I don't see how you can have any comeback.
On balance I'd say that you've simply got a dud batch of timber (& still think it more likely that the cupping is due to drying out rather than swelling. Why else would the loose offcuts have cupped - they're not even touching the Weyroc).
If it was a supply and fit job you should be able to get redress from the contractor. If you bought the wood yourself and hired the fitter independently I don't see how you can have any comeback.
Going to try something: lay a piece of flooring from another source next to an offcut from the flooring laid and see how the two behave. If its a fault with my flooring it will become apparent.
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