Laminate and Wood Flooring
© Hedgehog Designs: Manchester.
Repairs
Scratches, dents and holes in pre-finished lacquered wood floors are harder to disguise and the best remedy may be to replace the damaged pieces with new ones.
Because wood and floors are modular, they can easily be repaired invisibly and once completed the repair will be imperceptible and will not weaken or otherwise detract from the overall appearance of your floor. These repair techniques are approved by the major manufactures like Kahrs and NOFMA.
Wood floors can be completely sanded and refinished to look like brand new again.
Creaking, Bouncy Floors, Gaps Appearing
Wood floors are vulnerable to seasonal climate changes this means your wood floor may become creaky at the end of the summer and will develop gaps between boards at the end of winter, this is normal. However, you can minimise these effects by keeping your humidity in your home as constant as possible by using a humidifier in winter and a dehumidifier in summer.
Wood floors may become “locked in” they expand by taking on moisture and no longer fit in the room. Because the floor is too big for the room it lifts off your subfloor and feels springy underfoot (floated engineered) or becomes very creaky (solid)
If it is only noticeable at the end of summer/start of autumn then you can probably fix it by running a dehumidifier or your central heating to dry out and make the wood shrink again. If this doesn’t work then the floor can be trimmed with a specialist saw so that the correct expansion gap is restored.
It is not unusual for a solid wood floor to gain 2 inches in width, and what ’s more, the expansion is incredibly powerful. If this expansion pressure is not released by trimming boards or reducing humidity then the wood floor can be permanently damaged, and can even move stud walls.
Hollow spots, un-bonded areas and some movement can be easily fixed by injecting adhesive through the floor, this is done through a hole no bigger than a nail head. If done with care the injection hole can be disguised as a pin knot and is barely noticeable.
Wood floors tend to need more care than laminates, they are more easily scratched and dented,
and they are more susceptible to moisture related problems.
Scratches, dents, etc Creaking and Movement
Scratches, dents, gouges and holes
Scratches in oiled or waxed wood floors are easily covered with more oil or wax.
Dents can be steamed out (if the wood fibres are crushed not torn out) in waxed/oiled floors.
Holes can be filled with matching filler.