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Anyone know what’s causing this flooring damage? 🏚️🌊 I just left a foreclosed home that’s been sitting vacant for 9 to 12 months. The previous owner invested a ton of money into high-end real wood flooring, but right now it's completely ruined. It’s buckling into massive waves, lifting off... show more
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That's engineered wood/flooring (plywood core and veneer). Solid wood floors would not react that way. Bad install, sh*t material and no climate control is what it appears to be.
No subfloor probably put the wood floors right on the concrete and the wood just sucks any moisture from the concrete
Most likely trapped Texas humidity in a sealed house with zero AC for 9–12 months 🥵💨 Wood absorbs that moisture like a sponge and has nowhere to expand except UP 📈🏚️ Classic “greenhouse effect.” Hidden slab leak possible, but the widespread waves scream ambient humidity over a single leak.
Humidity is likely. Is the AC running?
No water, no electricity on this one
The humidity in that house is probably tired of the humidity w/ no AC in TX.
When you lifted that board, you can see the crumbling of the underlying particle board. It's probably engineered flooring. Whether it's on a poorly protected slab could be another issue. Bottom line is that a solid hardwood floor is 3/4" and would have weathered the hot closed up environment better. Even if it buckled somewhat, conditioning the air and resanding it would have been fine. That engineered floor? Replace it. I'm not even a pro, just common sense and some experience.
This is why you don't turn off HVAC in vacant properties to 'save money'.
That looks like water damage. Check spigots on outside and laundry hookups that they aren’t weeping onto the foundation
Water to the home is completely turned off
Agree with others, likely humidity build up from sweating concrete. There’s a barrier sheet under that flooring likely making it worse
my vote - without an active HVAC system running to dehumidify the interior, ground moisture migrates up through the slab, gets trapped beneath the wood, while ambient air humidity saturates the top. The wood swells until the tension forces the floor upward.
Sneaky moisture somewhere or poor installation that skipped leaving a gap for expansion and contraction.
Would think they would’ve known to install a vapor barrier on top of the concrete slab but you never know these days.
I had this exact flooring. You have to let it sit out and climatize (get used to the environment?) for a certain amount of time before install. They told us that when we bought it. You also have to leave a small space around the edges of the room for it to expand
Vapor barrier under the slab is crap and they didn't seal the concrete before laying it down. Pull the wood and I bet you will see chalky whiteness from the water coming up. There is also a chance that they put the wood down before the slab was dry. Concrete normally dries at an inch a month from wet.
Is the air conditioning on?
They refused to pay for the power, electricity
Sorry to post again. But looking at the flooring again, it’s not “real” wood. It looks to me like higher end plank flooring but not wood
No moisture barrier btw the cement subfloor & the wood PLUS whoever laid that floor didn’t leave room enough for expansion and shrinkage, depending on humidity and weather.
What's the floor and foundation state? Looks like the house itself is buckling. Most likely from the lack of moisture in the ground.
Texas
You definitely need to check the foundation. I live in Texas, we always have to run sprinkler so the slab doesn't buckle.
Concrete subfloor wasnt sealed and moisture coming thru it is warping the wood planks
1 of 2 things comes to mind. 1: Direct water damage, or 2: failure to leave an expansion gap for wooden floors, due to them absorbing humidity, and expanding, then shrinking when it becomes less humid. I have seen a similar issue in several different homes when visiting some of my family in both Florida, and Louisiana, they did DIY wooden floors, then didn't take into account adding an expansion gap.
I’ve seen this happen before somebody didn’t seal the concrete slab underneath the floor and your drawing water through the pores of the concrete right into the wood. I bet you if you pulled up that floor in a spot and checked, it’s not sealed properly. You might even find water
Closed structure with no environmental control/HVAC is going to be a great environment for this type of damage. Humidity will expand the wood, thus the buckling. Not only buckling wooden floors but also microbial growth possibilities. Look behind baseboards for discoloration. Get someone to check the relative humidity of the interior. Anything above 60% RH can be an issue.
The house sat vacant and sealed for 9–12 months in Texas with the water and HVAC off. That creates the classic “greenhouse effect” for wood floors: high indoor humidity with no dehumidification or airflow. Wood is hygroscopic — it absorbs moisture from the air (and often from the slab), swells across its width, and has nowhere to go except up. The result is the waves, lifting off the subfloor, and boards that look like they’re coming apart.
"...invested a ton of money into high-end real wood flooring..." Owner was Robbed. NOT "high-end" anything. And NOT Real Wood meant for flooring. No grain. And what is that shit solid stain (or Paint?) on it? Remove it. Start over. Check (tap on) your tile for hollows.
Engineered wood + no moisture barrier
Empty for a year sucks for that floor in particular. I have encountered that floor before. The temperature up and down humidity kills that floor. Literally just took a floor out that sit for around a year and same thing.
Maybe water coming up under the slab. Take a look at the foundation outside and see if you can identify any issues that may lead to failure of the foundation.
Looks more like laminate flooring. High humidity and heat most likely caused it.
That wavy pattern is common on cheap, builder grade laminate used in TX. The buckling on the one piece is likely from expansion due to extreme heat and humidity over the summer with a lack of AC.
Heat and cold not staying consistent manly the heat
When installed moisture can get into the boards and lifts. Although the water is turned off, you need to consider other variables. What weather was like, the home was sealed shut with no airflow. What else can drive moisture?
Its the twi types of flooring and the dreaded chirp that dies it for me. Stressed me out 😆
It may have been installed without a perimeter gap. Also if the HVAC is off the humidity cause that.
That isn't hard wood, that is compressed wood plank, standard stuff you get at Lowes. The warping is from humidity. Having the AC off for a long time is what caused this. Floor is completely ruined, no way to save it.
If the homes grass isn’t watered… it makes the foundation shift
Atmospheric humidity is building up inside the house because no one is running the ac. The wood will expand over time and buckle.
My guess is humidity. Hot humid during the day cool off a little at night with no temperature control.
The slab is pulling moisture from the ground. Probably no vapor barrier between soil and slab, and or between slab and flooring. Good underlayment is a must for any wood flooring.
