Our house is settling, which I know is normal, but I am concerned about our hardwood floors. The house is about four years old and has a concrete foundation. We have noticed the cabinets pulling away a little from the wall and the counters pulling away too. We re caulked the areas and it is fine. My concern is the hardwood floors. Two of the boards have sperated and have bubbled up. Is that normal? I would love some answers! Thanks! GIna

What do you mean by "Two of the boards have sperated and have bubbled up"? And how much have the boards separated?

Glenn

We have oak flooring and two of the boards have seperated about 1/16" and buckled. So basically the two boards that are seperated have a little hump to them now versus lying flat. The split goes from the cabinets to the center island, about 7-8 feet long. Thanks for replying!

Tho it happens a lot, house settling is not a nornmal situation ( I suppose that depends how you define normal) It is not normal or in my mind, acceptable, for cabinets to be pulling away from the wall. cabinets should be installed screwed to the wall and e3ven if the house moves around, that joint would be one of the last to open up. Something isn't right here.

Is there a beam or support post in the cellar/crawl-space where the crack is openning?

Has any liquid been spilled on the floor? If water gets onto a hardwood floor it can penetrate the joints and become trapped under the flooring. The water will then soak into the unprotected underside of the flooring and cause it to swell. When this happens you will see the separation and buckling you have described.

Settlement could also cause this but this would mean the exterior walls have settled more than the piers under the house causing a girder to push on the underside of the floor.

Glenn