Is It Hard To Repair Damaged Hard Wood Floors

If the floor is stained first make sure the floor is completely dry wipe up any puddles then use a heater or hairdryer to ensure that all the moisture is gone from the finished floor and the subfloor.

Is it hard to repair damaged hard wood floors.

From the butt joints of any adjacent flooring courses. Done correctly a spot repair is all but unnoticeable provided you ve correctly matched the finish and if necessary the stain. You want the new butt joint to be staggered about 10 in. If your hardwood floor is in generally fine shape with only a damaged spot or two it is easy and economical to make small repairs by replacing a strip or plank of flooring.

If you re just sanding down a hardwood floor to repair water damage prefinished flooring is more difficult to work with than unfinished flooring. On a hardwood floor with plenty of wood thickness and deep damage we might use a power sander along with an edger. With hardwood floor repair you need to first determine what should be removed. However if the damage is major then the whole floor may need replacing and sometimes even the subfloor as well.

If your hardwood floor dries with a white hazy film on the surface you might get rid of it using a soft cotton cloth and a very mild abrasive such as tooth paste polishing compound or even tobacco ashes mixed with mineral oil. You can also fix buckled areas of flooring and avoid having to completely refinish your floors. On an antique often soft wood floor like the one shown at left we use a combination of sharp hand scrapers and hand sanding. If there is minor damage then the majority of the floor can be saved and an isolated floorboard may need fixing.

Because the pre finished protective coating is applied at the factory matching that finish in the field can be challenging. Most floors use a tongue and groove design for connecting adjacent strips. The easiest way is to bore a 1 in dia. Refinishing a floor is a big deal and if the floor has only one or two worn areas while the rest of the finish is in good condition it s more economical to make spot repairs.

Hole through both ends of each damaged board. If you ve had a flood or a leak chances are your hardwood has suffered either with stains or warping or both. In my opinion sanding an antique or historic floor dead flat produces a weird and inappropriate finish. Look at the damaged flooring plank and decide how much length to remove.

Because tongue and groove boards are locked in place removal involves cutting out the middle of each damaged board. Depending on the damage the hardwood floor may be repaired rather than being fully replaced. You ll find hardwood flooring at a local millwork shop lumberyard or floor covering store. Hardwood floors can be damaged by any number things.