Living in the heart of London where damp is an ever present problem. It’s not surprising that a question we hear all the time at GJP is, ‘will my hardwood floors survive water damage?’ The simple answer is ‘sometimes.’ If you live in a particularly water-prone area of London, we’ve compiled a helpful guide to ensure our customers don’t lose out to water damage.
Act Quick
The window between being able to dry your hardwood floors where they are and having to rip everything out to start again is incredibly small. It only takes 2-3 days for mould to start growing and if the moisture level inside your home is high, which if you’re in London this is very high, then it’s will be especially of the essence for you.
Wood Type
It’s important in this situation to have knowledge of what sort of wood is on your floor. If you’re renting, this will mean contacting your landlord or calling in our specialist team at GJP to identify this for you. The main types of wood are as follows:
Strip Wood Flooring
Plank Wood Flooring
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is especially popular in London but unfortunately, it is usually just replaced during a water damage incident as it is harder to save.
Moisture
We mentioned moisture a little bit earlier but we’ll go into greater detail now. The levels of acceptable moisture for wood can fluctuate between 5% and 13% but a flooded hardwood floor can give a reading of moisture levels up to 45%! Wood that’s left to dry naturally can retain these moisture levels for a matter or weeks. Additionally, you may notice damage to the glue, lifting of nails, and warping of the wood. Planks may lift away, cup, or buckle with the absorption of water. This is a good sign that the water damaged has reached subfloor damage and the likelihood of needing to replace your floor is high.
Damage Levels
As to be expected, wooden floors with severe water damage will have to be replaced. Being a product of nature, wood is already prone to mould growth which is why owners of hardwood floors are encouraged to keep their floor and subfloor as dry as possible. As mentioned above, if your floor has cupped, buckled or lifted away, indicating that the moisture has reached subfloor level, it is very possible that as well as replacing the floor, you’ll need to look at getting a new subfloor to ensure that you’re environment is completely dry.
For lesser amounts of damage, our team at GJP can inspect the damage to your floor and recommend a course of action. There is specialist drying equipment especially designed to release the moisture from your wood but this can take up to a week to take affect. Whatever the outcome, at GJP you’re in the best hands to help resolve your water damage issues quickly, conveniently, and doing as much as we can to save your beloved hardwood floor!
