Damage To Wooden Floors

Installing a wooden floor into your home is a costly process and so it is important that you look after it once it has been put in. There are many things that can happen to a wooden floor which can cause it to be damaged below are just a few examples. The first few are things which you may need to call a professional in to help you with:

Splits
Many hardwood floors develop small splits or cracks in the surface of the wood over the years. This is due to the fact that wood can dry out with central heating and air conditioning. One way of repairing these is to use some angled nails to secure the two pieces together, along with some wood putty to hide the blemishes. If, however, your floor is suffering from large splits you might want to think about refinishing the floor, one good thing about wood floors is that they can be re-sanded and re-finished over the years so that blemishes like this can be dealt with fairly easily..

Gaps
Another common hardwood floor problem is that gaps can develop between planks. This is another problem that relates to the nature of the material. Wood is a natural substrate and therefore often shrinks as it dries and expands if it gets wet. Therefore most of the gaps that you will find in your wooden floor will be seasonal therefore perhaps if you can bear it the best plan is to be patient. The natural process of wood will change through time. However if the gaps are there all year round you may have to call on a professional to sort things out for you.

Buckling
Buckling in a wooden floor is a major problem and one that you can't deal with yourself or just want until the seasonality of the wood makes things right. A buckled floor occurs when the boards warp and lift up from the subfloor that they are attached to. You will have to identify the cause of the bucking and sort that out first before you reattach the floor to the subfloor once more.

Scratches
It is ever so easy to scratch a wooden floor but it is essential that you deal with scratches as they happen. Your wooden floor could just have a small scratch that can be easily dealt with but if it is a deep scratch it may need a bit of extra tlc. Small scratches are fairly common and extremely easy to fix. You can conceal the area with a similar coloured crayon to the wood of the floor. However, if the scratches are much larger and appear to be gouges, more work will be needed. Firstly you will need to sand down the finish from the area that has been scratched, then you need to fill the gouge with wood filler. Once this is dry you can sand down the area once more and finish it off with a sealant to ensure it is as good as new.

Water Stains
Water is the big bad when it comes to wooden floors. You use a coaster on your wooden tables because otherwise they get stained - it is the same with a wooden floor. If it should get stained it is important to dry the area as soon as possible. If it is stained it is a case of having to sand down he area and re-finish the floor so try to avoid the work in the first place and not to spill anything!

Burns
Like water the other big bad for woood floors is burns. Seems obvious doesn't it but burns can happen on wooden floors for many reasons. Cigarettes, hot oil, or dropping a hot pan onto the floor things like this are easily done. If this should happen, evaluate the situation. Minor burns can be dealt with like water stains however if it is a bad burn you will have to deal with it like you would a deep scratch. So the moral is to be careful at all times.

Wood floors may need more maintenance than linoleum or tile floors, but they make up for it in beauty. Be sure you get your money's worth out of your floors by knowing how to immediately fix any problem by yourself at home. If you need to talk to someone about wooden floors or problems you have with a wooden floor why not contact Timberland Flooring.