Bowed Engineered Wood Flooring

[mjb920]

I purchased 700 sq. ft. of Mohawk 3" Hamilton Oak engineered wood flooring about three years ago and it has been stored in the original boxes inside my climate-controlled house since then. I am just getting started with the project and have noticed that some of the planks are slightly bowed. When I first purchased the flooring I opened a couple boxes to check it, but I don't recall seeing any bowed pieces then. The bowing is not severe, and I don't think it will be a problem once the planks are locked together and glued down over a concrete slab. However, I'm not sure if this is considered normal or if it will affect the installation. Thanks for any help.

[hawgeye]

I don't think its normal to let it sit uninstalled for three years. You could put a bunch of weight on them and wait another three years. That should flatten them back out. If you are ready to install them now, I would use those bowed pieces around the perimeter or at the ends of runs where you could possibly trim off the bowed portion. You may also have to put some weight on the bowed pieces to make sure they don't pop up while the glue is curing. Good luck.

[mjb920]

My wife would tend to agree!

should flatten them back out. My wife would kill me!

[PeterD]

should flatten them back out.

Perhaps true, but it would be three years before that happens. Maybe you'll get lucky?

Personally, I think the 'wood' has absorbed moisture on the backside and that may be the problem. Which way do they bow?

[mjb920]

should flatten them back out.

They mostly bow upwards - if I lay a 4' strip on a flat surface the ends are up to 1/4" up.

[PeterD]

That should flatten them back out.

Now I'm even more convinced that they have absorbed moisture on the back, causing the back to expand more than the front (top, or finished side).

I'd try an experiment and see if maybe you could try to dry them. Not

100% sure how I'd do that though!

[mjb920]

That should flatten them back out.

I just got off the phone with Mohawk. They said if the bowing is no more than 1/4" they are okay to use. If more than 5% of the order is out of whack then I have to call the dealer. I'm afraid they'll tell me I'm SOL since I waited so long. Sure hope the boxes farther down in the stack stayed flatter!

[willshak]

That should flatten them back out.

How about you get a couple of pieces of 1" x (?). put them on the floor and pile the bowed pieces straddling the 1" x (?) pieces with the bow up, then place a weight on the middle of the pile for a few days?