hardwood: Articles tagged with “hardwood”

Wood is perhaps the most practical of all flooring materials. But over time, the protective finish may wear off. This occurs most noticably in heavy traffic areas, or you may decide to freshen up the finish of a wood floor that's been hidden under carpet for years. Also, applying a modern new finish can make hardwood floors much easier to maintain than when they were originally installed.

Q: I recently installed hardwood floors in my house. In the process I had to remove a toilet. What do I need to do now that the toilet flange is now 3/4" below the surface of the new wood floor?

Shades of Wood Floors: Wood floors can come in a variety of different shades and color, so finding a matching stain on an existing floor can be difficult. You can likely get close, but perfection will be challenging.

Squeaky floors are caused by wood rubbing against wood or wood rubbing against nails in a floor that has loosened. The rubbing creates the squeak. If you can get to your floor from a basement or crawl space, most homeowners should be able to repair a squeaky floor easily with the following fix:

Many times minor damage can be repaired on hardwood floors. Here are some common problems.

Q: I am retired and have a lot of time on my hands. I have a living room that has hardwood floors. I have lived in the house over 30 years and the floors have been kept clean and waxed but they really need a refinish job done. I would like to attempt it but I don't know where to start and what to do.

Q: I installed a 3/4" tongue and groove Bruce hardwood floor in my dining and living rooms. I have been advised to do several different things to minimize moisture from the crawl space that could affect the floor, but am not sure which is right.

Q: I have a 30-year-old home. I want to put down a hardwood floor. The problem is that I think the old vinyl tiles, which are cracking and sit on a concrete slab, have asbestos.

Can I cover them or do I need to remove them to successfully install a hardwood floor? Can I place stone flooring on top of these tiles. What is the best, yet least expensive route as I must do this job myself?

Q: I just bought a below grade condo on the garden level of a renovated school house. The school house was renovated ten years ago and the basement floor is dry as a bone. I'd like to put a hardwood floor down but I have heard mixed reviews about installing solid hardwood below grade. My plan was to put down a moisture barrier, lay down 2x4 (flat) framing, add insulation between framing, and putting down 3/4 inch plywood, then installing the hardwood. Is this a bad idea?

With the types of wood and finishes available, a wood floor can be put in virtually any room in your house - even kitchens, baths, and utility rooms.

Inlaid wood can maximize the dramatic effect in any room. Inlaid borders can be used as a separation between flooring styles, on thresholds between rooms, to mark the outline of furniture groupings or to add a distinctive accent around certain areas or the perimeter of a room. Decorative designs can add real character to an otherwise normal room.

Q: We have a one-year-old hardwood floor that started cupping in the spring or earlier. The boards are four-inch red oak. The installer is claiming no responsibility for the problem. He blames customer abuse and moisture problems as the cause.

Q: How do I fill in spaces between the wood strips of my hardwood floor? The wood somehow split and now there are spaces. I tried filling them with wood putty, but the color was quite different and it didn't last long.

In general, hardwoods are more durable and more resistant to damage from impact. However, if you maintain your softwood floor, it should last just as long as a hardwood floor. Following are popular wood flooring choices.

Q: Going with the new trend, we removed the wall-to-wall carpeting in our home, built in the late fifties. We've lived here 25 years and ignored the hardwood flooring that we knew existed under the carpeting. The hardwood is in decent shape, although a few boards will have to be replaced due to stains and water damage, particularly next to a bathroom where a toilet overflowed.

My question is about the living room where there are dark areas around some parts of the floor perimeter as if at one time someone had an almost wall-to-wall rug. Someone suggested that those dark areas are wax build-up. One product that I bought, Bruce Clean and Strip, had no effect in changing the color. Can you tell me what might cause that darkening of the wood finish and if there is a remedy, short of refinishing?

Ask the professional who will be installing your floor for cleaning tips. Keep any cleaning solutions used for secondary materials off your wood floors. Here are some tips for keeping your hardwood floor in pristine condition.