Making Repairs to a Wood Floor

Wood floors in homes have made a comeback in the past ten years. Their natural beauty can be a major selling point and give any room an elegant look. This flooring may be varnished to show a more natural look or stained in a variety of colors. Paint can even be applied to give it small details or changing the entire look. There are also different types such as the inexpensive and most popular laminated boards to the more expensive solid wood floors.

However, if you are the owner of an older home with wood floors and want to refinish them to their original splendor then you have some work ahead of you! Renovating older wooden floors (if in good condition) is not difficult but it does take some time. The end result will be floors that you will definitely be proud to say that you renovated yourself!

The first step is to make minor repairs to the floor is to check the sub floor. Your sub floor needs to be in good condition to support the flooring on top and the best way to check this is by the process of removing the old floor covering to replace it with a new one.

Check the floorboards for protruding tacks or other remnants left behind. Depending on the age of your house/floor you could find an array of different items used to tack flooring. If you have protruding nails just knock them down into the joists with a hammer. Nail heads could damage a sander belt when you are sanding. If your house has lath-and-plaster ceilings then pull out protruding nails and replace it with a screw. The pounding of a hammer could damage the plaster ceilings.

Protruding or loose nails could be the reason for boards rocking or squeaking. As you inspect your floor for loose boards also listen for any noises that your floor might make. A moving board can be secured with a screw. If a board squeaks without any real movement then it is rubbing against another board. You can puff talcum powder down between these boards.

Gaps can be covered by a hardboard overlay. If the floor is going to be sanded and varnished, you will have to fill them. If there are a lot of gaps you may need to hire a professional to lift and relay all the boards.

ITEMS THAT YOU WILL NEED:

Metal detector (if needed)

Screws

Screwdriver

Nail set

Hammer

Flexible putty knife

Wood glue

Tenon saw

Block plane

Wooden mallet

FIXING A LOOSE BOARD

If you are securing a loose board in a bathroom, make certain that a pipe is not running through a notch made in the joint. If it is an upper floor, a metal detector will alert you if there is one as long as it isn't plastic piping.

Alongside an exposed nail, drive down a screw through the floorboard and into the joist. Use a 1-1/2"(38mm) woodscrew, driving it in until the head sinks into the floorboard. Then use a nail set to drive any exposed nail heads below the surface of the floorboard.

Cover the holes over the screw head and any previously exposed nails with a wood putty. If you're planning on covering the floor with a floor covering then you can use acrylic filler. But you should use wood putty if you are planning to sand and finish the floor.

REPAIRING A SPLIT BOARD

If the board has been split along the grain then you can hold it together by driving down a nail to the sub floor on either side of the split. Angle the nails toward the split. If there's still a gap then fill it with either an acrylic filler or wood putty.

FILLING A LARGE GAP

Using a Tenon saw cut a piece of softwood slightly larger than the gap. Then shave its sides with a block plane until it fits in the gap. Test fit it to make sure the wedge fits in securely.

Apply wood glue around the side of the wedge and place it in the gap. Using a wooden mallet, tap it down while working from one end to the other. Leave it slightly protruding form the surface. Wipe off any squeezed-out glue with a damp cloth.

Once the glue has dried, use a block plane to shave the top of the wedge so it is flush with the surface. If the floor is to be finished then you might need to stain the strip to match the surrounding boards.