Hardwood floors extremely buckled and raised, moisture or tenant damage?

Question

I recently had a tenant move out. He claims that in a spare bedroom, which was hidden by a bed, when he moved the bed out he discovered an extremely raised section of the hardwood floors. The "peak" of the raised section is about 4" higher than the rest of the floor. It's right in the middle of the floor, not near a window or any water source. None of the other planks are cupped or show signs of water damage.

I don't see a water stain or pee stain on the floor. It seems wild that it would buckle that much right in the middle of the floor. Maybe each board swelled and the pressure all came together in the center. This guy has been a good tenant and I don't want to unjustly accuse him, but it seems weird. BTW the house is on a crawlspace, not encapsulated but not soaking wet either.

Anybody had this happen to them?

Russell Brazil · Answer

As stated, it sounds like the floors were installed before they were exposed to the local humidity long enough.

Matt W. · Answer

The house is 55 years old, floors look well worn as if they are original. Tenant claims they were not like this when he moved in (I bought this house with these tenants in place a few years ago, so I never saw the house without stuff in it until they moved out) For all I know they swell and buckle in the summer and sit flat in the winter.

Chris Seveney · Answer

@Matt W.

Four inches is a lot. As mentioned if the floor was not acclimated it could have expanded and done this.

When you remove to reinstall you can see the subfloor if that is soaked on whether it was water or not.

Not sure how you could blame tenant at this time

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

they will do this if they were not climatized before they were installed.. happened to us on a new build I was doing Charleston Sc Bamboo flooring and it all had to be replaced..

V.G Jason · Answer

Have had it happen in personal houses before, it was usually due to humidity in cities with high, high humidity.

Did not need to replace entire floors, just needed to replace from the nearest wall to that floor with a good contractor.

Hardwood floors extremely buckled and raised, moisture or tenant damage?

Hardwood floors extremely buckled and raised, moisture or tenant damage?

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