Archive for the 'Spills & Flooding' Category

Nailing through the female/grove side?

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

I’m repairing water damage to a hardwood floor I installed 3 years ago. The damage is small and simply requires me to pull up about 3 feet of flooring. To replace new boards, I have to nail through the female or grove side of the maple. Any ideas on how this can be done?

Floor boards bowing after refrigerator leak

Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

Our refrigerator leaked water onto our 2 year old hardwood floor, in the kitchen, and pooled in an area all day until we came home from work. Now about a week later, in that area, the boards are bowing. Is there any way to fix this without ripping up that part of the floor and replacing it?

Insurance company wants repair; the pros say replace

Wednesday, August 8th, 2007

We have a prefinished wood floor in our laundry, hall and kitchen. It all flows together. Recently our washing machine leaked all over the floor, out to the kitchen. I called the insurance company and they recommended we go with one of their Premier Service companies. A man was sent out from a Premier Service co. and said the floor needed to be replaced. He measured, took photos and a board to be sent to a lab. The claim representative, without ever having seen the floor, has decided to just pay for repairs to the floor. The flooring company stands firm the floor will not be returned to its original condition. Fillers will need to be used, the boards will not fully match, and the floor will not look like it did prior to the incident.

Water underneath wood laminate flooring

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

I recently had a plumbing problem under the kitchen sink. Now there is some water underneath the wood laminate flooring (about a 3′x3′ area). I’ve noticed slight swelling in between the planks. What’s the best way to dry that out?

Swelling floors due to faucet washer going bad

Saturday, April 7th, 2007

I had a faucet washer go bad in my kitchen and there was a moderate drip (close to 2 gallons a day) dripping behind my cabinet, which eventually worked its way under my hardwood floor. This must have been going on for 3 days as I did not notice the swelling until the edges of my hardwood started lifting. We have solid Red oak floors applied directly to the subflooring. Am I going to have to replace the damaged area, or can I let it dry and hope to sand down or refinish it?

How can I get old paint off a hardwood floor?

Wednesday, March 28th, 2007

How can I get old paint off a hardwood floor?

Small damaged area on wood floor

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

We are purchasing a house. There are two areas in the kitchen that look like the the finish has come off the hardwood floors. It appears to be a little water damage / high traffic areas. Someone suggested maybe spot sanding and putting a water base over it, that there might be slight discoloration for a while, but it should work just fine. Is this the best solution or is it better to replace the floor boards and restain, or replace all the hardwood in the main room? The spots are about 2 x 2 feet.

Dishwasher leak on hardwood floor

Monday, March 5th, 2007

Some water leaked from our dishwasher onto the hardwood floor of the kitchen. The water was wiped up almost immediately but now, a few hours later, the hardwood floor feels uneven. The sides of the boards feel as if they are slightly raised. What can be done to restore the smooth floor?

Paint primer spilled on floor

Friday, January 26th, 2007

We came home tonight to find that our dogs had spilled a gallon of paint primer on our hardwood floors- while we were able to get the wet paint off the floors using water: how can we get the splatter and the white residue that has settled into the grain off? Our floors are unfinished and were 1920’s cherry.

Spilt bathroom cleaner on wood floor

Wednesday, November 15th, 2006

I spilled a bottle of bathroom cleaner on our engineered floors and it seems to have dulled it a lot. The shine is gone and you can notice a big difference from the rest of the floor. Is there anything that I can use that will make it shine again without having to refinish the whole floor?

Pee peels

Tuesday, November 7th, 2006

My dog peed on our floor and we did not notice this until the next day. After cleaning up the mess, I noticed that the finish had lifted and peeled on one side of the wood slat. The wood in not discoloured but you can see where the finished has peeled. Can I try and apply polyurethane to that one spot or is it better to sand the whole slat and then apply polyurethane to the whole slat of wood?

Flooded school gym

Wednesday, October 25th, 2006

I am looking at a gymnasium floor which is less than one year old. This is a very nice floor, but it has been flooded from below because someone failed to install a pressure cap on a drain pipe underneath the new hardwood floor. This happened three months ago, and all I see is the large area (50’ x 55’) which has obvious cupping.

Historic floods and hardwood floors

Thursday, October 12th, 2006

We have a new wood floor installed in a new addition, over a newly built crawl space. The floor was installed during a very wet period of the summer (historic floods took place near that time). The floor was flat after finishing. We covered it with drop cloths for a few weeks while trim work was done. When we removed the drop cloths, the floors had cupped. There had also been a problem with drainage that the builder had fixed, but not before it flooded the new crawl space. Now we are stumped – the job is done, we are about to have it inspected, and the builder is saying to wait until winter for the floor to flatten out with the heat. What if it doesn’t? What if it still needs to be resanded and refinished? Whose responsibility is this? We are reluctant to move into the space before this issue is resolved, but how long can/should we wait?

Buckling floors and blame from landlord

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

What can cause hardwood floors to buckle in some areas? No water or liquids have been left standing anywhere. The owner of the home is blaming my family and I, since they have occurred after we moved in.

Spilt lacquer

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

We have ***** hard wood flooring in our family room, dining room and entry hall. When the painter was finishing the front door and sprayed lacquered on it, a lot of it formed as a film on our hardwood flooring. He had it covered by the door about ten feet, but a good part of the rest of the floor got coated with the lacquer. We did not notice it for about three weeks later. How can it be removed?

Dark watermarks

Thursday, May 4th, 2006

We took carpeting up from our bedroom which has hardwood floors underneath. When cleaning the carpet from pet urine there are severe dark watermarks. Is there a way to lighten the marks before sanding and refinishing?

Unfinished wood and paint

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

I own a painting company and I am doing a job for a home owner who is concerned about paint dripping on his unfinished Brazilian walnut hardwood floor. The installer told him that the paint can not be removed and I need to know if this is correct or not. This floors still are going to be sanded and finished when I am done painting.

Dark spots & buckling

Thursday, March 16th, 2006

I have wood flooring in a bedroom closet that backs on to the bathroom. There’s also a window a couple of feet away from the closet. Dark spots have appeared on the closet floor and some planks are buckling/warping. I got an estimate for repairs from a wood floor company (>$1000!) and they want to replace the boards, then sand and refinish the entire room (the rest of the floor is fine). Is that normal?

Flooring cupping again & again

Thursday, March 16th, 2006

… Twice now we had to have the floor that runs from the rear door to the bathroom (10 x 6 ft.) resanded and restained because it started to cup. It is now doing it again, the guy says maybe my contractor didn’t install the new rear door correct and either water or cold is getting in under the floor.

Hurricane Katrina buckled hardwood floors

Wednesday, March 15th, 2006

My home is about 50 years old. Our hardwood floors were covered with water for about 3 weeks thanks to hurricane Katrina. The floors are attached to a wooden sub flooring with tongue and groove and a nail every 10 inches. There is some very minor buckling but a black spot appears at all the nails. Can this be removed by sanding?