Hi:

I have discussed my problems here in the past. I bought a house where the previous owner glued solid wood Bruce to concrete slab using glue made by Bostiks. He was under the impression that the wood he bought was engineered but after talking to Bruce (with the item number he gave) I came to know that it is not engineered but solid 5/16" wood.

Anyway, the problem is that the floor is raised in places about a foot wide (3-4 boards) and 5-6 feet long. I have gone over my options and have decided to do the repair work myself. I have bought the wood (same), glue (Bruce) and trowel.

I wanted to know if the experts here had any tips for me. My plan is to break and chisel out one board and then try to take out as many boards without breaking as possible and required. Step two would be to clean the dried adhesive. Perhaps I will have to make a trip to home depot to find something for this.

Step 3 and the most difficult of all would be to fit the new (or re-used old) boards in the space (as a sort of dry run) and cut the last board to size. This is the part I have no clue about. Do I need a circular saw or a miter saw to do that? The wood is prefinished so the edges will have to be cut cleanly.

Finally, I would lay the glue as written on the glue box and put the wood in.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Repairing a glued down floor is a difficult task and I would recommended hiring a pro. There are way too many details to fully address each one. It is not a large area and you already have the material. I would think a pro would charge about $300.00 and maybe a little more to repair that. Are you sure you want to risk your floor for $300.00? Please read:
http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... er/diy.htm
http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... epairs.htm
http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... asiest.htm

I don't mind $300 at all. but every pro I spoke to did not want to fix it. They all wanted to start afresh and re-do the whole house. That is where the big bucks are and much less pain.

However, your post has scared me. I will reconsider the DIY idea for a week now.

Ya Gary, even I wouldn't touch that repair as professional.

Once you fix it you own it. I'm ripping it out and putting in an engineered, or I walk!!!

I think, as a pro, that this could be handled properly. First, I would carefully inspect the floor with the homeowner present to determine the extent of the failure. If, in my professional opinion, I determine that patching would fail, I too would refuse to do the work. However, if most of the floor is intact, and has been for awhile, I see no problem repairing a few areas. Just because I repaired a few areas DOES NOT make me liable for the entire install but only for the work I performed. But it is a judgement call. Many installers don't like repair work as it usually doesn't make you the big bucks but I try to accomodate folks and fit it in around my other work. It's just the way I am. I try to be helpful, to a fault I guess.

I need someone like you Gary. Where are you located?

I have told one installer that I wouldn't hold him accountable but he still did not see much profit in it. I can understand why.

Most of the house is still in good shape. The owner installed it about 4 years back so it has been a while. He said he repaired an area himself. And now it is popping badly in one area, not so bad in another room and just a tiny bit in a third room. I am out to fix the bad one first. Depending on how it goes, I would leave the other two or tackle them later. They should go down on their own in winter/fall.

Yellowguy, you can pm me. I live/work in the San Francisco, CA. area.

Thanks Gary but I live in Chelmsford, MA. So unless you plan on financing the trip yourself, I don't think it is going to work out

But I do appreacite any tips you might have for me. I think I will get down this weekend and start on this project.

Can you or someone please tell me the tools I need to buy or rent for this job? I already have a chisel and hammer and various drill bits. And of course, wood, glue and trowel.

I find a circular saw to be handy in removing flooring. Also, a table saw to remove the bottom of the groove side of some of the boards used for replacement. The last board to go in will need that removed, as well as possibly some others depending on how you need to lace in the new flooring. You'll need to scrape the concrete clean of old adhesive and any residue that would prevent a good bond. Odds are the new boards will not fit perfectly so you'll also need to cut some to the right length. A powered miter saw works good but you could use a hand saw or your circular saw instead. I recommend that once you get all the old boards out, that you dry fit the new flooring before you attempt to glue it in. Label the new boards with a piece of masking tape and number them in the order of install. Like I said before, it's a tricky repair and too complicared to note every detail on a message board. In the months ahead, I'm hoping to be able to add a page here on exactly how to do this, with pictures and notes.

Gary is astute, obviously. This is repairable, in my opinion. You have area failues probobly due to lack of acclimation or wood bound tight to fixed object. If the problems were throughout the installation, that would be much different.