Wendy’s BlogAnatomy of Cleaning Up Ratty Hardwood Floors
Wendy’s Blog
Along with refinishing hardwood floors, old ratty boards, holes, voids and gaps should be cleaned up too!
Gaps from settling should be fixed before refinishing the wood floor
When having hardwood floors refinished it is the right time to fix things like gaps, holes, voids, loose boards, water damage or pet stained damaged boards too. Clean them up now before they are sanded really makes a big difference!
Our hardwood floor guy decided to fix the board in the middle of the hallway to eliminate the gap there, and eventually we recommended that the other board near the wall be replaced too.
First he pulls the old board out and evaluates the subfloor. Some times the sub floor needs to be stabilized before the new board can be put in.
So in this case a slightly wider board was installed to eliminate the gap that occurred with settling. Then after repairing the board in the middle of the room it cleaned that up, but made the board against the wall look bad, so we got permission to swap that out as well
Here's the chance to either bleach the black pet stained boards or remove them
Any time you see black marks from either pet stains or maybe a spilled drink or leak they can maybe be bleached out, or torn out.
It’s best to clean them up so they are gone when the floors are refinished.
Along with the pet stains there were bits of padding that decomposed into what was left of the finish. All that goes away, as do minor scratches too
Some times people have had walls moved and relocated or doors and what not.
When this happens there can be voids in the floor missing hardwood. This is the time to weave boards in to repair the floor, before refinishing them.
Because fixing this is involved a lot of times nothing is done. It’s best to stagger and cut the boards different lengths not just plug the hole with the same size boards.
Anyone having their hardwood floors refinished should look closely at their floors and discuss any problems or issues and have them fixed along with the sanding and refinshing
Along with refinishing hardwood floors, old ratty boards, holes, voids and gaps should be cleaned up too!
When having hardwood floors refinished it is the right time to fix things like gaps, holes, voids, loose boards, water damage or pet stained damaged boards too. Clean them up now before they are sanded really makes a big difference!
Our hardwood floor guy decided to fix the board in the middle of the hallway to eliminate the gap there, and eventually we recommended that the other board near the wall be replaced too.
First he pulls the old board out and evaluates the subfloor. Some times the sub floor needs to be stabilized before the new board can be put in.
So in this case a slightly wider board was installed to eliminate the gap that occurred with settling. Then after repairing the board in the middle of the room it cleaned that up, but made the board against the wall look bad, so we got permission to swap that out as well
Any time you see black marks from either pet stains or maybe a spilled drink or leak they can maybe be bleached out, or torn out.
It’s best to clean them up so they are gone when the floors are refinished.
Along with the pet stains there were bits of padding that decomposed into what was left of the finish. All that goes away, as do minor scratches too
Some times people have had walls moved and relocated or doors and what not.
When this happens there can be voids in the floor missing hardwood. This is the time to weave boards in to repair the floor, before refinishing them.
Because fixing this is involved a lot of times nothing is done. It’s best to stagger and cut the boards different lengths not just plug the hole with the same size boards.
Anyone having their hardwood floors refinished should look closely at their floors and discuss any problems or issues and have them fixed along with the sanding and refinshing