Buckling Under Pressure: What Water Damage Does to Hardwood Floors in Your Rockledge Home

10/24/2018 (Permalink)

Just a little water can damage hardwood floors and cause them to buckle.

Attending to Your Rockledge Property’s Hard Flooring during Water Damage Restoration 

Our properties have different types of flooring, and each reacts differently after facing water damage events. After stopping the source of the water, we perform specialty drying, and the method we use depends on the surface in your home or workplace. While water affects almost all types of flooring, wood flooring is the most susceptible, especially when the leak goes unnoticed, or it covers the entire floor. If you live in Rockledge, there is no need to panic since we can work to restore your property to its original condition.  

Water damage to your Rockledge property hardwood floors can cause them to cup, buckle, bulge, and make dark spots appear. When compared to softwoods, they hold up water better since they are a bit dense and there are chances of restoring them after the unfortunate event. We have to choose a drying method that can prevent them from permanently warping, cupping, and buckling. Usually, the amount of water on the structure and the time of exposure determine the level of damage. We can use refinishing processes to correct any existing warp or cup. Before performing any refinishing on a hardwood floor, we make sure its moisture content is below 12%.

Things are different when dealing with buildings with veneer hardwood flooring since the finish surface is so thin. Hence, water damage incidents may make the damage irreparable. Also, it the veneer flooring separates from the subfloor, then we may not restore such surface, and a replacement may be necessary.  It is also essential to dry the wood as soon as possible to stop possible mold damage.  

To speed up the drying process, our SERVPRO technicians use Dehumidifiers to reduce the relative humidity of the area to 30 - 45 %. We then enhance airflow by positioning air movers underneath and on top of the wood floor. If we determine that the floor finish is hindering evaporation, then removing it may be necessary. 

SERVPRO of Central Brevard can clean and dry your home using the state-of-the-art equipment to make it just "Like it never even happened." Our emergency services are a phone call away, call us at (321) 638-4947 to benefit!

Be sure and visit the Helen & Allan Cruickshank Sanctuary, located in Rockledge.  Click here for more information.