I have 1.5” oak flooring that was refinished 3 years ago when I bought my grandparents house. It was original to the house in the 50s and covered with shag for most of that time.

Back in September I had a kitchen fire. The demo crew took everything out of the kitchen, including the tile, laminate, and wood floor that we eventually found below the others floorings that were installed above it. (Kitchen remodel wasn’t on the radar for a while and grandpa just kept stacking flooring apparently)

The restoration flooring guy ordered 2” floors instead of 1.5” so I am in a holding period waiting for the correct size flooring. The floors were demo’d weeks ago.

I’ve been hearing loud pops and am noticing my floors in the rest of the house seem to be separating/lifting and becoming unsealed. I even have one spot that has cracked in the middle of the wood.

I can feel the lifting when I walk on the floors and my socks catch on the lifted wood.

I feel like this is probably related to the missing floor in the kitchen but I’m not a flooring expert and was not sure if I was overthinking or overreacting. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I also live in an extremely dry climate (Utah). But 50+ year old floors (well acclimated) that have been recently sealed....seems like they should still be fine if nothing else has happened besides this fire / demolition situation.

Based on how things have gone with the flooring people so far I feel like they will give me a run around if I bring it up and they won’t want to help me fix it. I would love some insight here before I ask them about it so I have an understanding of what’s going on or an understanding in if I should be expecting them to help me with it or if it is something I shouldn’t expect them to help with at all.

Any insight appreciated.

Photos:
Crack in wood
Separated seam
Where the kitchen meets the hall
Where the kitchen meets the dining room