I know this doesn't even remotely have to do with garages, but I figured a few of you might know a solution since this board is mainly filled with DIY'ers. Anyway... I'm refinishing the hardwood floors in the guest bedroom of my 80 year old home that were covered by carpet, and there are some noticable dark areas that almost look weathered. Gray/black spots perhaps where furniture sat for a long time or where something was spilled. They dont sand out, and the only solution that may be plausible is bleaching the spots but I have no experience doing this (or refinishing floors for that matter lol). Anyone have any recommendations or ideas before I just leave it as is and let it add character to the room?
Restoring Hardwood floors
- Thread starter epmills
- Start date
BillK
Well-known member
ep,
Go over to the Fine Home building forums http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/?start=Start+Reading+>> and ask. You will get plenty of good advice. I would think that the This Old House website would probably have something too.
Go over to the Fine Home building forums http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/?start=Start+Reading+>> and ask. You will get plenty of good advice. I would think that the This Old House website would probably have something too.
what have i done
Banned
UNFORTUNATELY the dark spot are from moisture. and most likely goes all the way through the board. It will not sand out. Might have some luck bleaching the area. But it might create a new issue.
Could somewhat hide the area with staining the whole floor. But most likely would still be noticeable and You prollywon't want your floors stained dark just to hide those areas.
Flooring could be replaced in those areas. Not really too difficult just time consuming.
You would have to split one of the boards to get into the tongue and groove.
Then use a a chisel/happer, a multimaster, or something to cut out the other boards at random areas. You want to keep the joints staggered so the repair is un-noticeable.
Very common flooring is red oak 3/4" thick by 2 1/4" wide. Ill find some pics and post later.
another area common that needs floor replacemt is where floor registers were. It is very common to have old floor registers covered with plywood when homeowners decided to put in carpet. If floor registers no longer needed the new flooring should be replaced to make a un-noticeable repair
Could somewhat hide the area with staining the whole floor. But most likely would still be noticeable and You prollywon't want your floors stained dark just to hide those areas.
Flooring could be replaced in those areas. Not really too difficult just time consuming.
You would have to split one of the boards to get into the tongue and groove.
Then use a a chisel/happer, a multimaster, or something to cut out the other boards at random areas. You want to keep the joints staggered so the repair is un-noticeable.
Very common flooring is red oak 3/4" thick by 2 1/4" wide. Ill find some pics and post later.
another area common that needs floor replacemt is where floor registers were. It is very common to have old floor registers covered with plywood when homeowners decided to put in carpet. If floor registers no longer needed the new flooring should be replaced to make a un-noticeable repair
whelenfan
Well-known member
We bought our house 18 months or so ago. It is about 65 years old and has beautiful oak floors throughout. The carpet was at least twenty years old and we wated to get it out of here, so we decided to refinish the floors. I have only ben ableto get the two bedrooms for the kids finished and they look great. All that I can say is it was alot of work, rental of a full size sander is mandatory (unless you happen to already own one - my wife wouldn't let me buy one!) Our floors had some of the same discoloration that you mention and honestly, it pretty much came right out with the sanding. It does take a while and you have to make certain to remove all staples and any other little metal protrusions so as not to damage the sander, don't forget to go over the entire foor and tap any nails back in if they have moved up at all. Our stains were from either water or pet mishaps. I would also recommend using a hand sander for the corners and up along the walls. As I said, it was alot of work. It took me three days to sand and then put down a couple coats of poly finish. My wifes' and my bedroom will be next and then the great/living room, but not until next year. You should be able to sand out any discoloration with alot of elbow grease and some heavy duty machinery. I didn't have to, but you could always get new wood and replace the bad pieces.
ghnl
Well-known member
I have refinished wood floors. If the stains are deep (won't sand out) I have used a two part wood bleach. Use it sparingly - two gentle applications will give better results (more even coloring) than over-doing it once.
