Your hardwood floors will look beautiful for many years to come. But one problem that can sneak up on you is when the floorboards start to warp.
Your hardwood floors will look beautiful for many years to come. But one problem that can sneak up on you is when the floorboards start to warp. Warping is usually associated with water damage, but heat damage can do it too. Thanks for scorching temperatures in Baltimore as summer wanes, your hardwood could be affected. Here’s what to do next.
Spotting the Signs
Thickness is one of the factors that affect how badly your hardwood floors warp. The thicker your floorboards are, the more likely they are to warp due to excessive heat.
One of the earliest warning signs of temperature warping is the appearance of unexpected gaps in your floor. If the gaps get wide enough, you’ll be able to glimpse the underlayer supporting your flooring. Two other signs are cupping and bulging. When this happens, the floorboards will pull away from the nails holding them down. At this point, you’ll also see them start to overlap.
Keep track of how often your hardwood floors swell. Swelling is far more common during the spring and summer. However, in the last three years, we’ve seen unseasonably warm temperatures persist in the Baltimore area until the winter holidays. During cold weather, hardwood floors are supposed to shrink. Even so, that doesn’t mean they can’t still warp. In this case, the warping manifests in the form of shifting. The shifting can also expose gaps if you don’t do anything about them.
How to Treat Warping
Fortunately, treating any warping-related problems is easier than it appears. You can fill in the gaps by yourself, but if you see that the floor has started to float, that’s not a good sign. In this situation, you’ll need to seek the assistance of hardwood flooring experts, such as those JKE Hardwood Flooring.
The hard part is deciding what you should do if the temperature warping has affected the planks used in your wood floors. For solid hardwood, try refinishing the hardwood before polishing it. That can help restore it to its original look. If you have engineered hardwood flooring, though, the warping will damage it beyond repair. At this point, you’ll need to replace the areas of your floor that are the most heavily affected.
Ready for a Beautiful Hardwood Floor? You Can Trust John K Eareckson & Co.!
When you work with John K Eareckson & Co. Flooring, we will ensure your hardwood floors undergo a stress-free acclimation process and that they sparkle for years to come. From a seamless and beautiful installation to years of maintenance, John K Eareckson & Co. Flooring has the expertise to care for your home’s hardwood floors. For a consultation and more information visit us online or give us a call at 410-788-4200. You can also look for us on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.