Most hardwood damage can be fixed without replacing the whole floor. Scratches get touched up. Damaged boards are cut out, new ones laced in, and the floor is sanded so the repair disappears. Termites, water and rot mean new boards and sometimes new subfloor. We fix everything from a whole subfloor down to a single scratch.
Repair, refinish or replace?
| What you see | Usual fix |
|---|---|
| Dull finish, light scratches | Screen and recoat, or a polish and top coat |
| Deep scratches and gouges | Touch-up, then refinish if the whole floor is worn |
| Pet stains that went into the wood | Sand and bleach if shallow. Replace boards if dark and deep. |
| Holes, pellets, or soft or hollow boards | Pest inspection, then cut out and replace the damaged boards |
| Cupped, crowned or buckled boards | Find and fix the moisture first. Buckled boards must be replaced. |
| Gaps between boards | Often seasonal. Wait for humidity to return before judging. |
| Mixed or mismatched colors | Tint or restain so the rooms read as one floor |
| Squeaks | Re-fasten from above or below; sometimes a subfloor issue |
Scratches and worn spots
Light scratches in the finish can be buffed and recoated; deeper ones get touched up first. If you have dogs, harder woods and lower sheens hide wear better. The smallest job we take is a single scratch touch-up.
Replacing boards so you can’t see it
New boards just dropped into a hole stand out. The right way is lacing, also called weaving. We lift the good rows next to the repair, mix new and old boards together, then sand and finish the whole floor. In one published example the contractor pulled boards back 18 inches from the damage and the repair couldn’t be found. New wood never matches old exactly, so the final sanding and color blending do the rest.
Termite damage
The University of California IPM program says western drywood termites are common along the Pacific coast of Southern California. They live inside dry wood above ground, and they give themselves away with small six-sided pellets pushed out of kick-out holes under 2 mm across. Subterranean termites keep contact with soil and build mud tubes.
- Deal with the termites first. Treatment is a pest-control job (fumigation, heat or local treatment), not a flooring job.
- Then repair the floor. Eaten boards are cut out and replaced and the subfloor is repaired. New wood is often laced into the old so the repair blends. Ask us how we’d handle yours.
The cost depends on how far the damage runs, from a few boards to a whole room to the subfloor and joists under it.
Water damage, cupping and gaps
- Cupping means the edges sit higher than the middle. The board has more moisture on the bottom than the top, or less in the air than in the wood.
- Crowning is a high center. It often shows up when a cupped floor was sanded flat while still wet. Don’t sand a wet floor until it has dried, which can take weeks.
- Buckling means boards have lifted off the subfloor. NWFA says buckled floors need replacing.
- Gaps open with dry winter heating and close again as humidity comes back. That’s normal movement.
Mold becomes a risk above about 15 percent moisture in the wood, fasteners corrode above about 18 percent, and rot starts near 28 to 30 percent (NWFA). Fix the source of the water before any floor work.
Pet scratches and stains
Light scratches fill with a stain marker. Deeper gouges get filler, sanding, stain and sealer. Shallow urine stains can be sanded and bleached; dark, deep ones that reached the subfloor mean new boards. Matte finishes and harder woods show less.
Subfloor and squeaks
Squeaks come from boards rubbing on fasteners or a loose subfloor, and most stop once the boards or subfloor are fastened down again. Damaged subfloor gets cut out and replaced. We repair subfloor along with the boards, and we tear out old hardwood when a floor is past saving.
When the wood doesn’t match
Additions, old repairs and refinishing in different decades leave a mix of species and colors in one house. We sand it all to bare wood and tint it so it blends. See color and mixed woods.