If you re pulling up a piece of wood you ll have to cut through the nails to remove a strip.
How to fix broken old hardwood floors.
Here s a look at ways to determine whether you need a simple repair a full refinishing job or to simply start fresh with a new hardwood floor installation.
Water damage to hardwood floors can be from minor to major.
It s available in both satin and glossy finishes.
Another exacerbating condition is water damage.
Hardwood flooring is nailed to the sub floor.
The only option to repair hardwood floors at this point is to cut out the stained floorboards and install new ones.
When removing old flooring create a new butt joint on just the side of the plank that s closest to the hole or where the damage ends.
The problem is magnified when the boards were not tightly laid in the first place.
To maintain wood floors vacuum or dry mop them about once a week.
Depending upon the conditions it is possible to strengthen or repair existing framing members such as floor joists or roof rafters by adding reinforcing material sandwiching the member on either side with plywood is sometimes worthwhile but the plywood must be installed correctly for greatest strength.
Using the technique shown in photos 1 4 and a carbide tipped flooring blade that can cut through nails remove the old hardwood flooring and install a perfect replacement piece.
A reciprocating saw with a blade that will cut through nails is the easiest way to cut through nails.
Repair hardwood floor water damage.
Rejuvenate wood floor restorer.
Traditional hardwood strip flooring is the most susceptible to developing a case of the squeaks but all types of flooring can make annoying noises.
In general water is an enemy to wood floors.
With older tongue and groove hardwood or even wide plank floors gaps inevitably develop between the boards mostly because the wood shrinks over time as it dries out and loses moisture content.
It can damage the finish leave rings or discoloration or at its worst cause flooring boards to cup warp buckle or grow mold.
You can also fix buckled areas of flooring and avoid having to completely refinish your floors.
Thre ways to fix a sagging or sloping floor.
Another good to know products like these that were created to refresh floors without sanding have a thick consistency that will fill light scratches and soften small dings.
Most floors use a tongue and groove design.
Water logged wood will first swell then shrink as it dries out.
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.
We replaced a couple of boards from a standard 3 4 in thick x 2 1 4 in wide oak strip floor using a drill circular saw and sharp chisel.
Repairing and refinishing old hardwood floors can be a labor intensive and complex process.
And sanding only creates a depression in the floor that s more noticeable than the stain.
The good news is that it s easy to silence nearly any squeak in a matter of minutes if you know a few tricks.
