Over time, a hardwood floor is bound to get scratched, nicked, or even gouged. Some add character, but some scratches can quickly ruin the appeal of any beautiful, hardwood floor. Types of hardwood floor repairs are numerous. Each scratch can require a different type of fix.
If a scratch has penetrated deep enough to expose bare wood, there’s a low-effort way to conceal the imperfection: Simply fill it in with a stain that matches the floor color. Stain markers and blending pencils are commonly available in a range of tones and can be found in at your local hardware or home improvement stores. Traditional wood stain will work equally as well. Simply apply it with a small brush or even a cotton swab—just be sure to wipe away any excess before it has the chance to dry. It is important to check with the manufacturer to see what type of finish was used on the floor itself if handling larger problem scratches.
To address a deep, wide gouge, use pre-colored latex wood filler, one that closely matches the color of your hardwood. Apply the filler with a plastic putty knife, (it is least likely to cause any further damage to the floor). Once the filler has dried completely, use fine-grit sandpaper to level the surface so that it matches the surrounding area. Finish with a coat of varnish (thinned with 10 or 20 percent turpentine) over the repair.
Pets, children, shoes or rolling furniture on unprotected wood floors are certain to get scratched. If you’re committed to keeping your hardwood floors in tip-top shape, consider the following tried-and-true methods of safeguarding wood against the most common threats to its flawlessness:
- Since tracked-in dirt and grit is the enemy of beautiful, pristine hardwood floors place fiber doormats near all exterior doors.
- Ask all visiting guests and family members to remove their shoes upon entering the house—especially women in high heels!
- Sweeping the floor will often contain any dirt or grit that manages to sneak in despite your best efforts.
- Always place felt protective pads under furniture legs prior to moving across wood floors (a leftover piece of carpet with the soft side down works really well).
- Restrict medium to large sized pets from all rooms with hardwood flooring, or be sure to always keep their nails neatly trimmed.
How many of us have had the experience where the appliance guy pushed the new refrigerator back into place and left some very deep scratches in our beautiful hardwood floor. This may not be an easy fix. The only real solution in some cases, if they are engineered for example, and can’t be refinished and stained successfully is remove and replace the boards that are damaged.
It is important when buying a prefinished floor to buy extra material in case problems like this occur. It may be a few years down the road before the material is actually needed. However, a few years down the road you this product, color or style may be discontinued. Finding an extra box would be extremely frustrating and maybe impossible. Your choices then would be; live with the scratches, cover it up with a large rug that doesn’t look right, or if you are looking to replace your hardwood floor call us, we are the top wood flooring business in Park City UT!