I want to repair my hard wood floor. We tore off the carpet that was there and small patches of the glue are still on the ground the floor looks good but it needs a little TLC. What do I need, to repair it ourselves? Any suggestions will be appreciated.
On 01.15.10, In Q&A, By Admin
you could try sanding the area with similar stain but this will never be the same. you could also rent a floor sander and sand the hole thing and re-stain.
sanding equipment, stay away from any chemical strippers. if you need help deciding how to go about it you can call me at (608)728-2378 I own best flooring of Janesville WI and am more than happy to help anyone with flooring questions they may have. if I dont’t know the anser to a question i’ll research it, and be straight out and honest and say i’m not 100% sure also if you want I posted some information on my website if you wood want to look at it http://www.home-improvement.bestflooring.us/ its not a lot of information, but it may help.
Not a professional floor finisher, nor do I play one on TV. Have been a painting contractor for 17 years and have done plenty of wood finishing and refinishing.
The problem is trying to remove the glue without removing the floor finish. Any solvent that is strong enough to remove the glue is likely to remove the finish. I would not suggest solvents. Carefully (in the least conspicuous place) use a razor scraper. Take the glue down to as close to the wood as you can without actually scraping the wood. Slowly and lightly sand the remaining glue (fine 400 paper). Did I say LIGHTLY? Now wipe the area (with the grain) with mineral spirits (ok, a solvent but…) on a cotton rag. Let it dry. Step back. How does it look? If doing this was a pain in the butt, or if it doesn’t look very good… Stop and call a professional. Floors are not easy to do for mere mortal do-it -yourselfers and most of us in general. Repairing small spots all over the place can be ugly. Seriously, sometimes it’s worth calling a pro.
Oh… If you have never used a floor sander on a regular basis… like say, for a living… annnd you are thinking about using one on your entire floor… Oh dear God… DON”T.
Well, how hard could it be?
I’ve seen people do it on TV fixy uppy shows.
It’s a flat floor… How could you mess that up?
Just get those thoughts out of your head. Floors are hard to do well. I don’t know why. They just are. It’s just one of those things best left to a pro.
I did an entire room in my house once and the hardest thing was to get the wood to stain all the same shade, I believe that I had different types of wood and you probably will not have that problem, take it easy with the sanding and don’t allow yourself to get disgusted, especially by someone telling you you can’t do it, mine looked great and I saved a lot of money by doing it myself.
first a razor blade and shave as much off as you can with out getting to the wood. get some spick and span, a good brush and give it a good washing. I have had good luck doing it this way. It does depend on the type of glue you are working with, as I say I have been lucky.