Hardwood Floor Drying

 Wet Hard Wood Floors?

Wood Flooring – There are many types and constructions of wood flooring material. Many can be restored to a pre-loss condition, even when minor cupping or crowning is evident. Restoration capability is dependant upon: response time, flooring type, replacement value, type of wood, finishes, installation method, moisture content (MC), and the degree of distortion. Several wood floors can be dried pulling water through the finish & without refinishing.

How the PCS system saves Hardwoods

The system we use you see in the picture above have been placed on the hardwood floors that have been completely soaked with water. Then we place drying panels on the floor with an air tight seal. Then we attach small yellow lines that you see to one side of the panels. The other end of the line is connected to the larger activation line. This line is connected to the system forming suction underneath the panels. Air travels from between the sub floor and the hardwood floor through the grooves between the boards, bringing with it any moisture. This system combined with very dry air from dehumidifiers will pull the moisture right out of the wood.

Cupping and Crowning of Hardwood Flooring

Flooring absorbs excessive moisture on the underside causes expansion and cupping with the edges raised.

Cupping (above) occurs when the top of the wood dries faster than the bottom of the wood or when the moisture is absorbed by the underside and causes it to expand, raising the edges.

The biggest mistake that can be made is to sand the floor flat while it is still retaining moisture. If a floor is sanded flat while at the higher moisture content the result would be strips with thinner edges.

After the floor dries completely the edges shrink and flatten back into position, but now since the top of the edges have been sanded, the center of each strip is higher than the edges. This is called a crowned floor.