we have new wood floors and they are buckling. I appears that the urathane did not adhere. What can we do?

Question

We don't want to replace the floor. Is there anything we can do to fix the spots that are buckling? I have one area in my back bedroom that looks like a small hill.

we did allow a 1/4 inch space between the wall and the ending of the wood. it is not happening all over the floor...just in spots. it is a real hardwood floor on concrete via urathene

Answer 1

Buckling is caused by moisture. The wood swells and has nowhere to go but up. Try using a dehumidifier to dry the room and the buckling should go down. This is usually a problem in the summer when the humidity is high. Turning the heat up may be enough to dry the wood.

Answer 2

Actually, the urathane provides a vapor barrier and is used when you install wood or laminate flooring over something like concrete. Without it, it is highly likely the floor would develop mold and mildew type problems. If it is a laminate floor the buckling is likely cause because it was not given enough room to "float" as it tends to expand with heat and contract with cold. If this is the case, remove the side moldings and baseboards around your floor and cut about a 1/4" off all the edges and you should be fine. You will, of course, need to replace the ones that buckled though.

Answer 3

I just helped my friend put solid oak wood floor in his dining room and kitchen. I learned from him there needs to be a gap on each end between the end of the flooring and the baseboard or wall of at least 1/8 inch. If not the natural contraction and expansion due to heat/cold will cause the floor to buckle if there is no room to expand.