DIY wooden floor repair

How nice to walk barefoot on a warm wooden floor! But what if the floor is no longer so smooth, if it is already covered with a thick layer of paint, if an unpleasant draft blows through the cracks in it, and the floorboards themselves creak and bend under your weight? You can answer this question in different ways. And these answers depend on several conditions - the knowledge and skills of the owner, his financial capabilities and his own desires and fantasy. You understand, with such a variety, you can do anything - from covering the floors with another layer of paint to a complete replacement of the old wooden floor with one of modern flooring. Therefore, now we will talk about the repair of a wooden floor - from the simplest to the capital.

1. What repair is required by your wooden floor
2. Repair of an old wooden floor

• Capital repair of a wooden floor with your own hands
• We return the second youth to the wooden floor - simple repairs
• Periodic cosmetic repairs - the key to a long service of the wooden floor

What repair is required by your wooden floor

When going to put the floors in order, you should accurately determine what exactly your floor needs at the moment - the renewal renewal, normal repairs, capital or complete replacement of the flooring. Let's go through each of the options:

• the renewal of the coating must be carried out every 2-5 years, depending on the coating itself and on the state of the floor under it - it is usually carried out either planned (as follows according to the instructions), or as the previous layer is abrasion in places undergoing the largest load
• conventional repairs are made when the floor begins to bend slightly and creak underfoot, when the cracks between the floorboards form and the boards begin to lift the edges
• overhaul is required in two cases - if you decide to full apartment renovation or your floor begins to rot and deform until complete ugliness
• the full replacement of the flooring is performed during global repair of the entire dwelling with the replacement of obsolete decoration options with more modern

Regarding the durability of the floors of massive wooden boards, only one thing can be said - if high -quality material was used (properly dried boards without rot and excess bitching, processed by protective impregnations), and it was normally taken care of, then such floors can last up to 150 years without complete replacement. Therefore, we will only consider repairs - you are unlikely to live in a house where wooden floors lay over 100 years ago.

Repair of an old wooden floor

Any business consists of three stages - preparation, actually a business and final decoration. There will be no exception to the rule and repair of wooden floors. It’s just that in each specific case of repairs of action in the stages will be slightly different. And let's start with the most time -consuming.

Capital repair of a wooden floor with your own hands

Typically, during the overhaul of the floor, a partial replacement of the floorboards (rotten, cracked or broken) and work on insulation, vapor barrier or even laying of the underfloor systems (they can be read in other articles - the whole process for different types of warm floors - electric, is carried out in detail. water and film). And the overhaul scheme of wooden floors looks like this:

1. We prepare the floors for repair:

• remove the plinth
• if the boards are painted with oil paint, it must be removed to clean wood
• we numb the floor boards so that it is convenient to put them back later
• carefully remove the floorboards, determining their suitability for further operation (spoiled boards must be replaced with new ones, and it is not necessary to throw the entire board, if only some part is rotten - in this case you can remove a poor -quality piece and put in its place a more durable)
• paul boards from the inner (converted down) side should be treated with a special impregnation that protects against mold and rot - so they will last much longer
• we remove all the garbage from the underground until the concrete base appears (or the floor slab)
• you can remove the lags, or at least carefully examine them for the integrity of the material - the bars that have become unusable need to replace

2. We carry out all the necessary work to improve our sexes:

• we lay the insulation between the lags, various materials can be used as insulation - from expanded clay to mineral wool and foam

• steam -cutting stele - lanes overlapping (about 20 centimeters) and fix with foil tape (the most simple vapor barrier - polyethylene film, but you can use more expensive and reliable materials, such as foam)
• we lay the floor boards - according to the numbers applied during the removal process
• we fix the boards to the lags using self -tapping screws - this is more reliable than the use of nails (we deepen the screws into the surface of the tree by 3-5 mm)

• we check the horizontal of the floor with a waterpasis (level), and where the edges of the boards protrude behind each other with a noticeable divergence in height, we pass through the shirt
• toleled the floors are cycled to make the surface even (skills are permissible in height of a couple of millimeters per linear meter)

