Cupping
A board whose edges sit higher than its centre — the visible record of moisture entering the floor from below.
Cupping is not an aesthetic issue. It is a permanent, visible record of process failure, and no amount of later refinishing fully erases it: sanding a cupped floor flat before the moisture has equalised produces crowning when it does.
It is one of the five failure modes that follow from skipping moisture testing or acclimation.
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- CrowningA board whose centre sits higher than its edges — the inverse of cupping.
- Moisture contentThe proportion of water in wood or in a subfloor, measured before installation and used to decide whether the two are compatible.
- AcclimationThe period during which flooring material equalises to the conditions of the room it will be installed in — a minimum of 72 hours, in the actual conditioned space.
- Belt floor sanderThe primary material-removal machine in a refinish: a continuous abrasive belt over a drum roughly 200 mm wide, handling around 80% of total removal.
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