Water damage
on beautiful hardwood floors can be one of homeowners' worst nightmares.
Imagine coming home after a wonderful weekend get-away only to find that your
dishwasher has leaked water all over the hardwoods in your kitchen. Or
sometimes the water slowly sneaks in when you least expect it, like in the
entryway of your home after a long season of rain. Whether it’s a small amount
or a lot, water on hardwood floors is a bad mix. But don’t worry – it can be
repaired.
First off,
it’s important to identify the source of the water damage and fix it
completely. It would be pointless to repair the wood if you don’t seal the leak
or fix the pipes from where the water is coming. Remove moisture from the floor
if any is still present. If water sits on the floor long enough, the boards
will lose their shape. After the floor is completely dry it should go back to
being flat depending on how long the water has been laying on the
floor.
Minor water damage can be a result of small leaks or standing water
from a spill. It could leave you with hardwood floor boards that may be
discolored and possibly swollen or cracked. To effectively remove moisture we
recommend that you have a professional
hardwood flooring specialist assess the situation.
It’s
important to hire an expert to repair any kind of damage, no matter how minor
you think it is. There is always some kind of blending process that needs to be
done so that the damaged area winds up looking the same as the original floor.
To repair
this kind of damage, we would begin by sanding back the affected area starting
with coarse sandpaper before moving back to a finer grit. Once the area has
been sanded back and the stain edges are smooth, we treat the area with a wood
sealant that matches the rest of the floor. After one coat of sealant it may be
necessary to sand it back even more before adding another coat.
When a lot
of moisture has been absorbed from a major leak, the most common result is that
the wood expands and become wider. Unfortunately, one of two things will
happen: the floor boards buckle or cup. In either case you are left with
serious damage and an uneven floor. If your floor is cupping you
will need to sand and remove the finish. This step should only be done if the
other sign, buckling is not evident. There may be some minor repairs on some
loose areas required but altogether as long as the wood is completely dry you
can pick up and re-finish your floor.
In more
serious cases, the entire floor may need to be completely replaced. It is
important to keep in mind that each water damage situation is unique and
requires variations to the repair process. If your floor buckled, usually this
is a bad sign. Buckling means drying methods have failed because water still
exists. In most cases when your wood buckles it has completely unattached
itself from the sub-floor. When this happens, it is better in many
professionals' opinion to let it go and start over with new flooring.There is a
point when you have to decide whether you want to try and save your flooring or
simply replace it. In certain situation you could try to save it but there is
no guarantee that other problems won't creep up as you go along.
Once your
floor is flat and moisture free again, as long as no staining has taken place
we should be able to screen, fill and re-coat to fix the floor. Although, if
the floor has been stained, re-finishing may be necessary. If the entire floor
has water damage, you most likely want to have it sanded and refinished to
get back your wood floor's natural beauty.
Having hardwood floor greatly increase your home's market value. It is therefore essential to observe proper maintenance of wood floors, most especially during long rainy days where humidity increases. Water damaged hardwood floors are best repaired by professional hardwood flooring technician who have years of experience, licensed and knowledgeable on repairing water damaged hardwood floors.
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