top of page

Ground Moisture

and Your Home

If you have a crawl space under you home, Ground Moisture is the number one cause of problems to a newly installed hardwood floor.  Solid hardwood flooring is very susceptible to moisture from under a home.  Even if kiln dry flooring is used and an NWFA approved moisture barrier is installed, an abnormal amount of ground moisture will most likely lead to a cupped hardwood floor. There is nothing worse than spending thousands of dollars on a new hardwood floor and in just a matter of a few months you notice what appears to be waves in the floor.

Moisture Control

Water & Your Floors

A well-performing wood floor is often the result of an installer taking the proper time and care necessary for a successful installation. It involves a knowledge of:

  • The expected moisture  content of wood flooring in a particular area after acclimation

  • The moisture content of flooring at the time of installation

  • The expected “in use” changes

 

Moisture is a large part of the reason for how wood behaves, both during the machining process and after installation. Installers would do well to understand moisture’s effect on wood in some detail. Download NWFA's Wood and Water brochure to find out more on how water can affect your hardwood floors.

There are a few things we recommend you check prior to the installation of new hardwood flooring in your home.

 

  1. Check the crawl space under your home for moisture.  There doesn’t need to be standing water to be considered wet.  Squeeze a small handful of soil in your hand.  If the soil sticks together in a ball shape, there is most likely an abnormal amount of moisture in the soil.

  2. Be sure all outside drainage moves rainwater away from the house.

  3. Make sure foundation vent holes are not blocked by plants or hardscape.  This could cause lack of air flow and result in high humidity in the crawl space.

  4. Make sure no sprinklers are spraying against the house.

 

 

Should you find ground moisture present under your home, call us to discuss options which may help reduce the risk of cupping.  Here are a few recommendations that you may want to consider.

 

  1. Lay 6-mil plastic of all soil.

  2. Install French drains if not already present.

  3. Install a sump pump if there is standing water.

  4. Add additional vent holes for circulation.

  5. Install humidistat automatic fans in the crawl space.

​

Protecting your Floors from Water Damage
​
It is well known water and wood do not play nice with each other. That's why at Dickinson Hardwood Flooring we do everything in our control to ensure your floors stand the test of time. Listed below are just a few of the products we use to best protect your Hardwood Floors from water.

Bostik's GreenForce™

 

Bostik's GreenForce™ is a high performance adhesive and moisture control membrane all in one. It has extremely low moisture vapor permeability and is not adversely affected by moisture. GreenForce’s elastomeric characteristics establish an antifracture membrane that can bridge cracks up to 1/8" (3mm). This superior elasticity allows the adhesive to move with the wood as it expands and contracts with changes in humidity and temperature over the life of the floor. This high performance formulation may be used to adhere all engineered, solid, bamboo, cork, and parquet flooring. GreenForce™ has no restrictions on board width or length. It may be used over all properly prepared substrates common to hardwood flooring installations including; concrete, plywood and many more. It's for these reasons Bostik's GreenForce™ has proven to be one of the best adhesive and mositure control membranes in the industry.

  • Easy clean before and after cure

  • Lifetime warranty for unlimited moisture vapor protection

  • Superior bond strength & green grab

Bostik's MVP4®

 

MVP4® Moisture Vapor Protection is a one-part, trowel applied, moisture cure urethane membrane designed to be used beneath glue-down installations of engineered, solid and bamboo hardwood flooring. MVP4® is exceptionally easy to trowel and is designed to minimize moisture vapor transmission from the subfloor, create a noise reduction barrier over the substrate, and establish an anti-fracture membrane that can bridge cracks that can occur in the substrate prior to or after installation (up to 1/8"). MVP4® may be applied prior to any Bostik hardwood adhesive to achieve a warranty for unlimited moisture vapor protection. This membrane has low VOC’s (as calculated per SCAQMD Rule 1168) and does NOT contain any water. MVP4® comes with Bostik’s BLOCKADE® antimicrobial protection, which inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold or mildew on the surface of the cured membrane. The cured membrane resists stains caused by mold.

  • Warranty for unlimited moisture vapor protection

  • Noise reduction typical of 1/4" cork

  • Allows visual inspection of membrane prior to flooring installation

bottom of page