Michigan: Where the Air is Pure, The Trees are the Right Height, and the Floors are Buckled

Just about two weeks ago, about one week before we were set to leave for the lake, the nice man who opens our cottage for us each spring called Tony to tell him "it was the damndest thing."  All our hardwood floor boards had buckled.  Some---like above--were "tented,"  other were "only cupped."  But the whole floor was ruined.

This was not something we had expected.

And no one is quite sure why, as there is no sign of water damage:  the crawl space is dried, the boards are not stained and what we can see under the boards seems dry.

Here is our surprise:

Since then, someone has come in and loosened and removed some boards so we can walk without having to climb over the floor.  We have also become quite knowledgeable about flooring---especially in small homes that are left unheated in very cold climates.  Like ours.

I would feel somewhat better about this if we could identify the source of the problem.  But hey, that's the breaks I guess. 

In the meantime, we are going to install something called "luxury vinyl planks" that look (sort of) like wood.  Cheaper, water resistant, comes with a  warranty etc.  But it has really re-shaped our summer.  (Not just an unexpected expense but also not really feeling settled in.)  We are about to sign a contract and are hoping July we will be back to some version of normal.  (Just not with our beautiful maple floor). 

So I will put this one down to the vagaries of owning a summer  property for  anyone who might be contemplating a northern lakeside cottage!