How to Prevent Wood Floors from Separating

Опубликовал Admin
7-06-2021, 11:40
DIY
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Nothing can be more nerve-racking than stumbling across two beautiful floorboards that appear to be splitting apart. Since wood swells when it absorbs moisture and it contracts when it dries out, a little separation between individual floorboards is completely normal. However, if these separations become too large, the gaps can become frustrating and visibly noticeable. Low humidity is the main culprit when it comes to wood floors separating, so the best way to keep your wood floors stable is to maintain a consistent humidity and temperature in your home.

Adjusting the Temperature and Humidity of the Room

  1. Keep the temperature between 60–80 °F (16–27 °C) at all times. When the temperature drops, the air tends to dry out. When the temperature spikes, the air tends to retain moisture for longer. To keep the wood flooring stable, keep the temperature in your home roughly 60–80 °F (16–27 °C) at all times. Try to avoid raising or lowering the temperature too far outside of this range to keep the wood stable.
    • Once your wood floor is installed, you cannot do anything to prevent separation outside of controlling the environment. There are no secret finishes or tricks; the goal is simply to create a hospitable environment for the wood. Luckily, this isn’t typically too hard to do.
    • Low humidity is the main culprit when it comes to wood flooring separating, but temperature plays a role as well. Wood tends to stiffen and become brittle when it’s cold, and soften and warp when it gets extremely hot. Temperature alone is unlikely to cause boards to separate, but it may weaken your flooring over time.
    • Try not to worry if you see some minor separation. Controlling the humidity and temperature will fix most minor separation issues.
  2. Monitor the humidity with a hygrometer and keep it at 30-50%. A hygrometer is basically a thermostat for humidity. Pick a hygrometer up at a drug store or online and leave it out in the room where you’re worried about the floors separating. Check the hygrometer on occasion to monitor the humidity and aim to keep the humidity between 30-50% at all times. Keep in mind, low humidity is more likely to lead to separation than high humidity.
    • When wood dries out, it retracts and compresses. If the humidity is really low, your boards are likely to shrink and separate from one another.
    • The good news is that your body prefers 30-50% humidity as well. You’re more likely to be comfortable if the humidity isn’t extremely high or low.
  3. Use a humidifier to keep your home humid. Air conditioning tends to dry the air out when you leave it on. If you don’t have central air in your home, or you have central air with no humidity control, purchase a humidifier. Whenever the humidity drops, turn the humidifier on to pump some moisture into the air and raise the humidity levels. This will keep your floorboards from suffering when the air conditioning is running.
    • You can use multiple humidifiers if you have a larger home or multiple floors.
  4. Hire a contractor to install a humidity controller if you have central air. Most central air units can be fitted with a humidity controller to pump more moisture into the air whenever you turn your air on. If you have central air but you have no way of controlling the humidity, hire an HVAC technician to install a humidity controller. Next to your thermostat, they’ll install a second dial or screen where you can set custom humidity levels. This is the easiest, albeit most expensive, solution if you’re worried about wood flooring separating.
    • Depending on how big your home is or how fancy your central air unit is, this may cost anywhere from $200-1,000. This may be worth it if you want to maintain a stable humidity level, though!
    • Once you have a humidity controller installed, keep it permanently set to anywhere from 30-50%. Try to avoid exceeding this range.
  5. Use a dehumidifier in the summer if you’re in a humid region. High humidity is rarely an issue when it comes to wood flooring separating, but too much humidity can be terrible for your floor if you start getting up to 70-90% humidity. If you live in a humid region and you don’t have a humidity controller connected to your central air, set a dehumidifier out and leave it running to keep the humidity levels low.
    • High humidity is normally not a cause of separation because the wood boards expand and get closer together. There are typically small gaps intentionally left between boards to account for this expansion. Still, if the boards start rubbing directly against one another, it could lead to splitting or cupping.

