The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway
It can bother your floors, though. Right around the peak of winter, typically January and February, we receive an influx of phone calls from customers noticing new gaps and cracks in their floors. These inconsistencies are caused by a mixture of the cold weather and dry air from your heater running, which cause the wood planks to shrink ever so slightly.
Fear not, there is a very simple solution for this problem called flexible putty. This putty is designed to be used specifically in between planks of flooring because it is pliable. This means it will expand and shrink with your floors throughout the winter seasons and beyond, allowing you to refocus on all those Christmas gifts you still haven’t purchased.
Some Like it Hot, but I Like it Really Hot!
Heat miser and his minions probably didn’t have solid wood floors in their active volcano home. If they did, they would have experienced expanding and cupping floors due to the high levels of humidity in the already heavy, summer air, and they probably wouldn’t sing as many songs as they did. This heat and humidity will cause your wood planks to expand, hiding any gaps and cracks from the winter. Once the plank has expanded as wide as it can go, some of the planks might start cupping.
Fortunately, there are simple solutions to this problem. The first thing you should try is setting up a dehumidifier to help get the humidity levels in the room back to normal. For more serious cupping problems, you may need to replace one or two boards, which your Mr. Hardwood professionals can take care of without breaking a sweat! Well, maybe not if it’s the middle of August…
