7 Wood Flooring Problems to Look Out For

Wood Flooring can transform our interiors drastically. Although the beauty and quality of engineered wood is impressive, it’s not to say that problems can’t occur with it. There are several key issues you’ll need to plan for before having a wood floor installed. However, with a little pre-planning and some careful maintenance, you can ensure your wood floor remains and looks its best for years to come.  

What are the different types of wood flooring problems you need to consider?

1. Gapping on Wood Flooring 

Gapping is a common issue you may encounter. This tends to happen when long plank wood flooring or panels lose moisture. Once this moisture is lost, the boards themselves shrink, resulting in obvious gaps. Some degree of gapping is to be expected, especially if you live somewhere that experiences significant temperature extremes. 

Thankfully, there are some ways to mitigate the issue. Before installing wood flooring, it’s best to let planks or panels acclimatise to the environment. After a couple of days of acclimation, your flooring is ready to be installed. One of the advantages of engineered wood flooring is that it doesn’t warp as readily as solid wood. If you’re looking for a low-maintenance alternative, engineered wood flooring is the way to go.  

2. Floor Cupping 

Cupping is another problem that occurs when wooden flooring is exposed to significant amounts of moisture. Once absorbed, this moisture causes the material to warp in places. 

As with gapping, you can overcome cupping by letting floor materials acclimate to their surroundings before installing them. It’s also important to maintain consistent humidity and temperature levels. Avoid using humidifiers and be cautious when cleaning. Understanding how to care for your wood flooring will ensure you’re not using more water than you need to.   

You’ll also need to think about the sub-floor layer. If the subfloor is exposed to high levels of moisture, it won’t be able to dry out as quickly as the visible flooring layer. This can quickly lead to a noticeable expansion of the topside.  

3. Cracking and Fractures 

There’s nothing worse than an unsightly fracture spoiling the finish of a premium wood floor. Fractures occur for many reasons. If you’re laying a floor yourself, cracks and fractures can be created when driving in nails. However, fractures can occur during the drying out stage of flooring materials.  

To keep fractures to a minimum, always use a nailer when installing floors. This not only makes fitting a floor less energy-intensive, but it also means you can guarantee cleaner lines when driving fasteners. If your flooring materials arrive with visible fractures, carry out repairs before installing boards and planks. Wood filler can be used on superficial fractures, while finishes can help mask things further.  

To avoid this problem altogether, we always recommend using a professional flooring contractor when installing your engineered hardwood. 

4. Crowning 

When exposed to high levels of moisture from the subfloor layer, crowning can become a problem. You’ll know if you’ve got a crowning situation if the middle of boards or panels begins to swell.  

To stave off crowning, think about moisture control in the room you’re looking to install flooring. If you can limit humidity levels, do so. It’s particularly important to control temperature levels when installing a floor. You should also think carefully about the type of wood you plan on using. Some species do better in more humid environments.  

Finally, avoid the temptation to sand away visible crowning. While you’ll have to do this eventually, you need to ensure that planks and panels have dried out before reaching for a sander and stripping away precious millimetres of surface material.  

5. Poorly Fitted and Creaking Floorboards 

Creaking boards aren’t just a symptom of old floors. If your floor hasn’t been installed correctly, it might only be weeks before you start noticing creaks and loose boards. To overcome the problem, make sure your flooring is correctly installed. If there are no audible squeaks here, you likely won’t experience issues with the floorboard layer.   

You’ll also need to leave some room for expansion. Think carefully when laying planks against vertical surfaces like walls. Flooring material requires a small amount of space to expand into. If it’s not provided with sufficient clearance, you’ll almost certainly experience unwanted noise.  

6. Buckled Floors 

You’ll know if you’re dealing with a buckling floor. In this scenario, entire planks can lift upwards, resulting in a serious trip hazard. Once again, moisture is a likely culprit. However, you may also be dealing with water intrusion from other sources, such as a burst pipe or concealed leak. In any case, the buckling occurs because the adhesives used to fit your flooring have been compromised.   

As with cupping and crowning, you’ll need to always monitor moisture levels. First, focus on the subfloor and ensure you’re keeping humidity levels in check once your flooring has been fitted. It’s also important to keep on top of spillages. Wiping these up as soon as they occur will prevent superficial staining, but also limit the incidence of buckling.  

7. Oxidation Issues 

When exposed to sunlight for long enough, wood flooring is likely to suffer from the oxidation process. You’ll notice the biggest changes in the first few years, although the process continues for far longer than that.   

Oxidation isn’t instantly noticeable. You might only notice a difference in the colour of your wood when lifting a rug or repositioning furniture. It’s more noticeable with darker hues, although you may still spot signs of it with light wood flooring.  

To combat oxidation, you need to protect your floors against direct sunlight. Draping windows is a good way to keep the harsh glare of sunlight from damaging your floors. If you can’t keep every ray out, think about using rugs to cover up larger areas. It also makes sense to reconfigure your rooms regularly. Moving furniture around will ensure all sections of your flooring have received similar UV exposure, resulting in less concentrated areas of oxidation.  

Transform  Any Space in Your Home with Engineered Wood Flooring 

Although all wood flooring faces similar problems, engineered wood flooring is a relatively low-maintenance alternative. Engineered wood flooring isn’t just easy to install; it’s also incredibly durable and far more resilient to moisture and temperature extremes.  

At Wood Flooring Ireland, we offer an impressive selection of engineered wood flooring products. Keep it simple with long planks, or add some elegance to your interiors with Chevron or Herringbone flooring.  

So, browse our wood flooring selection, visualise your room, and order your free samples today!