Wood flooring is a lovely choice to make a part of your home. It not only looks really good, but when installed right, it can last for a long time. There are some key problems you need to look out for to maintain your wood flooring properly. With the necessary tools and techniques, you’ll be able to have these issues resolved. Here are some common problems you need to look out for with wood flooring.
1. Cupping
If the bottom of a board becomes wetter than the top, the edges of the board cup. Wide plank floors tend to be the most prone to cupping, but it can also happen to strip flooring. The cause of cupping is usually when the flooring has been installed over a wet basement or crawlspace. The solution to slowing moisture migration is having a vapour retarder installed between the floorboards and the sub-floor.
In some cases, after the moisture issues are resolved, the cupped floors will end up lying flat again. In other cases, the floor may be permanently deformed. The floor will have to be sanded after the moisture content of the bottom and top of the board is within 1%. You can check the bottoms of the boards by placing a moisture meter through the sub-floor.
2. Abnormal gaps
Gaps that are big and irregular can take away from the look of your wood flooring. This type of flooring can be more prone to this problem. These gaps tend to be more evident during drier times. One cause of abnormal gaps is flooring that’s too wet when installed. Another cause is installing flooring in areas that are excessively dry, such as when wooden floors are installed on heating ducts, homes heated with wood stoves or areas that receive a lot of direct sunlight.
The best time to have gaps in your floors repaired is during the most humid time of the year when they hold tight to one another. Repairing them when the wooden floor gaps are widest might lead to a floor that buckles when it expands. When repairing the floors, never use wood filler. Instead, glue slithers of wood to the edge of the floorboards. Be sure to apply the glue on only one side of the slither to avoid gluing any boards together.
3. Peeling floor finishes
A wood floor finish can peel if the floor is improperly prepped or contaminated when the finish is applied. Any chemicals or dirt embedded in the finish or on top of the floor will cause the coats of a finish to flake. Other times, excessive sanding with high-grit paper causes the surface to be too smooth for the finish to adhere. Perhaps the most common cause of peeling is stain residue that’s not cleaned before the finish is applied. You can prevent any build-up of stain residue by removing excess stain no later than three minutes after it’s been applied.
The floor should dry thoroughly before any finish is applied. Don’t make the mistake of letting stain sit or applying multiple coats of stain to darken the wood. One of the best ways to fix a peeling floor is sanding it down to bare wood and restarting the process of applying the finish. Having the floor abraded and getting a new topcoat applied probably won’t fix the problem. If resanding isn’t done, furniture polishes and waxes used to clean wood floors will seep in the pores of the finish and potentially prevent the finish from successfully bonding.
4. Buckling
When boards can’t expand, they end up buckling. A wood floor can buckle because of a flood, a damp basement, or if it was too dry when the floor was installed. Additionally, improper fastening aggravates the condition. Sometimes, buckled floors can be refastened, while other times, they have to be removed. If the grooves and tongues are torn apart, or the boards have been cracked, they have to be replaced. The moisture issues in the home have to be fixed, and the moisture content of the sub-floor and floorboards needs to be the appropriate level before the buckled floors can be repaired.
5. Stains
When a floor finish builds up with stain, it can typically be removed with a wood floor cleaner. If the stain is within the actual finish, it has to be sanded out. If a floorboard has been deeply stained, it’s best to have it replaced. In particular, pet urine can go deep into the wood fibres and be very difficult to remove. Two-part wood bleach can sometimes remove stains, though it does have disadvantages. Bleach can break down the wood fibres, causing the wood to be more susceptible to denting. If you use wood bleach, make sure to apply it to the entire floor, so the floor can remain consistent in sheen and colour. Once dry, sand and refinish the wood.
6. Fractures
Factory-finished floors tend to have more cracks than other types of flooring. Flooring nailers damage the finish on the boards. More manufacturers are making an adapter for their nailers to keep the force of the nailer from concentrating on the floorboard’s surface. Ideally, boards with badly damaged edges should be replaced. Cracks can be common on the face of regular and factory-finished floorboards. It happens because different wood types tend to crack more than others.
A factory-finished board can be fixed through using a manufacturer repair kit, which has a coloured marker, a bottle of finish and wood filler. If you’re unable to get a kit, the next best option is to either fill the crack with wood filler and apply finish over the entire floor to keep the colours matching, or replace the board.
Being aware of common wood flooring problems can keep you prepared with the tools you need to maintain your floors. Be sure to fix any problems that you notice with your wooden floors as soon as possible to keep it preserved. You can learn more about hardwood floors at this link: HomesPure.com.
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