I'm hearing lots of these stories lately concerning cupping of wood floors over newly-installed flooring underlayments and patching compounds. Most engineered cementitious underlayments and patching compounds incorporate self-drying technology and there shouldn't be any moisture migration issues with those. I would consider any cementitious product that does not incorporate self-drying technology to be the same as ordinary concrete when it comes to dry and cure times. Perhaps the product used did not have self-drying characteristics? But, I am not a concrete expert, so take my thoughts here with a grain of salt. Your floors may settle down after moisture reaches equilibrium. I saw a floor in a recently renovated nightclub in Astoria, Queens that was cupped throughout...and I bet the cause was going over a 'green' concrete slab or partially cured patching compound.

Tad it isn't recommended to put a vapor barrier between the floor and subfloor in a crawlspace installation. Reason being is if there is humidity beneath the crawlspace then the subfloor is going to expand and move the wood floor in a panelized effect anyway. The vapor barrier should go on top of the ground under the crawlspace. It should cover 100% and it should be black plastic not clear. Black plastic keeps any vegetation from growing under the barrier. Get that covered and keep running the dehum unit until it is bone dry under there. Only after it is dry and you've given the wood floor 2-3 months to relax can you attempt a fix. Anything prior to that and you could cause additional problems. Call me if you want to go over it. Sam at Real Wood Floors 877.215.1831

Your roof top deck has plenty of clearance,most of mine have the width of the stringers 1 1/2''. I would sugest using counstruction adhesive as well as SS screws be very sure the screws do not go thru the stringers be very sure as well during install you dont damage the roof...like hiting it with the edge of a board,droping a drill bit first on it,steping on a screw things like that. Your right if your going to use anything on it use the S American lumber not manmade material. With your pool deck provide cross ventalation. This can be done with screen vents in the framing if this is not completly possible install floor vents in the decking combined with the frame vents. Cross ventalation is a vastley over looked but much needed addtion to any decking project. The gap between the decking boards will have no effect one way or the other venting your project unless there is air moving under it. If possble a drain system under the pool deck might help if done corectley but do not put a ground cover like plastic sheet/tar paper under it 1'' ipe will react the same way 3/4'' ipe will under the same conditions. The life span of both is also the same. J.

Wood absorbs moisture and it changes shape because of that. Wide wood has the potential for more movement than narrow wood. Minor cupping in summer where you do not have air conditioning is to be expected as 100% normal. Wood requires humidity control if it is to be held in a steady state without either cupping or shrinking. It should be installed in a climate controlled building after being allowed to acclimate to the moisture conditions of that building with the climate control on. The building, subfloor and the wood itself should be tested with a moisture meter before install. If too much moisture is present, either in the environment or in the flooring, you must wait until they equalize before installation. Your typical contractor is BAD at "just waiting" until things resolve themselves, ans so they typically install flooring without ever have tested the moisture content of anything. Thus, you can have cupping occur almost immediately when dry hardwoods are installed in a moist non climate controlled home. (In the winter, it can be the reverse. You have relatively moisture stabilized wood being installed into a dry home and it gaps.) The biggest problem with wide plank wood floors and non conditioned environments is that you can end up with fairly large gaps between the boards when winter rolls around. The swelling of the wood in summer leads to "edge crush" along the edges where the boards meet and can't expand, so the wood fibers are crushed, leading to even larger gaps in the winter. It's especially aggravated when the floor was installed in the time of highest humidity and there is no humidifier running in the winter. Climate control your home, and it will minimize many problems associated with the annual humidity cycle---not just the floor cupping. You'll have less seasonal movement between walls, and less gapping of moldings in winter. Your whole house will live easier. You also need to control any humidity infiltration into your home. Moisture is the enemy of any home and you need to do all you can to keep it out. Crawlspaces should be sealed, and basements should have drainage systems installed and run dehumidfiers to a sump pump. Preferably, the slab below the basement should have been installed onto a vapor barrier rather than bare soil. It's required in all new builds these days, even in the little hick place I'm from. Gutters and downspouts should be routed away from the home, and you should make sure that the proper site grading is done to move water away from the home. All of this has an effect on not just your floors, but the rest of your home's wood skeletal structure.