5 Common Hardwood Flooring Repairs

Minor damage to hardwood floors can easily be repaired by a hardwood flooring professional, or even a handy do-it-yourselfer. Here are some common hardwood floor problems and solutions if your hardwood floor needs a little extra attention.

Split or Cracked Wood 

Over the years, many hardwood floors develop small splits or cracks in the surface of the wood. These can be spot repaired with some angled nails to secure the two pieces together, along with some wood putty to hide the blemishes. If your floor is suffering from large cracks, however, you might want to think about refinishing the floor. And if the split is particularly bad, you should probably replace the damaged plank altogether.

Gaps in the Planks

Another common hardwood floor malady is the development of gaps between planks. The most common causes of gaps between the boards is Mother Nature. Wood shrinks as it dries out, and it expands when it gets wet and humid. That regular expansion and contraction over time is the most common cause of gaps, and is the main reason why most gaps are seasonal in nature. Perhaps your best plan of action is to exercise patience.

The natural process of things will tend to close gaps as the weather and humidity changes. As a rule, if the gap is less than the thickness of a dime, your flooring is normal and there’s nothing to worry about. If your gaps are more persistent, you might need to call in a professional to tighten up your hardwood floor so that they cease to be a problem.

Buckling

A buckled floor happens when the boards warp and lift up from the subfloor that they are attached to. You’ll most likely need to call in a hardwood floor installer to identify the root of the problem if buckling is an issue. Once the cause of your buckling has been identified, you’ll need to take the necessary measures to ensure that your hardwood planks are firmly attached to the subfloor so that the problem no longer persists.

Cupped Floors

Cupped floors, also called washboarding, develops gradually across the width of the wood strip where the edges of the hardwood planks raise up and the center of the board sinks down. The cause of cupped floors is a moisture imbalance where there is more water on the bottom side of the wood plank than on the top. The only cure is to balance the humidity levels in your home, and to give the surface time to return back to normal. After the floor has stabilized, you can have a professional sand it flat and re-finish it to perfection.

Warped Hardwood Floors

Warped hardwood floors, also known as sagging, is a serious problem for any homeowner. It is often the result of serious moisture problems, and any evidence of warped hardwood floors needs to be addressed immediately. Warped hardwood floors are rarely the result of faulty hardwood or installation, but are a symptom of larger moisture problems in the home itself that need to be taken care of.

Other Hardwood Repair Problems

Besides major problems, you may also experience scratching or loose planks with your hardwood flooring. Scratches can be repaired with touch up kits, or something as simple as a like colored crayon. If you’ve got serious scratching, however, you may need to hire a contractor to refinish the flooring altogether. And if you’ve got loose planks, your only solution is to tie them down. Ideally they should be nailed to the subfloor to prevent any more movement, though excessively loose boards can be a sign of improper installation in the first place. Bringing in a professional hardwood installer to re-install your flooring properly is probably the only sure way to permanently solve the problem.

How Much Will a Repair Cost?

With so many potential problems and repairs that a wood floor could need, you’re probably wondering how much the potential solutions will cost. It might make you feel better to know that the average wood floor repair costs around $1000, with minor repairs costing as little as a couple hundred and major jobs costing well in to the thousands. This is definitely a job that you’ll want to get a few quotes from contractors in order to feel comfortable with your particular repair needed or how you can repair the wood floor yourself.

1 Comments

1. Grace Fitz, January 10:

   Am looking for a flooring specialist who has worked on older homes…would like suggestions and estimates re old pine flooring trpair