| Repairing floating hardwood
floors is the hardest type of them all. Reasons being
the floor is not attached to the subfloor as they are
with glue downs or nailed floors. Absolute precision is
needed to insure the tongue and groove go back together
in the same vertical plane. Our procedure involves a
square edged glued floating floor. Without
perfect
alignment it will be visible and becomes a sock catcher
as board edges will be raised.
Why Did It Need Repair?
Water damage was the cause that
affected approximately 300 square feet of this Award
glued floating floor. The job entailed removal of many
areas along a back slider, plus cutting in and weaving
new pieces back into place. The actual cut out is
similar to other hardwood repairs in that we used a
circular saw to cut back the bad pieces.
The Circular Saw
Planning is the key. First
evaluate what areas will be removed and mark with a
straight edge and pencil
to be cut out with the circular saw. For these types of
floors, our cuts should be about one inch from the seam
of each adjacent board that will remain. Photo on the
right shows the approximate seams. You want to stay an
eighth of an inch away from the seams on all forward
motion cuts. When planning set the saw to cut the
thickness of the flooring, or in this case 5/8 of one
inch.
You may be saying..."well that
doesn't make sense, they aren't completely cut and
probably will not come out." Once we get to the next
step you'll find out how fragile these pieces become.
Hammer And Chisel
Considering once again this is a
glue together floating floor, pieces will not fall
out as easily as a click together floor. Forgive the
quality of the photos, or the actual demonstrations.
This repair was done prior to the idea of this site.
You can remove the larger portion
of the board by wiggling up and down, but keep a sharp
eye on how it may
be affecting the good boards that will remain (outside
the white line above). Adjacent boards can get damaged.
After removal of the larger part
of the board our next step calls for carefully wiggling
the smaller pieces from their glued position by tapping
with a hammer and chisel. Chisel blade must be sharp
because it needs to bite into the wood. Tap
carefully away from the remaining boards into the
center.
Once they feel like they've broken
from their glued connection the rest can be pulled out
by hand. Once again keep a good eye on the boards that
will remain. Any excessive wiggling and they are likely
to get chipped on the edges.
Bring In The Router & Slot
Cutter
Most glued floating floors come
apart rather easily. They are not bonded as tightly as
one would see in a wood workers shop when boards are
glued and clamped. Exceptions may include an installer
who used too much glue. In our case you may run into
glue or small pieces of board tongues that may still be
glued. Cleaning of these areas is essential if you want
the new boards to fit into place without looking like a
repair.
A slot cutter is used to clean
excess debris from the groove and tongue areas. These
items can be found
online, but do not take care of all the removal. They
will clean a groove out in a heartbeat, but sometimes
material may hang up under the groove. Our illustration
shows cutting under the groove.
Areas above the tongue will have
to be scraped carefully by hand with a sharp chisel or
utility knife. Reasons being, the guide bearing above
the cutter blade has no reference point to rest against.
Word Of Caution With All Tools
Check the underlying plate (face)
the tool glides across the surface of the floor on. If
they're riddled with nicks and gouges they may actually
scratch the surface finish of the floor you're working
on. It is best to protect them somehow while still
allowing the power tool to glide. Many professionals use
blue masking taped to the bottom.
Preparing New Boards To Fit
Sorry folks, no pictures. The
general idea is fitting the new boards with the least
amount of resistance that can cause damage to boards
left in place. The bottom side of each groove on the
length and end must be removed if you're dealing with a
one board replacement. The better method is removing
with a table saw. In our job example we had many large
open areas so this does not apply well.
Gluing In New Boards
Apply glue to all areas of the new
board. When inserting new boards do so by engaging the
tongue into the
existing boards groove at an angle. Some boards may not
go in easily and may require some very careful
chamfering on the edges. Once your new board is in place
the job does not stop there. It needs time to allow the
glue to cure. Clean off any excess glue. Left alone, the
glue may actually force the board out of it's desired
position.
While using some wax paper
underneath, place a flat board over the area and apply
weights. The wax paper will prevent any excess oozed
glue from sticking to each board.
How Long Does It Take?
While our job is different than
replacing one or two damaged boards. A professional with
the proper tools can remove and replace one board in 30
minutes to an hour. This does not include bringing tools
in or cleanup. Other factors that may contribute to
longer times include a subfloor that is not flat, or
questionable replacement material that may have been
stored in conditions that can alter the dimensions. |
