Wood flooring in Austin, TX homes have become a valuable, elegant, and desirable detail. If installed correctly, hardwood flooring wonderfully beautifies a house as it adds a particular elegance to the house in which it is used. At Supreme Hardwood Floors Inc., we know the most common reasons for people to have their hardwood floors refinished.
It’s no secret that hardwood floors add a lot of value to your home. They can bring warmth and character into any space, and they can be modified to fit any style. However, hardwood floor installation is not the end of the process, as you need to continually monitor and take care of the hardwood floors to prevent them from a large number of scratches, darker stains, and other marks that can potentially damage them.
Regardless of how much or how hard you try to maintain your hardwood floors to ensure that it remains in perfect condition, sooner or later, the floors will deteriorate, and there will be signs telling you it’s time to change your hardwood flooring. While scratches, faded colors, and small marks can be fixed by refinishing, there are times you will have to replace the entire hardwood flooring.
Don’t worry if you’ve already refinished them
A major advantage of hardwood flooring is the fact that you can often refinish them rather than replace them altogether. Apply a new stain or sealant or consider refinishing, which involves sanding down the wood. Also, it is a great way to handle minor scratches and damage.
How do you know when your Hardwood Flooring Needs Refinishing?
Your floors will let you know when they need some repair work, but only if you pay attention. Below are the top 8 signs to look for to determine when you should refinish your floors.
1. Large Scratches and Marks
From rearranging your furniture to your pets) running around, scratches can come from anywhere. They are just a part of life for people with hardwood floors. A few marks are not that big of a concern, but you may have to consider replacing your hardwood floors if these scratches are spread over a large area.
Scratches are inevitable, so don’t panic over every small scratch. However, there are a few signs or benchmarks that tell you if it’s finally time to refinish. First, if you have a lot of scratches and they are spread over a wide area, you might have to refinish. If these scratches are only in the stain alone, not the actual wood, this is a cosmetic issue, so it is a matter of your judgment.
However, if you have any scratches that are deep enough to surpass the stain & scratch the wood, refinishing is necessary. The stain protects your wood from water, and if a scratch has allowed a pathway into the wood, even a small amount of water will seep in and cause damage.
Try to keep an eye out for any large chips or gouges, too. If a scratch cuts through the stain and reaches the wood, then your floor becomes more vulnerable to water damage. If minor spills manage to seep into the wood beneath the stain, they can cause serious damage.
2. Water damage
You can count Water Damage as one of the extremely few downsides to hardwood floors. Engineered hardwood floors are more resistant to water damage than solid hardwood floors, but both types are susceptible to stains and other issues when your floor gets exposed to moisture. A good stain or seal will keep spills from soaking into your floor, but if your home is prone to flooding, plumbing issues, or related problems, some serious damage can occur.
Water damage often leads to separating or wood warping, and sometimes even a refinish isn’t enough to take care of the problem. Buckled or warped hardwood floors will, unfortunately, need to be replaced. Thus, water damage is one of the most vital signs that tell you it’s time to replace your hardwood floors. And this is why you always want to keep other boards after your installation.
Hopefully, the damage is isolated to a small area; we will replace the wood in that area. If you didn’t see the damage happen, you’d need to assess the cost when you find it. If the damage is not that great, you may just have some dark stains. If you only have staining, we’ll fix it by refinishing and sanding your floors. With water damage, it’s always important to find the source of the water and make sure it’s sealed shut. Otherwise, you’ll be getting your floors fixed over & over again.
3. Nails are peeking through
No one likes a nail head sticking out of their floor. Exposed nails aren’t just unattractive nuisances; they can cause some severe pain for you & your family. Unfortunately, nails often appear in areas such as the living room or entryway, so the chances of snagging a sock or stubbing a toe are even higher. Like scratches, one or two exposed nail heads do not call for a total replacement. However, if you start finding visible nails across larger parts of your flooring, it might be time to look into new floors.
4. Wood discoloration
The color of your hardwood floors can change for a few reasons; for instance, long-term exposure to the sun can cause the coloring to fade. We can fix this washed-out look by refinishing or sanding your Hardwood floors. If your hardwood absorbs water, it changes color as it starts to oxidize. So, water damage can also be the source of your floor’s discoloration.
Discoloration and gray stains are common signs of water damage. At this stage, refinishing will fix the problem. But, if left unchecked, the stain will get darker and eventually turn black. It is one of those problems that may cost you if you ignore them. All of this discoloration damages the structure of the wood, and after a certain point, you’ll need to replace your floor rather than get it refinished.
5. Excessive wear and tear
Durability is one of the most appealing elements of your gorgeous hardwood floor. And since they are made from real wood, they stand the test of time. However, like all-natural materials, they’ll eventually start to age, especially in areas like the living room or entryway. Look out for stains, as they’ll show the first signs of excessive wear and tear on your floors.
If the stain starts to fade or completely wears away, you can get it fixed by merely refinishing your floors. However, the worn stain can lead to more severe issues such as splintered or warped wood, both of which call for a replacement.
6. Creaking or moving floorboards
Well, if walking through your home starts to sound like walking through a haunted house, you should probably get your hardwood floors checked. Creaking floors usually mean the wood is rubbing against itself or the subfloor. It might just be a symptom of age, but it also signifies weakened structural integrity.
Moving floorboards also indicate that when you bend or shift while you walk across them might be because of cracks in the foundation or major water damage. Hardwood flooring that dips or swells may denote broader structural issues, so look out for more subtle movement as well.
7. Sun discoloration
Natural light is a pretty desirable feature for any home; your hardwood would disagree, though. Sun exposure or UV Rays can damage your hardwood flooring over time. Reapplying stain to discolored areas might only fix the problem temporarily.
Typically, you see sun damage when the colors look faded and washed out. As mentioned above, reapplying stain to discolored or damaged areas isn’t a long-term solution. The only way to truly fix the problem is to get your hardwood floors sanded and refinished. We at Supreme Hardwood Floors, Inc. always recommend a full refinish when the damage becomes too noticeable.
8. It’s just time for something new
Sometimes refinishing your floors isn’t only about repairing damage or keeping water away. In some cases, you are in the mood to change up your style. Of course, you don’t need a major reason to replace your floors. Occasionally, our homes just need a little change, and fortunately, hardwood comes in a variety of flooring options.
Look for different wood species, warmer or darker tones, and new textures or grades. Brand-new hardwood flooring can transform your home completely. It not only gives you a fresh style or looks you crave, but it also helps your home’s resale value if you can keep the original hardwood floors.
Contact Supreme Hardwood Floors, Inc. – The best place for Hardwood Floors Refinishing in Austin, TX
Think it’s time to refinish your hardwood floors? Give us a call for a chat with one of our flooring experts! With over 15 years of experience, we are proud to be one of the most trusted names in flooring in Austin, TX, and the surrounding areas. Our team at Supreme Hardwood Floors, Inc. can help with custom floor installation, restoration, or any other maintenance project.
