Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [hardwood]

184 questions
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Low-cost hardwood flooring... what's the catch?

Genuine hardwood flooring is generally quite expensive... but a few local stores have glue-down hardwood planks that are actually cheaper than mid-priced laminate (~$1.80/sf). What's the catch? The cheap hardwood looks nice, and aside from taking a…
Bitbang3r
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Does hardwood floor REALLY need an expansion gap?

The conventional wisdom is that hardwood floors need a 1/4-3/8" gap to the wall (or bottom plate) around the perimeter, hidden under the baseboard. Ostensibly this is for thermal and/or humidity expansion. For a floating floor, I get needing a gap,…
Huesmann
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If polyurethane is not food safe, why is it used on dining tables?

Why do online sites say that polyurethane isn't food safe, and is there some way I can use it on my kitchen worktop and still be safe? I don't prepare or store food directly on it or use it as a cutting board. I have it sealed with shellac now, but…
Keith Walton
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8 answers

How do I fix popped nails in hardwood floors?

Two nails in my hardwood flooring keep popping up: I have knocked them back in, but because of a bit of flex in the floor, they work their way back up. What should I do about them? Is it best to just pull them?
HotDogWater
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How can I remove blackened water stains from a hardwood floor?

We have several large (3' x 6') blackened areas on our hardwood floor where water damage occurred. This discoloration goes deep. Our goal is to sand the floors and apply a clear coat, but we first want to know if there is a product that will remove…
RET
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How do I deal with Particle Board Subfloors and Hardwood Flooring?

The house I recently purchased, built in 1973, has particle board subfloors. To clarify, this is not OSB and this is not just a particle board overlay over plywood -- the entire subfloor is 3/4" particle board (looks like oatmeal). There are…
Andrew
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How do I remove permanent marker from a solid hardwood table?

A black permanent marker was used on my kitchen table. My daughter is 3, my bad for leaving the marker out! An image of the damage: The top circled area shows one mark. The bottom circle is where my wife tried to scrub another black mark, and…
Tom
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Can I sand bamboo floors?

I have prefinished bamboo floors in the kitchen and they are not in a good shape. I was wondering if i can sand them. Somebody told me that i can't send prefinished floors (oak or bamboo), somebody else said i can.
Vitalik
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7
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4 answers

Is moisture a concern with solid hardwood flooring over a crawl space?

I recently purchased around 600 sq feet of 3 1/4 inch solid hickory from Bruce, which I'm installing over a crawl space. I put down a 6 mil vapor barrier in the crawl space. I'm measuring the moisture level of my plywood subfloor as the wood has…
Andrew H.
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4 answers

How to fill holes in Hardwood Floor, Large, Medium, and Small

The floors in this home are likely original from the 1920's. The lovely owners of the house before me did not care much as it was a rental, and we now have tons of paint and holes on and in the floors. I'm going to refinish the floors because of the…
Ulad Kasach
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5 answers

How do I remove black rings on a wood kitchen top formed by a tin can?

At our house we have a wood kitchen-top. We had placed on it a tin can (a typical cookies can), and probably because of some water sitting there, a black ring has been formed where the tin touched the wood. However, the tin does not show any signs…
DIYer-wannabe
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4 answers

What are these spongy/soft spots on my hardwood floor?

The house I recently bought has hardwood floors, but I've noticed that some spots are spongy when I walk over them. There is visible downward flex in certain spots to an observer of someone walking across the room. I took a coin and tapped across…
Doresoom
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Distributed expansion gaps in solid hardwood flooring

I am planning to install prefinished solid 3 1/4" wide by 3/4" thick ash hardwood in my home using 2" cleats. I live in Canada, so the average indoor humidity difference between winter and summer is quite high, maybe 50%. I don't use air-con in the…
jLegris
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4 answers

What is the recommended technique for refinishing hardwood floors?

I have old hardwood floors in my home that I'd like to refinish myself. I'm ok with all sorts of manual labor, but I'd like to know the preferred method for refinishing them without damaging my walls or baseboards.
Paulo
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Hardwood floors cupping even after replacement

Let me start off by saying that I am NOT a flooring expert or installer, I am a homeowner looking for answers. About 3 years ago, my home was built in southern Louisiana with reclaimed/antique pine hardwood flooring (7" planks) glued to the…
Steven Musumeche
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