No wonder the wooden floor is very popular. It looks aesthetically pleasing and is easy to clean. But, unfortunately, the wood material has a tendency to destruction. Therefore, the wooden floor needs cosmetic or major repairs, depending on the traffic load.

When urgent floor repairs are required

Wood substance is a fairly dense material, especially if it has been processed and laid in a skilful way. But, even in this case, there may be some problems. So, how to understand that your wooden covering needs repair?

• The main signal is the floorboards’ creaking. If it is still insignificant, and the boards do not bend, you can do a quick and inexpensive repair. It will be enough to find all the places of creaks and eliminate them. Usually the reason for the creaking is the weak fastening of the board itself or the joists.
• Rottenness and putrefaction. In this case, the floors may even fall through. If you bring the floor to this state, it will have to be changed completely. The peculiarity of the wooden coating’s wet rot is that it couldn’t be noticed immediately, since it starts from the bottom.
• The floorboards’ deformation indicates the beginning of the floor destruction.
• An unpleasant smell is a sign of the beginning of rotting or the appearance of mold.
• Destruction of the floor joists (battens).
• The tacks’ condition can indicate the beginning of the wood substance destruction. If the tack is rusty, it means that the boards already need to be replaced.

Types of wood coverings and their features

• The cheapest wood covering is a plank floor. It consists of flat and smooth boards laid out one after the other vertically or horizontally. The boards must always be flat, as there may be difficulties with installation. The only difficulty in laying a plank floor is the selection of parts according to their size. Plank boards during repairs in a private house are laid out upon the logs. They also come in two types: tongue-and-groove (or shiplap) and ungrooved boards.
• Laminate is the flooring made of pressed wood and covered with lamination. The cheapest laminates do not last long. As a result shatters and scuffs appear. Therefore, it is better to choose a high quality more expensive laminate. The higher the price of such a floor, the thicker the laminate layer, and the more durable it is. Laminate flooring is easy to install. Anyone who has watched the tutorial video can quickly install laminate flooring without a lot of tools.
• Cork coating panels are characterized by elasticity and softness. Usually cork coating is a single large sheet, which is specially designed for the area of the room.
• Parquet is a plank made of natural wood, laid out in various patterns. Birch, oak and other species are used for the parquet manufacture. Parquet floor requires a varnish coating, as it easily absorbs moisture and reacts to sudden changes in temperature. When the parquet loses its original appearance due to a lot of scratches, scuffs of varnish, stains, you should sand a parquet flooring – remove the top layer of varnish and apply a new one.
• Engineered wood flooring is a popular choice. They are ideal for those who want a natural wood covering without overstepping the budget. Such a board is made of many layers of different wood materials, and the top layer is a valuable fine wood.

How to determine the type of repair for your wooden floor

If your wooden flooring needs to be repaired, you must first decide on its type. There are four types of reconstructions in total: The coverage is updated every 3-5 years. This can be a simple update of the varnish layer, or a selective replacement of the boards.

• Routine maintenance is carried out in case of creaking and sinking floorboards.
• Full capital repair is necessary for a complete repair of the room and replacement of not only the coating but also the floor joists (battens). You need such renovation in the case of severe wood rotting.
• Complete flooring replacement is carried out during the repair of the room, turning it into a more modern one. There are two main types of repairs – full and cosmetic. Both of them can be conducted with the help of professionals. When carrying out repairs, you should take into account some of the nuances of working with wooden coverings.

Preparation for the repair of the wooden floor

First of all, you need to put all the furniture out of the room. It is better to pull out all things without exception, as there will be a lot of construction dust during the repair process. And it settles on everything. If it is not possible to pull out bulky furniture, it should be covered with a thick plastic film. Then, if you do not need to completely remove the floor, you need to clean it from dirt and stains.

One of the easiest ways to repair wooden floors

The easiest way to update the flooring is a simple preparation of the existing floor for laying laminate or engineered wood on it. Such work can be done easily and cheaply in one day, changing the room type as much as possible. It is important to note that it is not recommended to touch the floorboards themselves.

Stages of major floor repairs

You will need the following tools: screws, nails, a screwdriver or a crowbar, a hammer, a ruler or a measuring tape.

• Dismantling of the old coating To do this, remove the baseboards around the perimeter of the room. Then, using a screwdriver, we remove all the fasteners, if the board is not grooved. If it is grooved – you need to lift the board by the edge and remove the mount at an angle.
• The main scope of work If the board is suitable for further use, then remove the top layer of paint with a scrapping machine. Then we make sure that there are no defects – chips, cracks and rot. If there are any defects, then immediately remove the entire coating.
• Thermal insulation. After all the defects have been eliminated, and the old wooden logs have been replaced, we proceed to insulation and waterproofing. Bituminous mastic is applied to the rough floor, which will prevent the appearance of moisture. Wooden logs are treated with antiseptic, and waterproofing is placed on top. Then, on the top layer, you need to lay a film that will provide air exchange and fix everything.
• Installation of finished wooden boards Now you can put the boards. Leaving 3-5 mm from the walls, we put the boards. If there are protruding edges, they are should be cut off with a portable planer.
• The final step After laying the boards, they are passed over the entire surface with a sander, all the debris is removed, and the boards are covered with varnish. It will take 3-4 coats of varnish. Its complete drying will take about 12 hours. After that, you can mount the skirting board.

Stages of minor floors repair

Minor floor renovation repairs do not require removing the floors. In this case, the wooden surface is simply sanded, minor defects are eliminated, and it is covered with paint or varnish.

• With the help of a sanding machine, we remove the top layer of varnish from the coating. If rotten or worn boards are found in the process, they should be removed and replaced with new ones.
• If in some places the boards depart, we hammer the nails deeper, or install self-tapping screws.
• The cracks and gaps between the boards are filled with a special grouting compound of sawdust. To continue the repair, this mixture must be completely dry.
• We cover the surface with a primer and various impregnations for wood. And the final layer is paint or several layers of varnish.