Hardwood Floor Repair Projects that You Can Tackle

You live in a home that’s 100 years old. To retain some of its original beauty, you had the hardwood floors restored throughout. Or, you live in a new home and you’re wealthy enough to have had new hardwood floors installed. Most would agree that hardwood floors are beautiful, are something to be admired and add value to a home. However, if there are children, pets, moisture, or if your home receives a good deal of traffic, hardwood floor repair is almost inevitable. Sure, you had the money to put new hardwood floors in your home, but are you eager to spend more money on replacement hardwood floors? Fortunately, for many cases, you don’t have to. There are problems with hardwood floors that you can fix on your own and problems with hardwood floors that should be handled by a professional.

Hardwood Floor Repair That You Can Handle on Your Own

SCRATCHES

This is the easiest of hardwood floor repair. No matter how great your hardwood floors are, they will get scratched. However, there’s no need to refinish the entire floor or call a professional if the scratches are minor.

1. Clean the area that is scratched. Vinegar and water is an excellent, inexpensive way to clean the area.

2. Now you simply cover the scratch with a wood finish repair kit, a color stick or something similar. There’s no need to spend a ton of money on this. A good wood finish repair kit can be had for less than $10. Try DAP’s.

STAINS

Stains are hard to remove, but you can do it. You are likely not to get a perfect match when you’re done. However, if you can live with that, you’ll save money.

1. Buy a good sander or rent one from a hardware store. Sand away the stained finish on the wood.

2. Buy a good pair of gloves. Buy a wood bleach (oxalic acid crystal.) Have some clean white cloths. Follow the instructions on how to prepare the bleach.

3. Wipe the stain with the bleach and the white cloths. You will probably need to leave the bleached cloth on the stain for a while to help with removal. Repeat the bleaching process until the stain is gone.

4. Be sure to carefully rinse the area. Good old fashioned vinegar and water is an excellent rinse. Let the area dry thoroughly.

5. Take the wood stain and try matching the stain to the wood. Start slow. Take your time. Wipe away the stain until you have the color you want. Don’t get it too dark. Let it dry.

6. Apply a topcoat.

LOOSE PLANKS OF WOOD

This hardwood floor repair is easy.

1. You’ll need a hammer and some nails.

2. Secure the wood with the hammer and the nails.

SPLIT AND CRACKED WOOD

This hardwood floor repair is similar to repairing loose planks. If the split or cracked wood is really bad, your floor may need to be refinished or you may need to hire a professional.

1. You’ll need a hammer and some angled nails.

2. Secure the split or cracked wood together. Buy a wood filler or wood putty to hide the imperfections.

GAPS IN THE PLANKS

This is the easiest hardwood floor repair of them all, because you don’t have to do anything but be patient. Understand that wood shrinks or expands depending on the weather. If it is humid, wood floors expand. They then shrink as they dry. Often the result is gaps in the planks. Again, if the gaps don’t change with the seasons, you may need to call a professional.

Call a Professional for These Hardwood Floor Repair Problems

Unless you are a professional yourself, call a professional for these hardwood floor repair problems. Hardwood floors are expensive. Don’t try to handle these serious jobs unless you know what you’re doing.

CUPPED FLOORS

This hardwood floor repair problem is also known as wash boarding. This is where planks of your floor are higher on the edges than in the center. This is usually caused by moisture imbalance. Call a professional to even out or stabilize your floor and to refinish it.

WARPED FLOORS

This is a hardwood floor repair problem that you don’t want. Here your floor is sagging. Sagging hardwood floors need to be addressed immediately, so call a professional.

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