Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - hardwood tongue and groove problem

we have oak t&g flooring in the living room of our house (circa 1953). the room is over a dirt-floor crawl space. several of the boards have warped upwards about 3 inches for about 8 feet. we plan on installing a dehumidifier in the crawl space to control the moisture, but we need solutions or suggestions on how to repair the warping. thanks in advance.

Install 6 mil plastic over the dirt to keep the moisture out of the crawl space in the first place, too. The warpage will correct itself to whatever extent it will in a few weeks after the moisture balances itself. After that, mechanical means will likely be needed to correct it. For instance, it may be necessary to flatten the floor with a flooring sander.

Hope this helps.

chfite is correct!


The crawl space should have had a moisture vapor barrier installed long ago. You must have had more rain and ground saturation then it has ever had, since the floor was installed.

Major buckling will have to be fixed, but any cupping will correct itself after the moisture content of the wood reduces, unless it is compression set. Sanding before the moisture content is lost, will result in crowning of the boards when they do dry out.