Peaking end joints

Peaking end joints

Steel ruler shows peaking

Peaked ends

End Lift / Ski Jump (Engineered Flooring)

Floor Detective® Claims and Conditions Guide

Summary

End lift, commonly referred to as ski jump, is a dimensional condition in engineered wood flooring in which plank ends deviate upward from the intended flat plane. The condition develops when differential movement occurs within the layered plank structure, allowing dimensional stress to become concentrated at plank ends rather than uniformly distributed across the board surface. Environmental cycling, moisture imbalance, attachment restraint, substrate interaction, and engineered core construction may all influence how the condition develops and becomes visually expressed. Because engineered flooring consists of bonded layers with differing grain orientation and dimensional behavior, localized movement may occur even when the overall floor system appears otherwise stable. Visibility is often amplified by reflective lighting and low-angle observation. In the absence of corroborating evidence of bond-line separation, structural instability, or progressive material breakdown, end lift alone does not independently establish manufacturing defect or installation nonconformance. Proper classification requires differentiating engineered plank movement from end-joint peaking, substrate irregularity, moisture intrusion, attachment-related restraint, or localized mechanical damage. See also End Lift / Peaked Ends, Delamination, and Hardwood Floor Problems for broader context.

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