Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Cupped Oak Floor

Roof failure while we were on vacation resulted in rain water leaking onto parts of white oak hardwood floors in two adjacent rooms. The wet portions are now cupped. I have been told that unless the boards are replaced, the underlying portions would never dry and would either cup or bow in the future as humidity changes. Is this true?

If these are sanded and refinished (I would do the entire rooms) would it restore them to original condition or do I have to replace the cupped boards to avoid future problems?

Also once sanded or new flooring installed, what is the recommended finish?

Couple of questions... 1). Do you have a full basement in which you could install some COMMERCIAL grade DEHUMIDIFIERS for about a week? 2). Do you know what type of sub-floor you have (i.e. Advantech, Plywood, OSB?)

You see, you can quite possibly save this floor, but there is the right way, and the wrong way... and the biggest obstacle is going to be what type of subfloor you have and how much time has gone by.

First thing is to get some air moving with some fans (like 4 or 5!) moving the air across the floor, and then dehumidifying from BELOW, if possible. If you can not dehumidify from below... you have to pull the floor up, depending on the amount of water it absorbed and the type of subfloor you have. Do you have any pictures of the floor that you could post or provide a link to? That would give me a better idea. I would like to see the underside of the subfloor, if possible, as well.

Get back to me with some more info and I will try to give my "Opinion".

Greg in Maine
Retired - Hardwood Floor Company Owner