Common Hardwood Floor Repair Solutions
There are many different problems that could occur that would require you to engage in hardwood floor repair. This article will discuss a few of the more common situations where repairing hardwood floors would be necessary in order to give you a good idea of what is involved.
Probably the most common reason why you would need hardwood floor repair is in case of cracked or split wood. This is because it is a common symptom that develops over the years even when well taken care of. Often times you will be able to take care of these problems on a case by case basis.
You can use angled nails to fix the cracks and then cover it up with wood putty. Once the cracks in the floor become too large however, and the only solution you may have is to refinish the floor. This is also a do it yourself job, but it can be time consuming and difficult.
Another situation where repairing hardwood floors may be required is in case of gaps between the planks. These are common because timber naturally expands and contracts as a result of moisture and temperature. It will typically grow smaller as it grows drier and will expand in a more humid environment. So often times the gaps you see will only appear during certain seasons of the year. In this case, it may be in your best interest to simply cope with the problem as the gaps will probably go away once the weather changes. As a rule of thumb, if your gaps are thinner than a dime you have nothing to worry about, otherwise you may want to call in a professional.
A buckling floor is the result of a warping and lifting up of the subfloor. While hardwood floor repair may be possible in cases such as this it is hard to tell without first receiving an expert’s opinion on the situation. Ultimately, you may be able to correct the problem by reattaching your top floor to the subfloor which is the primary cause of the problem.
Cupping is one of the more noticeable of the different problems that may require hardwood floor repair. It causes the edges of the planks, along the width, to rise up and the center of the boards to sink. This is typically caused by an imbalance of moisture so the only way you can really fix the problem is by balancing out the humidity levels in your house. This way the surface of your floors can hopefully sink back to normal over time.
Although this will not totally correct the problem, it should level out the floor enough so that you or a professional can come in and sand it down later. These are just a few of the more common situations where you would need hardwood floor repair.
