Q: What can be used on hardwood to protect it from items such as a computer desk chair with wheels?
A: You could get one of these plexi glass floor mats from an office supply store.
Note from Webmaster: be cautious that grit doesn’t get underneath it and cause scratches!
Related Q: I have an oak wood floor damaged by chair wheels. Chair wheels have made a round circle in the middle of it. Only in that one 3 foot circle is the wood lighter. The edges are all fine. Can I sand and re-stain just that one spot? Or do I have to do the whole floor?
A: You might be able to do it, and it is certainly worth a try before pursuing something more extreme. You will have to do entire boards though.
Related Q: I have a spot under a rolling desk chair where it appears to have worn the finish away. This is on a four year old, 3/4 inch oak, pre-finished hardwood floor. How do I get this fixed? Do they have to do the whole floor (600 sq. ft.) or can this area alone be repaired (2 x 3 ft.)?
A: First find out if the manufacturer has a touch up kit. If not, then perhaps just the affected boards could be stripped/scraped/sanded and a couple of fresh coats of polyurethane carefully applied to them in thin coats.
It won’t be a perfect match but in a case like this you either make the best of it or have the entire floor sanded and finished over.