Q: What can cause hardwood floors to buckle in some areas? No water or liquids have been left standing anywhere.
The owner of the home is blaming my family and I, since they have occurred after we moved in.
A: Only moisture can cause this. I am not familiar with the layout. It could come from almost anywhere. A crawl space. A clothes dryer not vented to the outside. Water coming in from somewhere and concentrating under the area in question. A leak in a pipe upstairs that runs down a wall and under the floor. You have to be a detective at this point.
Note from webmaster.. found a new cause:
Q: I had a solid oak floor installed over concrete. It’s not glued or nailed. The wood is now buckling in some places. Will nailing it down solve my problem, and if so what nails would you suggest, over 1000 sq ft of floor?
A: If the floor is not glued and not nailed, then it is just loose laid. It’s just sitting there? You will have to take it all up. Then you will either have to build a raised floor on the concrete, 3/4″ plywood on sleepers, or fasten plywood to concrete either with Hilti/Ramset or tap con screws. If this is 3/4″ thick flooring you would need 2 plywood layers. 3/4 and 1/2″. In this case you can use 1 3/4″ or 2″ cleats with a power nailer.
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