Hardwood Floor Indented Please Help

dkillianjr

Well heres the story, we usually never touch hardwood, but the guy is a real good regular customer. We finished the floor today and were sliding the fridge back into place on some cardboard and some soft carpet. I dont know how the hell it happened but the fridge left 2 imprints on the dam hardwood. they are about 10" long 1/16"- 1/8" wide and not very deep, they are not scratches just indents. Is there any way to fix them besides removing the damaged wood and replacing it ? The floor is a Bruce brand prefinished oak.

Thanks guys, Dave

Big Dave

This is probably the most common damage that is done to hardwood floors. You might be able to steam the dents out but that usually only works on unfinished wood. The way you do it is to take a wet rag and lay it over the affected area, then take a clothes iron and put on top of the rag over the affected area. What takes place is it forces steam into the pores of the wood and swells them back into shape. Other than that your only option is to replace the boards or place nice rug in front of refrigerator.

As a side note you should always use a peice of 1/4" masonite under the refridgerator, anything else will give you the above results.

Dave.

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cmwacasey

you might try to spray some wd40 on the dents.then lightly hammer over the dents with a smooth hammer head.wipe off the wd40 while polishing the surrounding area.wd40 works great for hardwood floor cleanup.I also hear it is good for arthritus if you dont mind the smell.

Tom R

Very interesting.

Not saying you're wrong, - - but never heard of such a thing.

What is the theory behind this??

What will WD-40 do to correct a dent in a finished floor??

J DoubleD FLoor

Airsled .... Airsled .... AIRSLED ... gives you all the mobility you need and none of the worries with moving anyheavy objects on the flooring. And yes I'm curious about the wd-40 thing too.

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Brushslingers

I heard that windex will cure a cold, why not wd-40 curing a floor?

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cmwacasey

wd40 can make scratchs in finished hardwoods seem to disapear.in the case of the dent the wd40 may act as a lubricant to gently hammer out the dent.it may not give a satisfactory result,but at this point what do you have to lose.

mdshunk

How in the world are you gonna hammer out a dent in a hardwood floor? It's not a fender.

cmwacasey

there will still be a dent in the floor,but the dent will be smased out and better blended with the floor surface and hopefully unoticable.it works better if done before the HO sees the original dent.I would try to explain to the homeowner that accidents will happen again and this is how you can repair them to make them less notiable.are sure it is not a fender.

Patty

Would you bet you paycheck on it, cmwacasey?

cmwacasey

NO patty i would not.you have to remember we are dealing with people.they can be unpredictable.there are some people that will not be satisfied until they get another new floor.others are more resonable.although i would happily bet your paycheck on it.

Brushslingers

Sooo... you are saying basically to bash the floor around the indent to make it bigger using a lube to not leave hammer marks and make it a shallow hole to be unnoticable.... right?

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Patty

Now, see.... ...I just don't understand why you would make a suggestion, yet not feel so confident in YOUR suggestion that you would bet YOUR own paycheck, yet you WOULD bet MINE!

And, for the record, replacing the entire floor would probably cost LESS than MY PAYCHECK! So, no, that would be a bad idea.

Besides, this was YOUR idea. You don't get to bet MY paycheck!

cmwacasey

Like i said people are to unpredictable.some people bash and some people try to inteligently and gently repair.who would you want on your jobsite?I have offered a helpful suggestion that may help.I will bet my paycheck that i can repair that floor if you want to send it down here to texas.

Brushslingers

Heh, ok your right, I shoulda said gently tapped using intelligence, a shallow hole in the hardwood... sorry.

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copusbuilder

Like he said, what have you got to loose?
My wife has us both putting preperation H under our eyes to remove wrinkles? She quizes me every night and I am trying it Does it work?? I didn't even know I had bags?
All I can say is when they are upside down the P.H. looks like tooth paste. It really doesn't taste like toothpaste though

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dkillianjr

Thanks guys for the tips. The homeowner wasn't homewhen we left yesterday so I had to call her last night and tell her. When she answered the phone all she kept sayin was the floor looked great she loved it. I said yup except for the 2 very small indents, she said O ya i did notice them. She wasn't even gonna say anything about them, but I can't leave the floor like that so I told her I would be back to fix it no problem. She was thrilled. Whats really great is she will be out of town when i come to fix it so it will be alot less stress.I'm gonna try those tips cause even if they dont work the wood has to come out anyway.

Thanks guys, Dave

Teetorbilt

Cut the eye off a sewing needle and use it as a punch to just break through the finish. Punch the holes twice as far apart as the divot is wide when with the grain, 1/2 that if going crossgrain and wipe with a water saturated cloth. It should come back and maybe even bubble. If it bubbles (stands proud) let it dry and then come back and seal the holes by rubbing in varnish.

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Big Dave

Well right there's your best bet. I don't know why I didn't think of it. Puncture the finish to allow the moisture in to swell the wood.

I guess these ideas come from being around forever.

Dave.

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J DoubleD FLoor

Woohooo the WISE AND OLD owl has spoken ... lol J/k Teetor ... Great tip there, I've heard that one too. I'm wondering tho? what if we used WD-40 instead of water, and a hammer instead of the clothe ... lol

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