Patching A Hardwood Floor pt 1

Whatever the circumstance, the time may come when you need to replace some boards in your home’s hardwood floor. This is Part 1 of a two part series on patching, sanding, and sanding a wood floor. Whatever the circumstance, the time may come when you need to replace some boards in your home’s hardwood floor.

Unless refinishing the entire floor is a possibility, the only option you may have is to replace the damaged board and blend the repair into the rest of the floor. Part 2 will cover sanding and staining.

The following steps explain how to complete a small floor repair and when complete the repair is virtually undetectable. The key to a successful job is patience. Rushing through the repair could easily cause the repair to become larger than it should be.

Before you begin: Measure the width of the flooring and call around to find the right size and type of wood. Older homes will have a tighter grain to the wood than new flooring products. My suggestion is to find the replacement stock first then complete the repair. Test your stain on a sanded throwaway piece of the same replacement stock.

Tools & Materials: Replacement boards, two-part epoxy, large scrap of cardboard or carpet, chop saw, circular saw, hammer, nail set, nail puller, epoxy gun, block plane, sharp chisel, utility knife, nailer (if possible).

Skill Level One hammer: Novice
Five hammers: Experienced

Step 1 - Identify and mark the board that is to be repaired.

After this floor was stained it was damaged by several dents. Now the only option is to remove the damaged boards and blend the repair into the rest of the floor. Identify and mark the board that is to be repaired.

Step 2 - Use a circular saw to make several cuts.

Here, the correct depth of the saw blade is double-checked. Ideally, a 24-tooth saw blade is used. Note that the undamaged floor is protected by a piece of cardboard. (Old carpeting would also serve the same purpose.) To further protect the floor, the bottom of the circular saw could be covered with tape.

Step 3 - The saw is used to make two long cuts to the outer edge of each board.

(Cut in 3/8″ from each side of the board. That should be the right distance to cut the heads off any fasteners through the tongue.) Note the safe position used to cut with the circular saw—to the side of it. Kneeling directly behind the saw could cause dire damage if the saw kicks back. If the floor being repaired is in a very old home/building, the floor may have been installed with hard case nails. Don’t ever attempt to cut through them with the saw, as the saw will only kick back.

Step 4 - Make a diagonal cut between the two parallel cuts in each board

....being careful not to cut into surrounding boards.

Step 5 - Pick out the loose board pieces.

Next use a chisel to carefully separate the remaining pieces from the surrounding boards. Be careful to tap away from surrounding boards to avoid causing a larger repair. Once all the debris is cleared, either pull out or set the fasteners that were cut off by the circular saw.

Step 6 - Measure the new boards

For your replacement boards, obviously choose boards of the same species and similar grain pattern as the ones you removed. Examine the boards for straightness and correct milling. Measure them precisely. Here, a razor knife is used to mark the cut. The tongue end of the board will be removed. Use a chop saw to make the cut, tipping the board up on edge to cut it. That position prevents the chop saw blade from flaring out and allows for a truer cut than if the board is cut laying flat.

Step 7 - Groove removal

In order for the board to go in, the bottom of the groove needs to be removed. The razor knife is used to score along the bottom of the groove, which is then knocked off. Placing another board along the edge of the groove and whacking it with a hammer can help the process. As always, be careful not to damage the floor below in the process.

Step 8 - Planing the new boards

With the bottom of the groove knocked off, use a planer to finish the job. Note in the photo above, that the planer is being used over the protected area of the floor, preventing even more damage.

Step 9 - Use a chop saw to knock off the bottom on the board’s grooved end.

Then, on the side where you made your original cut, make a cut at a 45-degree angle (as shown above), which will allow the board to fit in more readily. Be careful not to angle the cut too close to the top of the wear layer, or it will leave a gap when the board is sanded down to the level of the rest of the floor.

Step 10 - Be quick!

Each board has been dry-fit (not knocking it in quite all the way) to make sure it will go in. Once the epoxy is applied, there won’t be much time to mess around with further adjustments. Where a long board has been removed, it can be easier to put in two short boards rather than one long one. Remember to check for joint spacing.) Also, if many boards are being removed, remove and repair only one at a time. If all are removed at once, the pressure of the floor may shrink the gap too much to do the repair.

Step 11 - Use two-part epoxy on top of the tongues and at the endmatches.

Epoxy has various set-up times. Here, five-minute epoxy is being used, allowing enough time to do the repair but still set up fairly quickly. That allows you to return almost immediately to sand the floor. Regular wood glue can be used, but requires a wait of 24 to 48 hours before you can sand the floor.

Step 12 - The epoxy is also applied to the top of the endmatch.

Note that the epoxy is being used to attach the boards to each other, not the sub-floor. This will allow the boards to move with the rest of the floor.

Step 13 - It may be necessary to use a hammer to nudge the board into place.

Use a scrap board on top of the replacement board to do this without damaging the floor. Wherever possible, nail the board.

Step 14 - The boards are ready

Now the boards are in – with no top nails – and in about 20 minutes they will be ready to be sanded and stained. If this were a pre-finished floor, the repair would now be complete.