Effects of Water on Wood Flooring

2/28/2020 (Permalink)

An important thing to remember when drying wood floors is to introduce air flow to the flooring surfaces and sub-surfaces as quickly as possible and determine a drying goal before attempting restoration.  Vinyl flooring/laminated wood flooring installed over the sub-floor may require removal for complete drying of the sub-floor.  Due to the nature of construction of this type of flooring, complete replacement may be necessary when a large amount of moisture seeps underneath it.  A non-penetration moisture detector will reveal the extent of moisture in the sub-floor.  Plywood is more resistant to water damage than particle board because of the manner in which it is constructed, and the fact that its wood vaneer assemblies potentially provide greater resistance to damage.  The exception would be if delamination has begun to occur.  Then replacement of the damaged portion of the floor is required.  The same is true of swollen, damaged particle board, which almost always delaminates when flooded.