Hardwood Repair

My hardwood floor problem is the home builder used hardwood from a previous house.Instead of finishing it he glued carpet down on it. Now 2 carpets later I want to refinish the floor. HOw do I remove the glue left behind? If I take my shoe and rub the floor vigoriously the glue rolls off. Is there a safe solvent I can use? Also the floor is sort of creaky but that part I can live with.

I just wanted to say that as a hardwood flooring professional of 17 years I really appreciated this article. Many people don't understand the expertise involved in repairing a hardwood floor and this article explained the challenges very well. In regard to the question about the glue, it generally just gets sanded off during a refinish.

I just want to say, as an avid and intrepid DIY'er, I really appreciate this article, too. Tim, you are so encouraging of DIY projects that I know if you recommend not to DIY, it really isn't a DIY project. Thank you for your honest and detailed explanation of what a PITA hardwood repair can be.

Hi Tim. I really thought you were a bit negative, or maybe I've just been lucky. I've done this 8-10 times for myself and friends. First I mask the area around with real duct tape(because I'm kind of a klutz).I use a drill with a 1 1/2 inch bit to remove a lot of stock (sometimes I do go a bit into the sub floor, but not much). I use a rotary cutter to get the extra bits out. To replace the piece I drill the pilot holes and start the face nails and use them as handles to replace the piece. I practiced on a mock up the first time. If you don't have a matching piece test stains, indelible markers on the reverse. I use at least 5 coats of varathane sanding lightly between each with 000 steel wool & don't forget the tack cloth. Carefully set nails & fill, don't forget the varathane over fills or you can see the difference in sheen.

Don't nail this darn new piece of hardwood. Glue it in with PL400.
Nails look really ugly so avoid them.

Don't use any other glue, has to be PL400 as it keeps flexibility and if floor has to move PL400 will give in a little bit.

Hello,

I've recently had my hardwoods refinished. The house is only three years old, but the previous owner didn't care for them very well.

I got a few estimates, and went with one I felt comfortable that had the right balance of price and experience. Dust, odor and timeliness is a concern of mine, because my wife is 6.5 months pregnant. I was told that all that was needed was a 'light sanding' and one thick coat of poly.

We scheduled the job for a friday and stayed at a hotel for two nights so the house could ventilate.

They used a floor buffer attached to an industrial vaccum (no dust, which was good). The buffer used pads that I can only describe as screen-like. They kept binding, and little rolls of some substance kept collecting underneith. He had to change these pads 5 times (on 500ish sqft). Saying that it must've been wax buildup.

They did a quick vaccuming of the surfaces (causing some concern). Then slapped down a thick layer of poly. Everything seemed fine.

When we returned two days later, it still looked wet. To my surprise, it wasn't wet, but it was HIGH gloss. Upon further inspection, there were dozens of spots where the poly seemed repelled by the old surface (either wax, or an unclean area). Unhappy, I contacted him to fix the spots, figuring that I'd live with the sheen.

He arrived a few days later, sanded each 'spot' and applied poly by brush to each spot. It looks worse than before, because the gloss makes these patches painfully obvious.

Long story short, I have an upset pregnant wife and no time to do it over again. Of course, it's the most traveled, most visible part of the house (entrance hall), so i'll be reminded of it every day.

Can a second coat of Semi gloss or Satin be applied over a high gloss coat?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, both in contractor evaluation, job execution and where to go from here. I'm in Attleboro MA if you have any referrals.

Thanks in advance,
Marc

I would suggest to must use an orbital sander or a mouse sander with 150 grit, and just lightly sand any un-even-ness in the high gloss finish area where he spot treated the wax repelled spots and feel with your fingers untill it feels like a straight finish(only sand the clearcoat, do not sand too much, you do not want to go thru the poly and into the wood!!) then use 220 grit WetSand orbital over the sanded area, then 320 grit WetSand, then 600 grit WetSand, then 1000 grit WetSand, then 2000 grit WetSand and then use a car buffing wool pad and rubbing compound. This is the way auto body shops spot paint. I've done this before on my hardwood refinish and worked beautifully!
Most of these supplies you will find at an autoparts/autobody supply store and a "hook and sand" type orbital sander will make your project a breeze and you'll be done the same day!! Good luck!

I just got new tongue-in-groove hardwood flooring installed. It looks like the end of one piece got forced in and now there's a small chip approximately 0.5 x 2.5cm right at the end affecting the corner edge. Can this be repaired with wood filler and a coating of some protectant/polyurethane? Or should the entire piece of wood need to be removed?

Is there a colored caulk that can be used in the gaps between boards of a prefinished a wood floor? Putty & wood filler comes out during seasonal changes.

I am curious about rplacing a board I'm not sure I agree with artur' comment to glue the board. If I liberqally glue up the back of the board will itg not creqte aq dead spot or area that either does not move or expands and contracts at a different rate? What are your thoughts.

Hi, I wonder if anyone could answer my question: I just bought a house and am having the hardwood floors refinished. Most of the floors were covered by carpet and are in good shape. Upstairs, however, it appears that the floors are applied right on the joists with no subfloor underneath, and they have cracked and separated in a few places. What can I do to fill in these cracks, and hide/protect the insulation that is right below, before the refinishing is done? Linda mentioned caulk, is that a real option? Or can I wedge in something shim like?

Any help is appreciated! You can even email me: vanilla chnchilla at gmail. Thanks!

i need some advice on what floor guys call thatching. fitting new and old together, to make a new floor. one third of our room is not finished with hardwood. we have four areas that require patching. is this an acceptable method of completing the floor. let me know. thankyou

Tim,
I have a new construction and we had brazzilian walnut hardwood installed in our house. Well the installer did a horrible job and we have seems that are very large. We brought this to their attention right a way (which was in Jan) and they assured us that the joints would close up when it got hot. Well it's June and we still have large joints and to make matters worse they filled the seems with putty and the putty is cracking and is the wrong color for the wood. What can we do? The builder suggested that they resand it etc. I don't see that correcting the problem. I think the only way to correct the problem would be to take the whole floor out and re-lay it correctly. The hardwood installers are coming tomorrow and I just don't want any excuses. Thank you. Concerned...