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Dear Moss Building & Design,
We have some water damage on our hardwood floor from the dog’s water bowl (and from the toddler splashing in it!). What’s the best way to repair it without refinishing the whole floor?
Dear Dulles Mom,
If the flooring is pre-finished, you can cut out the damaged boards and replace them. Hopefully, you still have some flooring leftover from when it was installed. If not, don’t worry…most of the pre-finished hardwood can be matched up to the original product or something very close. The cost of this job will depend greatly on where the damaged floor is located. For example: if the damaged floor is located close to a wall and the floor’s direction is perpendicular to the wall, replacing the damaged boards would be a lot easier than if the damaged area was in the middle of a room. Some face nailing will be required for either of these repairs but can be hidden with a color-matched repair kit.
If the flooring was sanded and finished on-site, the repair could be very difficult to match to the rest of the floor perfectly. If you have the original stain and polyurethane used on the floor, that will help. Depending on the severity of the damage, the flooring may need to be replaced, or hand sanded to make it smooth again. In either case, the area will need to be sanded smooth extending into the “good flooring” by at least one or two boards. The stain will be applied, followed by the polyurethane. Not knowing exactly how heavy or how many coats of stain were applied makes the repair tough to blend perfectly. The polyurethane will also have a higher sheen because it is new and has not been subject to wear.
Moss Building & Design is the top home remodeling company in Northern Virginia that has established a reputation for excellence in remodeling additions, kitchens, bathrooms, and basements and providing home services for homeowners. With a strong focus on community, Moss Building and Design encourages a hands-on approach to home improvement with an emphasis on education. Their ‘Girls Night Out’ HandyMOM101 events offer DIY workshops covering projects like tiling, power drills, caulking, and patching drywall.
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