Buckling

Description
This is where whole floorboards or sections of a floorboard have become raised and sometimes twisted and buckled, and are no longer attached to the subfloor.

Possible causes
Often this is caused by extreme moisture problems such as a water leak or persistent damp underneath the subfloor. It is also possible that insufficient expansion gaps have been allowed, which leads to pressure build up as the floor naturally contracts and expands as a result of atmospheric changes. This pressure has no option other than to release through individual weak points on the floorboards.

With secret nailed flooring installations the cause could be insufficient nailing, incorrect choice of nails or a badly constructed timber frame subfloor.

In the case of a full stick down installation, buckling can be caused by incorrect or insufficient adhesive as a result of using the wrong trowel size. It can also be caused by a sub standard sub floor, sub floor contamination or excessive dampness coming up through the wood floor.

Remedial tips
The key to sorting out this problem is identifying and rectifying it as early as possible, when local repairs can often be carried out. But to avoid buckling happening in the first instance we recommend always protecting your wood flooring investment by utilising a DPM sheet or liquid DPM product on the subfloor.

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