Wood Floor Restoration
Water Damage Hardwood And Tile Floor
Wood Floor Restoration
Water-damaged hardwood and tile floors require the special attention of restorative drying experts.
Many people believe that replacement is the only option when their hardwood floor is affected in a water loss. However, this is not always the case!
When AmeriServ Water Damage Restoration is called into action on a water loss before the floors have begun to buckle (evidenced when the nails begin to pull through the floor) we are in most cases able to save the floor. AmeriServ Water Damage Restoration's breakthrough Injectidry System -- paired with our custom hardwood floor drying panels -- have saved many homeowners and insurance companies thousands of dollars in replacement costs.
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How it works
The black panels you see in the pictures above have been placed on a hardwood floor with airtight seals placed around the edges. The smaller yellow tubing that you see is attached on one side to holes in the panel and on the other side to the larger yellow suction line. Suction is created underneath the panels, causing air to travel from between the subfloor and the hardwood floor up through the grooves between the boards, bringing with it any excess moisture. This system, combined with very dry air from special dehumidifiers, will pull the excess moisture right out of the wood flooring.
When dealing with water-caused loss, quick response is essential -- especially so in the case of hardwood flooring. The longer the wood is wet, the greater is the chance that buckling will occur. The experts at AmeriServ Water Damage Restoration will put a stop to it!
Here is the difference between cupping and crowning.
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When water is left on a wood floor, or if excessive moisture rises from below the subfloor, it becomes trapped between the wood floor and the subfloor. |
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Cupping (above) occurs when the top of the wood dries faster than the bottom of the wood or when the moisture is absorbed by the underside and causes it to expand, raising the edges. |
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The biggest mistake that can be made is to sand the floor flat while it is still retaining moisture. This leaves the wood with thinner edges than the center. |
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After the floor dries completely the edges shrink and flatten back into position, but now since the top of the edges have been sanded, the center of each strip is higher than the edges. This is called a crowned floor. |
Home Owner Hint:
If you have hardwood or tile floors that are involved in a water-damage loss be sure to ask your insurance company and your restoration company how it will be handled. If you are told that the floors will need to be replaced, ask "Why don't we simply dry them?" The industry is only now coming to realize that ripping out and replacing (dumpster feeding) is unnecessary and that modern techniques allow for restoring floors in place! After hardwood floors dry and settle back to pre-loss condition -- they often don't even need to be refinished!
For expert service call AmeriServ Water Damage Restoration at
(888) 278-1470
