Wood Floor Flood

W

Web2000

Member
A minor catastrophy I think. I came home yesterday to find that a check valve had failed and 15-20 gallons of water had been sitting on my hardwood floor for about 3 hours. We got it all cleaned up, but the wood has already started to distort. We have been running a dryer on it since we got it cleaned up, but there was still no change this morning. The installer of the floor said that the dryer has to be left on it for a week and then we should be able to see the extent of the damage. Does anyone have any experience with this? How resilient is a wood floor? I'm guessing I may have to replace the wood in that room with something else, maybe Tile?

Thank You
Bill
 
mojoreef

mojoreef

Just a reefer
Bill not a good thing, usually they dont make it. I had this happen once and I was told to put a sheet of plywood on top of the effected floor and then weighed it down with blocks, this kept the wood from twisting and warping while it was drying.


Mike
 
mick77

mick77

Member
You might think about filing an insurance claim and having a restoration company dry out your floors. If we (restoration company) can get to them quick, I've found we can save 90% of water damaged hardwood floors. What you may have to do is rent a couple of commercial air movers (Dry-eeze makes them) to take the top layer of moisture off the floor. Then I would highly recommend a dehumidifier to help draw the moisture from the air. Since natural hardwood floors many times have several layers of poly on them, you can take a wallpaper perforator to make small holes in the finish of the floor to help draw the moisture out (the poly acts as a moisture barrier making it sometimes difficult to dry the floor out). If you're worried about the finish, chances are you're going to have to refinish the floors anyways. I can tell you first hand that it is much cheaper to dry out and refinish a floor than replacing. This process of drying out can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks with equipment. However, we can only drop the moisture content so far and then the floors will have to "naturally" dry for up to a month. Whatever you do, don't leave it alone or else the floor will start to "cup" and buckle, making replacement your only option. If you have any questions about drying out hardwood floors, just e-mail me at micktrc77@earthlink.net. I've been in the restoration business for 10 years now and am certified as a water emergency and remediation tech. Hope this helps! Mick
 
W

Web2000

Member
Thank You for the info Mick. I am not just leaving it alone. I have the flooring company that installed it coming out today to look at it. I know the installer that did the work so I think they'll be honest with me. My wife & I are going to be on vacation next week so the company will work on trying to dry it out over that time and then we'll make a decision. I'm being told it doesn't look good though.

Bill
 
wooddood

wooddood

the wood dude
man sorry to hear. but in mmy experience with wood floors the damaged section will more then likely need to be cut out and replaced. i agree i would contact my insurance company it could get a little expensive. again sorry to hear and good luck.

ps. you might want to pm FFrankie he installs hardwood floors for a living.



dave.:(
 
G

geofloors

Member
Mick77's info is all good. If your floors start to buckle get the flooring company (or yourself) remove a row of the damaged flooring becaus ethis will allow the rest of the boards to swell. and then naturally come back to normal size. I wouldn't recommend putting anything on top of the floor since this will prevent evaopration.


George
 
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