A wooden floor made of boards is a reliable coating that is well suited for an apartment. It serves for a long time, but there are some nuances: the tree is hygroscopic and moisture acts on it. In summer, at high temperature and humidity, the boards swell, and in winter they dry out. In this case, gaps appear between the floorboards. Over time, old wood can begin to rot and lose its properties. Under the weight of the furniture, scratches and dents appear on the surface, and the paint lags behind. And finally, there comes a time when repair of wooden floors is required.
Depending on the age of the wooden floor, certain restoration methods are required:
- coverage renewal;
- normal repair with the appearance of cracks, deflection of boards and creaking;
- overhaul when the floor rots, when it is no longer possible to use it;
- complete replacement of the flooring with the use of modern methods of finishing.
Floor quality check
When repairing a wooden floor with your own hands, you should correctly assess the condition in which it is. To check your floor, you should remove the finish coatings (linoleum, laminate, etc.) from it and get to the boards.
- The quality of wood is determined by tapping it with a mallet. A dull sound means the board is rotten.
- Suspicious surfaces are checked with an awl. If it freely enters by 10 mm, the board should be replaced.
- Rust on nails indicates increased humidity in the room.
The extent of damage to the wooden surface depends on the cost and scope of work.
Wooden floorboards are laid on lagswhich rest on a reinforced concrete base. To repair a wooden floor with a complete replacement, it is advisable to make a “floating” floor, which is a concrete screed lying on a layer of heat and sound insulating material and in contact only with it. The price of such a base is high, but it's worth it.
Tsiklevka
Scouring floors in an apartment is used when there are spots, dents, scratches, a thick layer of paint on the surfaces. The manual way of scraping a wooden floor in an apartment with your own hands is too time-consuming. Currently, grinding machines are used, which work on the principle of friction of an emery cloth on a plane.
Before scraping, all nails should be sunk 3-5 mm so as not to damage the abrasive material.
- First of all, the old paint is removed with a spatula and heated with a building hair dryer.
- The next stage is grinding: the machine passes first along the floorboards, and then across.
- Before coating the wooden coating with varnish, it is polished with fine sandpaper. After they close up all the bumps with putty for wood and make another pass.
Lacquer is recommended to be applied in three layers, with the final drying of each.
Partial replacement of floorboards
Wood flooring can be repaired by replacing individual boards in damaged areas. This is done in the following way:
- According to the hammered nails, the location of the log is located. Above its middle, a fragment of a rotten floorboard is sawn out.
- A new board is being laid with size adjustment and antiseptic treatment on all surfaces, except for the ends.
The screws holding the boards together are easy to remove. It is enough to unscrew them with a screwdriver. The nails are first pulled out slightly with pliers and then pulled out with a nail puller.
- Similarly, all areas of wooden flooring with rotten floorboards are changed.
An important rule to follow is that the board must rest on at least three joists.
The most difficult thing is to replace the grooved board without breaking the lock. This requires certain skills.
Crack sealing
Cracks form between the boards over time. This happens for the following reasons:
- deformation from changes in humidity;
- incorrect laying technology;
- drying boards.
The appearance of cracks makes the floor look unattractive. In addition, the air that cools the room enters through them.
- Opened seams in most cases are sealed with wood putty. It can be purchased at the store. In dry rooms, glue putty is used, and in wet rooms, oil putty. You can add stain or color to it. Before application, the floor is cleaned of varnish or paint with a metal brush. After filling the gap, the surface is leveled with a rubber spatula.
- When there are a lot of slots, and their width is large, the boards are shifted. Another option is to cover the floor with plywood, fiberboard, chipboard or OSV. It is covered with sheets only in dry rooms, as this worsens ventilation and the wood begins to rot.
- Wide slots must be hammered to the stop with wedge-shaped wooden glazing beads using PVA glue. The protrusions are leveled with a grinder or planer. The finished coating is covered with several layers of varnish or paint.
Squeak Elimination
The arrangement of a wooden floor over time leads to drying out and a change in the shape of the boards. As a result, the floorboards begin to creak. Causes of floor creaking:
- gaps are formed between the boards and lags;
- the ends of the floorboards rest against the walls;
- loose fasteners;
- friction between the side surfaces of the boards.
A creaky floor usually requires a major overhaul. This is not always possible. Often, the owners make cosmetic repairs to the wooden floor in the apartment so as not to open it. This can be considered a temporary measure, since a lasting effect cannot be expected here.
If your home has a subfloor, a creaky floor can be repaired by inserting wedges between the floorboards and joists from below. There is no access to the floor from below in the apartment, so the following methods are used.
- The floorboards are fixed with self-tapping screws set opposite at an angle of 45–600 to the surface of the board, which should be pulled to the joists.
- Talc or graphite powder is poured between the floorboards.
- The space under the boards is blown with foam.
- The floor is covered with plywood sheets 12 mm thick.
- On creaking floorboards, nails are replaced with self-tapping screws. Such an event often eliminates problems with creaking.
Overhaul
Capital joist floor repair done with the replacement of floorboards. In this case, the old wooden floor is completely disposed of. This requires the opening and dismantling of all boards. Logs are also checked and aligned, and rotten ones are replaced. It is advisable to replace them completely.
- The concrete floor is cleaned of debris, defects should be repaired. In houses with wooden floors, they also need to be repaired.
- On the ground floor, it is necessary to lay insulation, and soundproofing is needed everywhere.
The board must be taken grooved and well dried, otherwise cracks will appear in the floor in a year.
- All accessible places should be treated with an antiseptic. It is not recommended to use old boards, as the fungus can move from them to new ones.
- The heads of the self-tapping screws are sunk into the wood, after which they are puttied, and the floor surface in these places is polished.
Major repairs are more complicated than cosmetic ones. You can get acquainted with the process in detail by watching the video at the end of the article.
floor painting
Only completely repaired and cleaned floors should be painted. Surfaces without paint and puttied areas are covered with drying oil, after which the floor dries for at least 2 days.
- First, paint the floor plinth. Acrylic, oil and alkyd paint is suitable for MDF and wooden skirting boards, and only acrylic paint for plastic. In this case, a small brush is used.
- Carefully prepared surface allows you to get an even coating.
- Paint should be applied in at least two coats, allowing each to dry.
- Lacquering makes the surface glossy.
Cost of work
The cost of repairing a wooden floor depends on its condition and the required work:
- dismantling the old wooden coating in Moscow and St. Petersburg will cost about 100 rubles. for 1 m2;
- dismantling the lag - 100 rubles. for 1 m2;
- lag device - 110–200 rubles. for 1 m2;
- installation of rough plank floors - about 200 rubles. for 1 m2 in St. Petersburg and 280 rubles. for 1 m2 in Moscow;
- laying plywood on a wooden base - 100–200 rubles. for 1 m2;
- laying a board (array) - from 600 rubles. for 1 m2.
Conclusion
With a proper assessment of the condition of the coating, you can independently decide how to repair a wooden floor without significant costs. A well-maintained floor will last a long time. If there is not enough money for a major overhaul, you can make a cosmetic one.
