Wood Floor Damage: How to Repair Wooden Floors

The hardest part of replacing damaged flooring is removing the old boards. Hardwood-strip flooring has tongue-and-groove joints, not just along its edges but also along its ends, so the whole floor is locked together. Not only that, the nails that secure the boards are hidden, so you can't get at them. All this means you'll need some special tricks to get the damaged boards up without ruining the good boards around them. There are several ways to do the job, but here are a couple of the easiest:

Single boards

The trick here is to cut away a strip about a half-inch wide out of the center of the damaged board, and running along its full length. One way to do this is with a router. Chuck in a half-inch straight bit, set it to cut about a quarter-inch deep. Using a straight board as a guide, run the router down the length of the damaged board. Stop just a tad short of each end. Now raise the bit another eighth-inch and make a second cut right over the first, deepening it to 3/8-inch deep. Some flooring is 3/8-inch thick. If yours is, you will have cut through it to the subfloor. If not, raise the bit to a half-inch and make another pass. This will cut through any flooring that is a half-inch thick. But most flooring is 25/32-inch thick, so if your half-inch cut doesn't cut all the way through, raise the bit to 25/32 inch and make one more cut. You should now have essentially split the damaged board in half. The half-inch gap down the center will provide you with enough free space to hack out the rest of the board with a hammer and chisel.

Work carefully to protect surrounding flooring, and watch out for hidden nails. When these are exposed, you can either try to pull them out, or drive them out of sight with a nail set. If you don't have a router, you can do essentially the same job with a portable circular saw. Set it to cut the thickness of the flooring, and make two cuts about a half-inch apart down the center of the damaged board. Stop a bit short of the ends to avoid damaging adjacent boards.

Next, take an electric drill and a half-inch bit and drill a hole through each end of the damaged board, centered between the two cuts you have made. This will essentially cut the ends of the center strip so you can pull it free. Now chisel out the rest of the board as above.

Multiple boards

If you need to remove more than one board, just carry on from here. After the first board is out, you'll be able to chisel and split out the rest of the boards fairly easily.

Replacement boards

Take a sample of your flooring to a flooring shop and see if you can buy a few replacement boards. If not, you may have to buy a bundle.

Replacing boards is a fairly simple matter. If you are replacing several boards, just cut them to length, and blind nail them in place, driving the nails at an angle down through the intersection of the tongue and the edge of the board. Space them every 10-12 inches. Your flooring dealer can supply you with the right nails for the flooring you have. In some cases, the tongues and groove at the ends of the flooring will make it impossible to fit a board in place. If so, cut them off. The easiest way to cut the tongue off the end of an existing board is with a router.

When you get to the last replacement board - or if you are only replacing a single board - you'll have to change strategies. Before you can place this board, you'll have to chisel or saw off its bottom edge. This will provide the necessary clearance to set the board in place. In some cases, if the fit is very tight, you may also have to remove, or at least shave the tongue of the adjacent board. Then you can slip the tongue of the last board into its groove and force the board into position. Once it is in place, you'll have to secure it by face nailing. Use eight-penny finishing nails every 12 inches or so, about a half-inch in from the edges of the board. Hardwood flooring is very tough, so you'll have to pre-drill for these nails or you'll bend them every time. Once they're driven, set them below surface and cover with wood dough.

Finishing

Chances are your replacement boards will be slightly higher than the surrounding boards. Take them down flush with a belt sander, starting with an 80-grit belt and finishing up with 120. Stain if necessary to match the surrounding floor, and then finish off with two or three coats of a good floor finish such as polyurethane.