• we put the gaps (if any) and the places of deepening the screws, the dumped places are grind again
• remove all the garbage - a brush, a vacuum cleaner, a damp cloth

• the clean and even wood of our updated floor is treated with protective impregnations (if we are going to paint the floor with ordinary oil paint, then ordinary olifa can serve as such impregnation)

• we put a plinth

3. Our floors are almost ready for operation, it remains only to apply the finish protective coating, for example:

• lac - today it is the most popular coating, because in addition to the beautiful protective properties, varnish allows you to fully enjoy the beauty of the tree itself

• paint - special gender paints allow you to save our floor strong for a long time and give it any coloring
• oil - Modern oils for wooden floors penetrate deep into wood, making it more wear -resistant and durable, but it is still better to use them as impregnation
• wax - the excellent effect of waxed wood has long been known, however, requires constant and rather expensive maintenance

Not so much effort, right? Of course, it takes plenty of time, but the result is worth it - almost new floors at quite modest prices. For those who are interested in the opportunity to independently make the overhaul of a wooden floor - a video where all the work is done by the hands of the owners under the sensitive guidance of a specialist.

We return the second youth to the wooden floor - simple repairs

Not always for the flooring of wooden floors, quality material is used, it is especially noticeable if the floors are not covered by the owner, but by builders (although during the Soviet Union the state structures still more honestly reacted to their duties). If you are lucky, and your floors do not fall under your feet yet, but just creak and play slightly, then you only need a small repair - and they will delight you with their strength for a long time. But no matter how simple the repair was, it is worth approaching it with all responsibility. Therefore, the action scheme will be this:

1. As preliminary preparation, you should completely get rid of the strata of the old paint or varnish, opening clean wood (after all, in this form it is much easier to notice any shortcomings)
2. The repair itself is as follows:

• check all the floorboards for the lack of rot, mold, rotten areas (if such areas are still found, then it is necessary to cut the affected places, and put new boards in their place)

• improve the fixation of the boards to the lags - to more deeply score nails or even change them to self -tapping screws, the hats should be deepened into wood somewhere by half a centimeter
• in wide cracks on the putty (or carpentry glue), plant a chopic (wooden bar), narrow simply cover with the same putty

• fry the floor to a flat smooth surface
• ground clean boards with oils or impregnations that improve the operational qualities of wood

3. The floors were repaired, there were trifles: painting or varnish

Even with such a relatively simple repair, the floors acquire the appearance of almost new ones. This becomes particularly noticeable if the floors used to be covered with a thorough layer of paint, and after the laca repair, clean wood shone with sunny shades. That is why the stage of the floor cycle is so important. Carefully watch the video - in it in sufficient detail and accessible are the rules of cycle.

Periodic cosmetic repairs - the key to a long service of the wooden floor

At one time, when making the floor repairs, you probably chose the most suitable protective coating for the floor, which reliably stores wood from rot, mold, deformation and too much mechanical damage, that is, retains the beauty and strength of your sexes. However, to our great regret, a tool that would act once and for all has not yet been invented, so all the protective properties of the coatings must be periodically updated. Thank God it does not take so much effort, time and money as other types of repairs. In this case, the process is simplified to the impossibility, and nothing needs to be done:

1. Clean the surface of the floor from dirt, dust, fat as much as possible - all that can negatively affect the coating
2. Apply a new layer (or several layers - this applies mainly to places with the largest load on the surface) of the protective coating
3. To celebrate the end of the repair

The only thing that can be added here is the possibility of a decorative change in your sexes. It is worth slightly changing the color or apply an interesting pattern - and your floors will be transformed by making a note of update to the design of your apartment. By the way, this video shows one of the ways to obtain the maximum effect by minimal efforts.

All the information is in your hands, so the choice is yours. Of course, everyone understands that even with the real need to repair a wooden floor, the price is of greatest value. If it is not possible to allocate a fairly large amount for repair, then you will have to do with minimal options. However, even in this case, you can achieve an excellent result if you attach skillful hands and a little imagination. And let your floors give you joy!