Drying, lifting and replacing wood, carpet and laminate floors that have taken water in Colorado Springs and El Paso County homes.
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Floors take water in different ways. Solid hardwood cups and buckles as the boards swell, carpet holds water in its pad, and laminate swells at the seams and does not come back. Each covering needs a different sequence, and the decision to save or remove a floor is made on the readings and on the condition of the boards once they have been lifted.
A floor is the surface that shows the damage first and the one that is most often mistaken for the whole problem. Water that reaches a hardwood floor can raise the boards at their edges, and a floor that looks slightly cupped may be holding water under the surface. Carpet looks dry on top while the pad underneath holds a large volume of water, and the stain on the carpet does not show how far the pad has been reached.
The first step with any floor is to find out what is under it. A floor that floats on an underlayment behaves differently from one that is nailed to a subfloor, and a basement slab with a floating floor can hold moisture between the boards and the concrete. The cleanup lifts a test section where it is safe to do so, and the readings are taken under the floor before a decision is made to keep or remove it.
Do not walk on a floor that is sagging or giving way. Switch off power to any outlet or floor heating in the affected room before lifting floor material. Wear gloves and a mask when lifting old pad or underlayment, because they can hold dust and mold.
Standing water is extracted from the floor, and the surface is wiped and extracted to remove as much moisture as possible before the drying equipment is set. Hardwood should not be left wet on top, because the water feeds into the joints.
Where the floor can be lifted safely, a test section is opened to read the subfloor and the underside of the boards. The readings tell the crew whether the floor can dry in place or must come up.
Carpet pad and underlayment that have taken water are generally removed, because they hold moisture against the floor and cannot be dried in place. The carpet is lifted and kept if it can be cleaned and reinstalled without a smell.
Air movers are aimed across the wood surface and under the floor where access allows. The readings are logged on the boards and the subfloor until they reach the dry standard, and the floor is not closed while the readings are high.
Once the readings are dry, the boards are judged on their condition. Boards that have recovered their shape can be sanded and finished. Laminate that has swollen at the seams and does not recover is generally replaced, and the record shows the reason for each decision.
Sometimes. Boards that have cupped from a short exposure and have dried can recover their shape, while boards that were wet for a long time or have swelled at the joints often do not.
Cupping is the boards swelling more on one face than on the other, and it often reverses as the wood dries. The recovery depends on how long the water sat, how thick the boards are and whether the subfloor has moved. A floor that has been dried quickly often flattens over several weeks, while a floor that stayed wet for days may keep a permanent curve.
The sanding and refinishing decision is made after the floor has been dried and has rested. Sanding too early can remove the surface before the boards have settled, and that cannot be undone.
Because the water sits in the pad, and the pad holds far more moisture than the carpet fibers. The surface can feel dry while the middle of the pad is still wet.
Carpet pad is a foam or felt layer that absorbs water like a sponge, and it does not release the water quickly to the air. A carpet that has been extracted on top can still be wet underneath, and the moisture spreads to the subfloor and the wall edge over several days.
A moisture reading under the carpet, at the wall and at the center of the room, shows the real state of the floor. The pad is removed if it reads wet, and the carpet is kept only if it can be dried and reinstalled without a smell.
That depends on the material, the readings and the cost of the repair against the replacement. The decision is made with the homeowner after the floor has been read.
Solid wood that dries flat can be sanded and finished, and the repair is often less than a full replacement. Laminate and engineered flooring that has swollen at the seams are generally replaced, because the joints do not close again and the swelling does not recover.
A floor that was wet for a long time over a subfloor that has rotted is replaced from the subfloor up, and the cause of the rot is noted for the homeowner. The repair cannot be finished until the subfloor is sound.
The photographs of the floor before and after, the readings, the list of removed material and the flooring invoice. The insurer will often ask for the removed material to be kept until it has inspected it.
Take photographs of each floor area before any material is lifted, and keep the lifted pieces until the insurer confirms they can go. The Colorado Division of Insurance regulates insurers in Colorado and takes complaints about claims, so the record should be kept in a form that can be shown to it.
A floor claim is judged on the cause and on the condition of the material. Keep the flooring samples and the product name, so a matching replacement can be sourced if one is needed.
Solid boards that take water along their edges cup and buckle. If the boards have not been stained or left too long, they can recover after drying. The subfloor under them is read carefully, because plywood that has swelled does not return to flat.
Common in finished basements. The carpet and pad hold water, and the slab holds moisture underneath. The pad is removed in almost every case, and the slab is read before any new floor covering is laid.
A floating floor is a set of planks that lock together without nails. Water that gets under the planks swells the edges, and the joints do not close again. The floor is often replaced in the affected area, and the readings under the floor decide how far.
Finished basements in Colorado Springs often have carpet laid over a slab, and the slab is the part of the floor that is slow to dry. The readings are taken on the concrete as well as on the pad.
Hardwood and laminate are common on the main floors of newer homes in the area, and a leak from an upper floor can reach the wood beneath a kitchen or a hallway before it is found.
The local climate does not change how wood and carpet react to water; the cleanup is the same as anywhere else. What changes the outcome is how long the water sat and what was under the floor.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what hardwood and carpet water damage should cost.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Air movement and dehumidification that dry the framing, subfloor, insulation and wall cavities of a Colorado Springs building after water has been removed.
Removing water from a flooded basement, lifting the finished surfaces it reached and drying the walls and framing in Colorado Springs and El Paso County.
Cleanup after a hose, a valve or a drain on a washing machine, dishwasher, icemaker or refrigerator leaks into a Colorado Springs home.
Finding and removing mold that grows on wet building materials after a water loss in Colorado Springs and El Paso County, and drying the structure so it does not return.
No price is published on this site, because a figure given before the damage is seen would be a guess.
Fans can help move air, but they are not enough alone. A dehumidifier is needed to take moisture out of the air, and the readings under the boards show whether the drying is working.
It can be, if the water was clean, the pad is removed or dried, and the readings show the floor is dry. A carpet that was wet for longer, or that picked up dirty water, is generally replaced.
Not always. Flooring is sometimes discontinued or faded. A sample or the product name helps the installer find the closest match, and the homeowner decides whether a partial replacement is acceptable.
Once the readings are dry and the floor is secure. A floor that is still soft or moves underfoot is not ready, and the crew will say so.