Is My Hardwood Floor Savable or Will Need to Be Replaced?

skipy89 on 06/03/2023 - 20:13
Last edited 07/03/2023 - 05:54 by 1 other user

Hi

We have an old dishwater that burst over the weekend. Didn't know but it must have been leaking for a while as there was water damage near it and the flooring near it was starting to bulge. We bought this property about 6 months ago.

Kitchen was always needed to be fixed/ upgraded but hoping to get a few more years.

We pulled the vinyl, yellowtough to reveal the wooden floors. I've started to pull some of the staples off. Just wanted to get people thoughts if this wooden floor is savable or needs to be replaced?

Photos

Home & Garden

Comments

  • meowsers on 06/03/2023 - 20:22

    Do you mean the wood floor as a substrate for other flooring or to refinish into standalone flooring?

    either way it will be walkable the black spots tend not to come out. Another thing that would potentially work for you is

    A) floating laminate
    B) you could have the floor sanded and then painted in a dark colour like black which is actually on trend and with white cabinets might work. Could make the room a bit smaller but hey.

  • skipy89 on 06/03/2023 - 20:25

    Refinish into standalone flooring. The area is quite small and we have similar flooring around the house.

    • barge-in hunter on 06/03/2023 - 20:30

      I doubt you’ll get a nice finish on those boards unfortunately- assuming it’s not rotten (which is hard to tell from photos), the water damage will likely be visible.

      This is why wet areas usually have tiles or something waterproof over the floorboards.

  • Transient on 06/03/2023 - 20:27
    +2

    Doesn't look warped. Did you take a look under the house to see the other side?

    Looks ok to me and good enough to last a few more years. The main thing to check is that it can still bear weight and isn't structurally damaged.

    Actually looks like my old kitchen floor after stripping back lino and base. We got someone in to sand it back and after three coats of poly it still looks fine today. That was almost 20 years ago.

    • skipy89 on 06/03/2023 - 20:32

      Haven't checked under the house for the flooring yet, but will definitely look.

  • John Kimble on 06/03/2023 - 20:37
    +1

    She'll be right

  • AustriaBargain on 06/03/2023 - 20:43
    +2

    Do you even want new fancy flooring? Old flooring is fun, you can drop a brick on it and no one cares. I bet you can sand old boards and rub some sealer whatever on it and it'll look fine. Especially good idea if people wear shoes in your house.

    • skipy89 on 06/03/2023 - 20:48

      We have 2 young kids, so definitely don't want fancy flooring. I would be too scared of the kids were to damage it. Even if we were to get new flooring it would be basic/ standard range.

    • Gunnar on 07/03/2023 - 07:36

      This!

      Funnily enough I much prefer the graining in old floor boards which look excellent when polished up

  • Muzeeb on 06/03/2023 - 20:50
    +4

    Punch in the old nails. Sand back. Fill holes. Recoat with desired finish.

    Enjoy.

    • afoveht on 06/03/2023 - 23:42
      +3

      Except do in order 1, 3, 2, 4.

  • dtc on 06/03/2023 - 22:16

    You arent going to get it looking too beautiful, especially the bit in the first photo. But you can definitely get it looking ok; and it looks fine in terms of strength (but its a bit hard to tell from a photo, so do some tests. scrape back any soft bits, see if its hard underneath). You can, of course, just lay something over the top for aesthetics - lino or floating floors or whatever suits.

    But wait until the wood is fully dry. It may shrink as it dries or crack or all sorts of weird things. Probably wont, its old timber and its likely tougher than nails; but just in case

  • Euphemistic on 06/03/2023 - 22:16

    As long as the timber feels nice and solid with no soft spots it’ll be structurally fine. Hardwood floors are pretty robust - they make boats out of it.

    It look unlikely to be a consistent colour of it was sanded and refinished. That is, it’ll likely still look water marked.

  • AngoraFish on 06/03/2023 - 22:26
    +2

    There's nothing wrong with the timber on that floor. I've seen plenty of similar under lino that scrubbed up beautifully after a light sanding. All that's damaged is the varnish.

    edit: if there was deterioration in the timber you'd see it at the joins between the boards. Those edges are so sharp and straight you could use those edges as a ruler.

    • skipy89 on 07/03/2023 - 10:06

      There are some parts where their is slight separatation and curving of the boards.

      • hothed on 07/03/2023 - 10:13

        Nothing a sander can't flatten out.

  • saltypete on 07/03/2023 - 08:46

    It’s strong enough, but cosmetically imperfect. Certainly fine to keep for a few years until you renovate. Dig out anything manky, let it dry and fill to level with some stuff to avoid water collecting in the kitchen floor. Depending on what you are looking for long term you may want to replace some of those pieces during the Reno.
    It’s really easy to do. Join Renovate forums and lurk.
    If you do think you’ll replace, measure the width and keep an eye on Gumtree etc and buy what you need when you see a bargain. (This is OZB after all) Shove it up into your ceiling space or somewhere else flat and dry. The whole process will cost you peanuts.

  • Stewardo on 08/03/2023 - 21:50

    It will sand back fine, you may have some black rust stains around nails that will be hard to remove.
    I’d check the condition of the frame for rot, before you start.
    FYI, Pine is a softwood, not a hardwood

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