Hardwood floors may be timeless, but they require proper care to remain beautiful, durable, and safe generation after generation.
In order to maintain your floors, it is important to understand how damage happens, take the proper steps to repair it, and take precautions to prevent repeat issues in the future.
Hardwood floors have it all--they are easy to clean, long-lasting, and beautiful.
They even come in an array of styles and shades.
But like any household feature, wood flooring is not infallible.
Damages of all kinds threaten to disturb your floor's aesthetics, lower your overall property value, and even make crossing your living room dangerous.
If you've noticed problems like buckling or loose floorboards, scratches, or worn away finish, it is important to seek prompt hardwood floor repair to prevent these flaws from worsening.
With a little maintenance, your hardwood floors will be able to provide your home with shining, reliable service for years to come.
What causes damage to hardwood floors? There are a number of ways hardwood flooring may sustain damages.
These include: Wear and tear.
Animal scratches, marks from chairs, heavy foot traffic--your floor has to stand up to a lot of abuse.
It may not seem like a big deal at first, but after a while, those minuscule scuffs and nicks add up.
Even the highest quality wood floor products will eventually see their share of marring over the years.
Poor installation.
A floor that was not installed properly at first simply will not have the strength to endure the demands of daily use and provide you with the service it was meant to.
Homes with poorly installed hardwood often see planks coming unfastened from the subfloor, cracked wood, and other problems.
Environmental factors.
Wood is not impervious to changes in its surroundings.
It swells up when exposed to high humidity or excess moisture and shrinks as it dries.
Long periods of temperature fluctuations and overexposure to damp conditions can take a serious toll on your planks, causing issues including warping, cupping, buckling, and gapping.
How do you fix hardwood flooring? The proper approach for fixing a hardwood floor depends on the nature of the trouble.
Small, cosmetic flaws can often be fixed with the help of some light buffing with a soft cloth.
More serious issues include more involved repair measures and can even require the replacement of entire sections of your floor.
Whether you're contending with multiple, seriously damaged areas or simply are looking for a touch up, it is important to: Stop the trouble at the source.
In order to ensure successful hardwood floor repairs, you need to take care of the underlying cause.
This means taking care of your humidity and moisture problems, applying high-quality sealants, and using other preventative maintenance measures.
Once you've taken steps to decrease the threats to your floors, the more time you can spend enjoying them! Not skimp on cleanup.
When refinishing your floors to repair their finish, cutting corners is a recipe for disaster.
Making sure that all of the dust created during sanding is properly removed is not only essential to prevent allergy problems and maintain a tidy home.
It is also vital to make sure that all of the dust is gone to prepare for the next step in the hardwood floor refinishing process.
After all, having grains of dust trapped beneath your wood stain or polyurethane sealant could be ugly and damaging.
Use the proper tools.
Every hardwood floor repair project is different, but they all require the same use of quality products and tools in order to ensure the best craftsmanship.
After all, without the right tools, it can be difficult to reach every corner and edge, or make sure your replacement boards are installed correctly in order to have your floor looking and feeling even and smooth.
The proper tools can even help the job get finished faster.
Don't risk sub-quality results by choosing to skip steps or use inferior softwood or floor filler.
In order to maintain your floors, it is important to understand how damage happens, take the proper steps to repair it, and take precautions to prevent repeat issues in the future.
Hardwood floors have it all--they are easy to clean, long-lasting, and beautiful.
They even come in an array of styles and shades.
But like any household feature, wood flooring is not infallible.
Damages of all kinds threaten to disturb your floor's aesthetics, lower your overall property value, and even make crossing your living room dangerous.
If you've noticed problems like buckling or loose floorboards, scratches, or worn away finish, it is important to seek prompt hardwood floor repair to prevent these flaws from worsening.
With a little maintenance, your hardwood floors will be able to provide your home with shining, reliable service for years to come.
What causes damage to hardwood floors? There are a number of ways hardwood flooring may sustain damages.
These include: Wear and tear.
Animal scratches, marks from chairs, heavy foot traffic--your floor has to stand up to a lot of abuse.
It may not seem like a big deal at first, but after a while, those minuscule scuffs and nicks add up.
Even the highest quality wood floor products will eventually see their share of marring over the years.
Poor installation.
A floor that was not installed properly at first simply will not have the strength to endure the demands of daily use and provide you with the service it was meant to.
Homes with poorly installed hardwood often see planks coming unfastened from the subfloor, cracked wood, and other problems.
Environmental factors.
Wood is not impervious to changes in its surroundings.
It swells up when exposed to high humidity or excess moisture and shrinks as it dries.
Long periods of temperature fluctuations and overexposure to damp conditions can take a serious toll on your planks, causing issues including warping, cupping, buckling, and gapping.
How do you fix hardwood flooring? The proper approach for fixing a hardwood floor depends on the nature of the trouble.
Small, cosmetic flaws can often be fixed with the help of some light buffing with a soft cloth.
More serious issues include more involved repair measures and can even require the replacement of entire sections of your floor.
Whether you're contending with multiple, seriously damaged areas or simply are looking for a touch up, it is important to: Stop the trouble at the source.
In order to ensure successful hardwood floor repairs, you need to take care of the underlying cause.
This means taking care of your humidity and moisture problems, applying high-quality sealants, and using other preventative maintenance measures.
Once you've taken steps to decrease the threats to your floors, the more time you can spend enjoying them! Not skimp on cleanup.
When refinishing your floors to repair their finish, cutting corners is a recipe for disaster.
Making sure that all of the dust created during sanding is properly removed is not only essential to prevent allergy problems and maintain a tidy home.
It is also vital to make sure that all of the dust is gone to prepare for the next step in the hardwood floor refinishing process.
After all, having grains of dust trapped beneath your wood stain or polyurethane sealant could be ugly and damaging.
Use the proper tools.
Every hardwood floor repair project is different, but they all require the same use of quality products and tools in order to ensure the best craftsmanship.
After all, without the right tools, it can be difficult to reach every corner and edge, or make sure your replacement boards are installed correctly in order to have your floor looking and feeling even and smooth.
The proper tools can even help the job get finished faster.
Don't risk sub-quality results by choosing to skip steps or use inferior softwood or floor filler.
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