Can You Repair Water Damage To Solid Wood Floors?
Posted on: 24 January 2022
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Water damage frequently happens when people are away from their properties, on vacation, or even just when they're asleep overnight. A single burst pipe can quickly flood a house. But can you recover your solid wood floors?
Mitigating Water Damage to Your Wood Floors
When you have water damage, things start to grow — mold and mildew thrive in moist environments. In addition, stagnant water can warp wood flooring and drywall. It's not just the wood flooring itself you'll have to worry about. The wood framing is also susceptible to damage.
If you do nothing, the water will continue to sit, often causing more damage than when it first occurred. You need to act fast before things get out of control. This means bringing in professional help who can extract the water and begin repairs.
Every minute your wood floors sit underwater is significant, additional damage. Once the water has penetrated the surface of your wood flooring, there's likely too much damage to ever fully recover.
Assessing the Damage to Your Wood Floors
Once you've taken up the water, it's time to determine how damaged your floors are. Look to see whether they are buckled, warped, or popping out. The more they have been deformed, the less likely it is that they can be reclaimed. But if it's just the surface that is swelling and the actual slats are still in place, you could have a chance.
How to Reclaim Wood from Solid Wood Floors
The good news for your wood floors is that you can do more than just hope they survive water damage. Wood flooring experts are capable of taking the reclaimed original boards and refinishing them in a way that restores them to their former glory.
This will involve stripping any remaining finish off the boards, sanding it down to bare wood, and applying a new finish to the boards. There are several options for this, including penetrating stains that let you maintain the color of your wood flooring or, if it's original to your home, bringing them back to their natural wood coloring.
There are water damage restoration professionals who will carry out these types of repairs on your behalf. They'll even dismantle your entire flooring if it's too warped to be salvaged, and they can rebuild it so that you have a restored wood floor instead of a renovation project on your hands. Contact a water damage restoration service for more information.