When the wood can t expand anymore because it is blocked by something solid such as a wall the floor rises and pulls up from the subfloor to relieve the pressure.
Wood floors rising up.
If solid wood floors are fitted without an expansion gap problems which can sometimes be severe are likely to arise.
Both problems are usually because of water damage but although that s the most common cause it s not the only one.
Solid wood flooring takes in moisture when there is a high level of humidity in the air and then the flooring lets that moisture go when the humidity in the atmosphere reduces again.
Often wood floors that are bulged can dry out and return to their reasonable condition on their own especially laminated floors or parquets which have not been exposed to moisture too long.
Like cupping wood floor crowning happens because the boards are exposed to a moisture imbalance over an extended period of time.
This typically involves a plank or series of planks and the causes can include expansion after installation moisture or flooding or problems with your subfloor among others.
Floor buckling is the most extreme reaction to moisture in a hardwood floor.
Floor buckling happens most often after a floor has been flooded for an extended period of time.
Crowning can also be caused by previous floor cupping.
The root causes of buckling and peaking to fix buckled or peaked wood floors it s essential to understand what causes the wood to warp.
Buckled bent or heaved floors will never correct themselves.
Wood floor crowning is the opposite of cupping and happens when the center of the board is higher than the edges.
In winter when homes are heated and the air is dry wood flooring gives up some of its moisture and therefore shrinks.
Buckling occurs when the wood flooring actually pulls up from the subfloor lifting several inches in one or more places.
However there are a number of factors that may cause a laminate floor to lift up in places after installation.
During warm humid weather wood expands during dry weather it contracts.
If the flooring is linoleum.
Towel up all the water you can and allow to dry.
Moisture causes expansion across the wood grain of your floor.
When humidity is high the wood expands.
If the hump in the floor feels spongy or gives underfoot when you walk on it the most likely cause of the problem is underlayment that has come loose from the subfloor.
Placing a space heater or a fan near the wet spot can speed the process.