Filling in Gaps

  1. Use wood filler to fill minor gaps between separated boards. If your boards have separated ⁄2 in (1.3 cm) or less, fill the gap in with some wood filler. Purchase a wood filler that matches the general color of your floor and squirt the filler in between the boards that separated. Use your finger to smooth the filler out and wait at least 2-6 hours. Then, you can stain the filler if you have a stained floor and the color doesn’t match.
    • You don’t have to stain the filler or anything if you don’t want to. Once it dries, you can walk on the floor and the gap should be filled.
    • Wash your hands if you smoothed the filler out with your finger. It’s non-toxic and it isn’t dangerous, but it will be much harder to wash off if it dries.
    • If the opening between your boards is deeper than ⁄2 in (1.3 cm) do this in 2-3 layers. Spread a thin layer out first in between the gap and then fill in the remainder of the gap after 6 hours have passed.
  2. Replace floorboards that have separated more than ⁄2–1 inch (1.3–2.5 cm). If the separation is large and your boards have warped, you must replace the floorboards. Use a spade bit to bore a small hole at the end of each board you’re removing. Then, drive a circular saw halfway through the board at the first hole and run it through the board to the hole on the opposite side. This will split the board and make it easier to remove. Use a chisel to pry out the split board before cutting your replacement boards to size and nailing them into place.
    • This process can be pretty frustrating and delicate if you aren’t an experienced woodworker. You’re better off hiring a contractor to do this for you if you don’t have a lot of experience with power tools.
  3. Hire a contractor to damp-proof your subfloor if the problem persists. If your entire floor keeps warping, separating, or cupping when you are controlling the humidity and temperature, your subfloor is likely the culprit. If moisture gets trapped in the subfloor and your boards start separating in an odd, uneven way, hire a flooring service to damp-proof your subfloor and replace your floorboards. This may be expensive, but it’s not realistically something you can do on your own.
    • Damp-proofing typically involves stapling or gluing a specially-treated sheet in between the subfloor and the floorboards to keep moisture from soaking into your floorboards.
    • Damp proofing typically costs $5 per 1 square foot (0.093 m). You’ll need to pay for the flooring installation as well if you aren’t doing it yourself. This will typically cost $5-10 per 1 square foot (0.093 m).
  4. Dry your floor out and replace the subfloor if your boards are buckling and wet. Buckling occurs when floorboards that start peeling off of the ground. If you have a buckling, wet floor, there’s too much moisture under your floorboards. Dry the floor out by wiping any moisture up and running a dehumidifier to dry the wood out. If the floor doesn’t return to normal, hire a contractor to install foam boards or spray foam in your subfloor before getting your floorboards repaired. This should solve any future buckling issues.
    • Your floorboards may return to normal after you dry the floor out entirely. If this is the case, you may not need to repair anything for now. The problem may come back in the future if you have a moisture-retaining subfloor, though.
    • Heavy use of the air conditioning during hot summer months can make this problem worse. Try to avoid running your AC all the time when it’s extremely hot and dry out!
    • If your basement or main floor is buckling and getting wet, the foundation of your home may be absorbing too much moisture. You may need to damp-proof your entire basement if this is the case.

Preventing Separation Before Installation

  1. Choose narrower wood boards when selecting your flooring style. When choosing your boards, select wood boards that are 2 inches (5.1 cm) wide or thinner. The thinner the wood boards are, the less room the individual boards will have to expand and contract over time. Thick, 6–8 in (15–20 cm) boards may retract up to ⁄2 in (1.3 cm) in dry weather, while a 2 in (5.1 cm) board may only retract ⁄16–⁄32 in (0.159–0.079 cm).
    • Thinner boards are also less prone to cupping, which is where wood boards bend up along the edges due to moisture and temperature changes in your subfloor.
  2. Select solid wood for best results. If you’re refinishing a floor or installing new boards and you’re worried about separation, choose solid wood flooring instead of engineered or factory-finished wood. Solid wood is a little more resilient when it comes to handling dry air, which is typically what triggers separation.
    • When choosing a species, pick a type of wood that grows locally in your area. If a type of wood thrives in the wild where you live, it will thrive indoors as well. For example, several species of pine are common in the southwestern United States. If you’re installing a new floor in Arizona, or California, solid pine is extremely likely to hold up over time.
    • It’s perfectly fine to use factory-finished or engineered wood. Your floor is not automatically going to separate just because you aren’t using solid wood. You can still reduce the odds that your floor separates by choosing a native wood species, selecting thinner boards, and acclimating your wood.
  3. Acclimate the wood by leaving it out for 4-5 days before installation. Before you install your flooring, stack your boards on top of one another like a log cabin in the room where you plan on installing them. Leave the wood boards out for 4-5 days. This way, the wood will adjust to the natural air temperature and humidity in the room. If the boards are going to warp, expand, or retract, they’ll do it before they’re installed on the floor. This will keep the boards from shifting dramatically once you’re done with the installation.
    • It’s extremely important to acclimate wood boards to the environment where they’re going to be installed. If you don’t acclimate the wood, the boards will start warping, sliding, expanding, or retracting after you’ve glued or nailed them into the floor. This can cause the boards to separate, or even split.
  4. Install the floorboards in the spring or fall when humidity is moderate. If you install a wood floor when the humidity is extremely high, the boards will retract dramatically once the humidity drops. If you put your boards in when the humidity is low, the floorboards will expand and possibly split after the humidity rises. Wait for a day in spring or fall when the temperature outside is roughly 60 °F (16 °C) and the humidity is roughly 40% to install your flooring.
    • This way, your flooring will settle and have plenty of time to acclimate before the high or low humidity seasons hit.

Tips

Things You’ll Need

Adjusting the Temperature and Humidity of the Room

  • Hydrometer
  • Humidifier
  • Dehumidifier (optional)

Filling in Gaps

  • Wood filler
  • Drill
  • Spade bit
  • Circular saw
  • Replacement boards
  • Chisel
  • Nails
  • Stain (optional)
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