Types of Hardwood Floor Repair and Expert Restoration
Hardwood flooring can look beautiful and can last for decades. Along the way, however, the flooring can become damaged and need to be repaired. Sometimes you need more than a standard sanding or refinishing. You live in your home, so there’s bound to be spills, scrapes, and other issues that could damage your flooring. Whether it’s wearing down from walking on it or it’s significantly damaged because of a leak, look into expert hardwood floor repair to restore your floors so you don’t have to worry about replacing them. Our experts can handle the repairs for hardwood flooring and work to restore your floors so they look amazing once again.
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When to Repair and When to Replace
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It can be difficult to determine if a repair might be sufficient or if a new installation is required. In some cases, it depends on how old the floor is. Older floors have likely been repaired and refinished before, which means you may want to go ahead and consider replacing them. If there is a significant amount of damage that can be difficult to repair, a replacement might be needed. Also, if the wood is damaged because of an improper installation, replacement might be the better option because a repair might not fix the main issue. Expert assistance from our team can help you determine if repairing your flooring is possible.
Cracking Boards
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Boards can crack if they were too dry when they were installed, if the flooring has dried out since they were installed, or because of significant expansion and contraction. If a floorboard is cracked, it will likely need to be replaced. It is possible to use filler on a crack, sand the filler, and stain it to match the flooring. Whether this is a viable repair depends on a few different factors, such as how big the crack is and whether the filler can be stained to look like part of the wood. With wide cracks, the filler will be noticeable even if it’s stained to match the wood around it. This happens because the filler is a solid color while the wood has different shades throughout it.
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Irregular Gaps in the Flooring
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As the climate changes with the seasons, floorboards expand and contract. This is normal and to be expected. This is why there are gaps between the floorboards. Gaps give the boards room to expand and contract so they don’t buckle. However, over time, it’s possible for the boards to move enough to create large, irregular gaps. When this happens, it may be necessary to have them fixed. Gaps should be fixed when they’re at their smallest, which is typically when it’s humid outside. This ensures the gaps are filled, but the boards will still have room to move when the humidity lowers and rises again. There are a few different ways to fix irregular gaps, depending on how wide they are, but any method used should account for the expansion and contraction of the wood after the gap is filled.
Cupping and Buckling
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Cupping is when the edges come up and sit higher than the center of the board. Buckling is the opposite, when the middle of the board comes up and the edges are lower than the center. This often occurs because of moisture, but buckling can also be caused by expansion issues. If the moisture issues are corrected, the flooring may fix itself and sit flat again. However, if it does not, repair is needed to fix the floors. Once the moisture issues are fixed, flooring that has cupped can be sanded to ensure it’s level again. Buckled flooring may be able to be nailed back down or sanded to be level again, depending on why it buckled and how severe the buckling is.
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Deep Stains
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Stains are generally in the finish of the floor and can be removed by thoroughly cleaning the floor. If they go into the finish or the very top layer of the wood, sanding and refinishing the floor may be necessary. Deep stains, however, are those that go deep into the wood. There are two ways to correct this type of issue. Bleaching can be used to remove the stains, but it can damage the floor further and may not work in all cases. The entire floor will need to be bleached to ensure everything matches once the bleaching is done. In cases where bleaching won’t work or isn’t recommended, replacing the boards is likely the only option.
Excessive Wear and Tear
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Wear and tear occur over time. When it starts to look bad, the floor can be sanded and refinished. However, there are times when floors look worn well before it should be time for them to be refinished. If it’s only been a few years since the floor has been refinished, it shouldn’t need to be finished again. However, if it was not done properly the first time, if the floor wasn’t maintained properly, or if moving furniture and other big items have caused scratches, it’s probably a good idea to look into refinishing the floors. Sanding can remove the finish, which is where most of the scratches will be, and replace the finish so the floors look new again. If there are issues that go deeper than the finish, it may be necessary to remove a little bit of the wood to get a smooth, even appearance. If grooves or dents are too far into a board and would require excessive sanding, it may be necessary to replace those boards instead of sanding the whole floor significantly.
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Choose Experts to Repair Your Floors
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Repairing your floors is not a job you want to take on by yourself, especially if some of the boards may need to be replaced. If sanding is required to fix cupping, for instance, you’re going to want to make sure it’s done at the right time so further issues with the boards won’t appear. Always contact an expert for hardwood floor repairs. Our experienced team has decades of experience repairing floors and we are fully licensed and insured. We can take a look at the issues you’re facing and let you know what the repairs might entail, how extensive they might be, and what the potential cost will be.
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If you’ve noticed any serious issues with your flooring, from excessive wear and tear to water damage or gouges, contact us today to get help. Our experienced team can handle any hardwood floor repairs for you and ensure your flooring looks fantastic. We’ll help you restore your hardwood flooring so you can once again have the beautiful floors you love.