When Is It Time For Hardwood Floor Repair?

Owning a beautiful wooden floor means you want to preserve it in that top-notch initial condition and appearance for as long as possible. Of course, in order to do so, you need good prevention and thorough and regular upkeep. However, how well do you know your wooden floor and its needs? Are you sure you are doing everything as good as possible to preserve its initial beauty and glory? Do you understand when your hardwood floor actually is in need of repair? Today we will discuss more what are the signs that your favourite wooden floor is in need of wood floor repair and what are details you should pay attention to.

Wood floors can experience a wide spectrum of damages and imperfections, depending on a bunch of factors including daily use, heavy footfall, accidents, lack of protection and maintenance, and more. Not all of these damages and imperfections are the same. While some of them can be easily fixed even as a DIY project, others will require professional help and some of them will potentially even be beyond repair. Therefore, it is always important to have the right approach in every situation and make sure you are doing the best for the condition and stability of your favourite wooden floor.

Let’s find out more about some of the most common wood floor damages and what sort of wood floor repairs they require.

Water Damage

If you own a beautiful wooden floor, you already know that hardwood floors and moisture are definitely not best friends. In fact, water damage is something that every specialist will warn you about and you would like to prevent it at any cost. Thankfully, water damage to wood flooring is not that common as you would expect it, but still, sometimes it can happen due to reasons like leaks, flooding, problems with pipes, and more. Sometimes even as small as using too much water in your wood floor cleaning routine can damage its surface.

To prevent that, always make sure to clean the floor as instructed and that its finish is in perfect condition to protect the wood underneath. Severe cases of water damage can lead to warping, ballooning, or cupping of the floorboards. In such cases, you need the professional help of experienced specialists to deal with the issue. Sometimes these issues can be fixed with sanding and refinishing the floor, however, if the damage is too severe, it may require replacing the damaged floorboards.

Gouges and Chipping

Unfortunately, high traffic and heavy footfall can sometimes lead to issues and damages that are beyond the simple scratches. Due to many reasons, gouges may appear on your floor and the finish may start chipping. This is commonly happening in homes with young children and pets, but over time it can happen anywhere and in every household. Chippings, deep gouges, and very deep scratches require repair as soon as possible, otherwise, they will allow moisture or water to penetrate through the finish and damage the actual wood underneath it. Therefore, it is important to have them repaired as soon as possible.

Wood Getting Gray

Real wood floors may change colour over time and this is a natural process that is not that dramatic. However, if you notice the colour of your floor is getting more and more greyish, this is usually a sign of water damage and it will require the professional help of wood floor repair specialists. It is most likely that the finish has already started to wear off and moisture is affecting the bare wood, therefore, if you notice discolouration and grey spots on your floor, this is a strong indicator it is finally time for sanding and refinishing the floor. Don’t leave such issues neglected for too long as the more the floor is getting grey, the more structural damage to the floor you can expect. Act accordingly and on time to prevent finding yourself in need to replace the whole floor.

Scratches

Scratches are probably the most common wood floor issues you would experience. The surface of your floor may be scratched for a number of reasons, everyday use and high traffic are enough to leave micro-scratches on your floor. In order to prevent them, always make sure the finish of your floor is in perfect condition.

It will prevent deep scratches from penetrating through the finish and damaging the bare wood underneath. If the floor is too scratched, sanding and refinishing will usually do the job. However, in case of scratches are too deep, they may require filling them or even replacing the damaged floorboards. Therefore, you are recommended to contact your local wood floor repair service contractor in such cases.

Stains

Just like with scratches, stains are most likely to happen in a household, no matter how much care and maintenance you ensure for your floor and how well you protect it. Accidents happen and food or drinks may get spilt or paint may splash and leave permanent stains on the surface of the floor. In such cases, if the stains cannot be removed immediately or your cleaning routine does not help, it is probably time to look for reliable and experienced wood floor repair specialists and they will ensure good sanding of the floor until the stubborn stains are completely gone, then apply fresh new layers of hard-wearing finish to protect the floor from future accidents.

Sun Damage

Enjoying a lot of natural light in your home is something everybody enjoys. Besides your wooden floor. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight from a number of sources of natural light, for example in rooms with many windows, can lead to fading of the colour of the floor, discolouration, or even yellowing of the clear finish. In order to prevent your floor from such damages and still be able to enjoy sunlight in your home, make sure to choose a finish with an added UV filter to it for your floor. Furthermore, whenever you are not at home or you don’t need all the natural light, keep the blinds shut.