Link to more info here
Link to more info here
what have i done
Banned
found this link to bleaching the floors. http://www.ehow.com/how_5478671_remove-water-spots-hardwood-floors.html
here's a link to the new floors in my house. Doesnt help you at this point but my garage isnt built yet so I cant post pics of that.. HEY you started the flooring thread. http://www.diychatroom.com/f49/new-wood-flooring-41523/
I'll keep looking for my repair pics
here's a link to the new floors in my house. Doesnt help you at this point but my garage isnt built yet so I cant post pics of that.. HEY you started the flooring thread. http://www.diychatroom.com/f49/new-wood-flooring-41523/
I'll keep looking for my repair pics
Thanks for the the help everyone! I think I will try and bleach the most obvious areas and leave the small ones as I'm not trying to make the floor look like new, just slightly restored. I'll post pics later on if I get to the bleaching tonight, as of now I'm still hitting the floor with 40 grit... BTW what i have done, your floors look great! The dark outlined areas add a lot to the rooms, I like that!
what have i done
Banned
maybe post some pics of your floors to see how bad they are. if they are real dark and strips of the flooring need replacing it is not to difficult to make an un-noticeable repair. Just timely to stagger the joints. I know I have pics of when I did this for other people but I cant find them just yet. Football is on.
Heres some links
http://www.ronhazelton.com/archives/howto/Hardwood_Floor_Repair.shtm
Heres some links
http://www.ronhazelton.com/archives/howto/Hardwood_Floor_Repair.shtm
colt zantop
Well-known member
we just sanded out what we could and stained the floors a medium shade to hide any remaining dark spots.....can barely see them now and they turned out great! I love the darker look and will probably do the same in our next home.....
What type of flooring do you have? That will influence what you can and should do. Your skill level and determination will also play a part. The staining may or may not be as bad as you think it is once you get down though the surface layer.
I've saved some pretty nasty floors. Just to show you it CAN be done, here are some photos!
These photos are show a floor I repaired for a customer as part of a historic restoration project of a 9,500 square foot Queen Anne mansion which had been divided into 8 apartments. I was employed to rebuild the interior as it was in 1910. When I arrived all I had to go on was an empty structure, a few photographs and odds and ends of trim which did not make it into the dumpster.
The floor is 1/4" by 1 1/2" White Oak strip flooring with Walnut and Maple parquet and is at least 80 years old, judging by the manufacturer and flooring plant location which was branded on the back of each strip.
The day I arrived:
Repairing parquet in the adjacent room:
In progress. Old, damaged mouldings replaced with new, made on-site.
The day I left:
I reproduced all the mouldings and trim work, plus some windows on-site with a mobile woodworking shop.
One of several sets of custom knives, ground to match 100 year-old mouldings:
One of the test samples I used to set up the machines. Material is Poplar:
Newly made on the left ready for rubbing out, original moulding from 1910 on the right. Try finding this stuff at Lowes!
I've saved some pretty nasty floors. Just to show you it CAN be done, here are some photos!
These photos are show a floor I repaired for a customer as part of a historic restoration project of a 9,500 square foot Queen Anne mansion which had been divided into 8 apartments. I was employed to rebuild the interior as it was in 1910. When I arrived all I had to go on was an empty structure, a few photographs and odds and ends of trim which did not make it into the dumpster.
The floor is 1/4" by 1 1/2" White Oak strip flooring with Walnut and Maple parquet and is at least 80 years old, judging by the manufacturer and flooring plant location which was branded on the back of each strip.
The day I arrived:
Repairing parquet in the adjacent room:
In progress. Old, damaged mouldings replaced with new, made on-site.
The day I left:
I reproduced all the mouldings and trim work, plus some windows on-site with a mobile woodworking shop.
One of several sets of custom knives, ground to match 100 year-old mouldings:
One of the test samples I used to set up the machines. Material is Poplar:
Newly made on the left ready for rubbing out, original moulding from 1910 on the right. Try finding this stuff at Lowes!