Fixing warping wood floors

[CBGB]

I got solid wood floor put down over the entire ground floor of my house. It started to warp and bulge in certain points. Eventually the flooring popped up at one point in the middle of the floor. The guys that laid it came back and trimmed one of the boards that came out, put it back in and it was fine for a while. It has now happened again.
I looked where the wall meets the floor and the floor is wedged against the plasterboard. If they left a gap there originally, which they claim, it is now gone.
The only thing I can think of doing is taking off skirting and cutting the boards to make another gap. Someone mentioned a power tool that is suitable/designed for this so that you dont have to remove the wood, just run the saw along the wall. Does anyone know what it is called and where I can hire one?
Thanks

 

[onq]

It sounds as though something basic is not right.
Normally you can trace this to the material, the source, the preparation or the execution.

Properly dried, timber flooring well laid with an expansion gap shouldn't do that if left to acclimatise before laying.
Either it wasn't let acclimatise, or it wasn't laid with an expansion gap, hadn't been properly dried or you may have a damp floor.


ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.

 

[Jazz01]

Hi - I can understand your frustration on this - went through the same issue - had the guys out a few times to "trim" things back... I found out after all this is that the wood should have been left in the house a number of weeks before being put down to allow it to become accustomed to the house moisture... At the time, I didn't know...
Anyway, you need to leave a gap around the room (might need to take off the radiator(s) if you have them) - I just used a chisel & hammer, spent a few hours cutting it back... could also use a chainsaw if you have one just don't go mad.

Just for you to be aware, as we come into winter, the boards will probably expand again - so be prepared for more "cutting back"... just don't cut back too much at any one time.. it will also contract in the heat... & you don't want "gaps" to be seen when you have the skirting back on...

How long are the floors down?

 

[CBGB]

thanks for response.
The floors are down about 6 months now. Its been happening off and on for at leat 4 of those.
We renovated the entire house so was trying to keep an eye on everything when out of work. I told them to make sure the floor were aclimatised. Came in one day and they had started laying it. There was no heating in the house at the time so they have the fire in the room where the wood was on going. Didnt think this was enough but they insisted it was "have done this loads of times" and put them down. i reckon now this was purely so they could finish the job, put in the kitchen and get out. So that could have been part of the problem.
Looked at the details of how they did the job and got a caprenter in to look too. He showed me some areas at corners, near doors where they hadnt done it correctly so these areas would have restricted the movement.
I looked around the perimeter of the floor and there is no gap anywhere now! Whether there ever was one is debatable.

 

[Leo]

Putting a fire in the room in question isn't enough. That's not the normal conditions that will prevail within that environment, and so not the correct conditions in which to aclimatise the wood. Did they test the moisture content of the sub-floor?

Most rooms would require more than a gap around the perimiter for hardwood floors. Every few boards, they should have left a slight expansion gap and not butted the boards tight together.
Leo

 

[CBGB]

I can safely say these muppets did not consider moisture content of the subfloor.

If there is an issue with the moisture content of the subfloor would putting a sufficient gap there sort the problem or do you reckon if will keep reappearing? If I have to take the skirting off and cut a gap around the floor I will. I just wouldnt like to have to do it repeatedly.