| Blocking of Hardwood Floors: |
In water damage mitigation, blocking is an attempt to control the movement of a large hardwood floor during swelling. More than likely, blocking will not succeed, since hardwood strip floors swell, mainly laterally, and one or more wood section at the exterior walls require removal in large floor installations. Education Note: When originally installed, the edge of the hardwood floor perimeter to the wall, must have no less than 3/8" clearance to allow expansion, having less than that can become a concern during a water damage, possibly resulting in one or more section of the hardwood floor perimeter to become removed, in an attempt to salvage the remaining hardwood floor. In a total hardwood floor water damage, blocking is most always futile, since thousands of pounds of pressure are exerted on the floor through pressure which you cannot stop. See Hardwood Floor Cupping, Parquet Floor. |