How to Replace Damaged Floorboards
First of all, there are two types of floorboards: square edged and the more popular (and easy to install) tongue-and-groove. The square edged is as simple as the name; it has square edges that butt up against the adjoining boards. The tongue-and-groove boards have a lip or ‘tongue’ that slides into the groove its neighbor.
Before you remove a board, you need to know what type it is and whether or not you have a sub floor. Older homes may not have a sub floor therefore the steps to remove the boards will be different.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
Wide cold chisel
Hammer
Crowbar
Circular or compass saw or a hand-held board saw
Electric drill with a twist bit
Jigsaw
Screwdriver
Block plane or a woodworking chisel
Nail set
Flexible putty knife
Floorboard
2-inch (50mm) floorboard nails or #8 screws
Acrylic or wood filler
To find out what type of floorboard you have. Slide a knife down between the long edges of two boards. If the knife goes straight down, they have square edges and there isn’t a sub floor; the tongue of a tongue-and-groove board or farther down by sub floor will stop the knife if the board is square edged.
The board is nailed or screwed to the joist below. A squared edge board can be pried up. Tongue-and-groove boards are more difficult. If there isn’t a sub floor, the tongue of the first board can be cut off before the board is pried up. If there is a sub floor, however, you will have to drill a few holes just the depth of the floorboard across its width, then use a chisel to split the board down its length. To remove a damaged section, drill two rows of overlapping holes beyond the damage.
Insert a wide chisel near one end of the board. You may have to use a hammer to force the chisel between the boards. Then just pry up until the nails release the board. Repeat this process on the other side of the board as well. After you’ve lifted enough of the nails to get leverage with the crowbar, step down on the free end to remove the other nails that are still nailed down to the joist. Then slip a crowbar under the board and move it along the board. Repeat this process until all the nails are removed.
Following the completion of this technique with the first board, the others will come up easily. Watch out for possible rusty nails in the floorboards and remove them and get rid of them safely. Be sure not to leave them on the floor after you have removed them. Nothing is worse than stepping on a rusty nail!
Tongue-and-groove boards take a little more work. To remove them [without a sub floor], position a circular saw to cut �½ inch (or 12 mm) deep. Saw along the board to cut the tongue. Now pry up the board in the same method, as you would have used for the square edged board.
Subsequently, you can cut through the tongue using a special hand-held floorboard saw, which has an adapted nose with teeth to allow you to start the cut from above. You can also use a compass saw but you will have to make a ‘starting’ hole with a drill bit.
To replace a short portion of the board, you must cut across it before you lift it up. Find the first joist beyond the damaged area. To find this, you need to look for a series of screws or nails. Then drill a 3/8-inch-diameter hole close to it. Insert a jigsaw or compass saw into the hole and cut across the board. Repeat at the other end of the first joist after the damaged area.
Now because you have sawed off the damaged board close to the joist, you will have to construct a nailing surface for the replacement board. Cut a piece of 1 Ã?½ in. lumber just wider than the board and fasten it with screws to the side of the joist. Be certain that the strip’s top is flush with the joist’s top. In other words, no gaps or space or you’ll be in trouble down the road!
While a square-edged board will fit neatly, a tongue-and-groove board will not! The best solution is to use a block plane or chisel to remove the tongue. Position the board with its ends resting on the joists if there is no sub floor. Attach the board along the end joists and at any intermediary ones. Be sure to look for lines of nails across neighboring boards.
Use 2-inch floorboard nails or #8 screws. Drill the nail heads below the surface with a nail set or countersink screw heads. If you do have a sub floor, you can attach it to the board.
Buying New Boards. If you can’t find boards of the correct thickness then get thinner ones and fasten plywood shims, a thin and usually tapered piece of material used to fill small gaps between objects, to each joist with finishing nails. You can use either nails or screws to fasten the board but I would suggest screws especially in the upstairs rooms. Hammering can cause damage to the ceiling below especially in older homes.
