Hello all,

This is my first post here and I hope that this is the right place to post this. If not, I do apologize and would really appreciate if you could point me to the correct one.

I have about 900 sq ft of glued down (on concrete) engineered wood floor. It is natural hickory. We had some problem with our plumbing and this has resulted in some patches looking "greenish". Moreover, since the leak was under the slab, we had to dig a hole right in the middle of our living room to fix the problem.

Now, I need to look at redoing my flooring. One option is to replace the flooring with a new one. This one will cost us a lot and moreover, most of the existing flooring is still in very good condition. Out of abt 900 sq ft, about 12 - 15 was removed and I'd say about between 100 and 200 sqft is affected by moisture to various degrees.

Second option that I have been thinking about is to repair/refinish the existing floor. I was wondering if I could put the closest possible match in the area that was cut open for digging, and if I could then sand and refinish the flooring with a slightly darker shade to compensate for discoloration. I believe the wear layer is about 2mm thick. Do you think this will restore the flooring to a "like new" condition?

I have attached a few pictures of the floor. There are pictures showing moisture damage and closeups. I tried posting images but I got an error regarding the dimensions of the image not being available. This is why I am posting the link to the pictures. Really sorry about that.
http://goo.gl/1hnqY


I will really appreciate any help with suggestions on the best possible way to restore my floor.

Regards
Hemant

I would only think about total replacement. Any kind of patch job will always be obvious especially to you. 2mm is very little if any to work with as well when considering any refinish repair. Besides it's very likely many of the boards no longer have a true plane to them that will result in an uneven sanding process.

One important element to keep in mind when replacing is cure time of the new concrete. Critical!

I'm sure you've also thought about mold. It's in the news. Best to get the entire area ripped up, cleaned, and dried out. One never knows for sure how far the water has traveled under the wood floor. You may not think it will go far but it can surprise you.

What about the insurance company? I'm sure they quoted a total replacement. They know about mold problems too.

Hello Ken,

Thanks a lot for your reply and suggestion. TBQH, mold did not cross my ignorant mind looking at the problem as I couldn't see any obvious sign but I completely agree that I need to look deeper. Thank you for suggesting.

As far as insurance company is concerned, yes they are considering the entire area but the problem is that it is not just the flooring that is being worked on. I had to do a lot of sewer line repairs under the slab and had a disagreement with the insurance company on the extent of repairs to the old cast iron pipes. I ended up replacing/lining majority of my sewer line and insurance covered only a small part. So I am trying to be within limits of what I can afford to pay out of pocket and hence considering various options. Insurance company is okay with that but they wouldn't pay the depreciation. Besides, most of this floor looks beautiful .

But, at the same time, I want to have something that lasts me a long time and something that doesn't cause any problems when I sell the house. And if replacing is better, I will get it done.

That brings me to one more question - if I now replace the discolored area and the newly laid concrete with a similar looking wood, and stain it with a darker shade, can I avoid sanding? Will this be too obvious?

Sorry if I am being ignorant - I am learning along the way.

And if I was to replace the floor, is DIY an option when it comes to demolishing glued down floor? I have removed a few planks I know that it is very tedious. But my question is more from the perspective of something going wrong if I do it myself - something that can cause problems when it comes to installing new floors.

Regards
Hemant

I never understood the insurance company's depreciation of hardwood floors since some of them can last over 100 years. I'd take them to task on that, even to the extent of mediation. They're most likely going to cancel your policy or up your premiums anyway.
Allstate tried to screw me on a vehicle of mine that got stolen and damaged, went to mediation and got full bluebook.

Hemant:

What you're proposing will not work for several reasons.

1. Extremely difficult to find an unfinished engineered hickory that will work. IE same/similar color variation, dimensions, thickness, tongue and groove profile, unless the manufacturer has an unfinished version.
2. Stain? It looks like a natural finish to me
3. Finish sheen - extremely difficult to match a factory finished floor without completely finishing the entire area after repairs. IE sand to bare wood.

I know you're looking for that golden answer that's going to save some bucks, but trust me you'll be better off starting over.

An outside option could be removing the affected area and have a design of sorts inserted. It could be as easy as a square or rectangle that could match some furniture placement or the room dimensions. Impossible to visualize a possibility without being there. BUT that isn't a simple project either. Requires some precision not only in installation but removal. IE where to stop and start.

New prefinished material would be used for replacement, but how will that look against the older water damaged area? This goes back to raised edges or the plane being lost. Mind you, I'm guessing about potential issues.

For removal it's all about getting everything off the floor including the adhesive, but you may get really frustrated in trying. Here's a little something I put together way back when or the last time I installed floors for a living. Circa 2004

http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... e-glue.htm

Have to agree with Ken on the finish. Prefinished manufacturers don't like to share staining recipies, some are simple matches you easily match with over the counter products.

Taking up the floor, you would be wise to leave it to a pro, and hopefully they will own or rent a high end turbo-stripper. Even the you might need the scrape-away pictured on his link to remove adhesive residue.

Hello Ken, floormeintucson,

Thanks a lot for your replies. Based on your suggestions, I have decided to install a new floor and am really excited about it.

Ken,

I have seen that link before and is really very helpful. Thanks a lot!

Regards
Hemant

BTW, I have filed claims for many of my customers w/ water damage to the insurance companies. In my experience, the insurance company pays full replacement value once the flooring is done - if done by a professional. Some give the full amt up front after a legitimate estimate from flooring company; others will give the remaining 30%ACV after they have receipt/invoice from the flooring company.

Also, make sure you get full compensation for all associated activities in restoring your floors to normal (e.g. moving furniture, moving loose/breakable items (or content manipulation), painting base molding/shoe molding, etc.

You might find this article helpful.

http://theflooringgirl.com/blog/flooded-floors-many-dont-realize-what-insurance-will-cover.html

Debbie Gartner, aka The Flooring Girl