My Hardwood Floor Is Cracking

Several factors can lead to its cause.

My hardwood floor is cracking.

Open fires log burners underfloor heating system running too hot and also the frequent use of air conditioning units. A damp crawlspace is under your flooring. The best way to fix a peeling floor is to sand it down to bare wood and restart the finishing process. Solutions for the creaking range from sprinkling talcum powder on the floorboards to screwing down the boards or even the subfloor.

Floor buckling is the most extreme reaction to moisture in a hardwood floor. In either case strategies for. This could happen for a number of reasons including. Creaking sounds may come from the subfloor or from the wood flooring itself.

Gapping occurs when wood floors lose their moisture content. If you have cracks in your hardwood floor the problem is likely to be low humidity and low moisture in the room causing the wood to dry out. Working in one to two foot sections spread a thin. If using liquid wax pour or squeeze a tablespoon from the can or bottle directly onto the hardwood floor then dip the mop head into the wax.

1 the staples were very close together and splits along the tongue were produced as the staples were driven. The example to the right shows a nickel sized gap. Creaking popping and snapping sounds can emanate from a hardwood floor that has been nailed to a wood subfloor as well as one that has been glued to concrete. Buckling occurs when the wood flooring actually pulls up from the subfloor lifting several inches in one or more places.

If you have a very damp crawlspace the moisture can seep through the subfloor. This can cause your floors to take on the moisture and then release it into the room resulting in hardwood floor splitting. Simply abrading the floor and applying a new top coat might not fix the problem. Generally creaking floors are not caused by settling or soil movement however you may want to check your foundation for cracks or other problems.

Fortunately this is not a common occurrence. Two main factors were causing the problems. Movement in the flooring system is generally the cause of noises in hardwood flooring. Even though the hardwood is no longer living and growing it contains cells that still take on and lose moisture with changes in relative humidity.

You can easily check for this issue by inspecting your crawlspace for signs of moisture or even mold. At times some floors appear to amplify creaking sounds and make them sound much worse than they really are.