patching hardwood floor and re-finishing???

[Em]

A friend hired a handyman to remove a half-height wall from a room with hardwood floors, leaving a gap in the flooring. Then the handyman said he didn't know how to fix the floor. Even if sections of new hardwood can be cut and fit into the gap, is it even possible to finish the new pieces without re-sanding the entire floor? Should I suggest re-installing a half-height wall as a MUCH simpler alternative? Have you ever refinished just one section of a floor without ruining the whole thing? Is this project as atrocious as I think? Please suggest something.

-Em

[dpb]

Em wrote: ...

Sure it's possible to patch and refinish a section of hardwood flooring. To patch the floor typically takes removing the bead from one and/or cutting the bottom side of the tongue in order to fit them into the opening.

Typically for something of that type I would start by matching the stain and finish on a couple sample boards first, then finish them first and install rather than trying to sand and finish the patched area in place. Of course, the latter is possible with care but other is typically easier...

[buffalobill]

[Doug]

I have fitted pieices into a hardwood floor, patching small areas. You don't have to refinish the entire floor. I've sanded the new boards with a hand finishing sander and then have applied polyethylene coats with a small paint brush.

Ideally, you would pull out some of the boards and replace them with longer sections crossing the former wall area. Thus you will not have the joints lining up and it will look less patched.

If one studies the area, you can see that it is patched, however, to me and to my tenants the results were acceptable.

Doug

[kellyj00]

The flooring has "tongues" that meet up with "grooves" so, if the section removed is lined up long ways then you'll have to remove a good section of one board for it to fit. If it's short ways then you'll have to cut a lot of like 4" pieces.

Home depot can order in almost any width flooring where I am, probably the same all over the place. I'm doing the same type of thing in a closet, but I'm sanding the whole floor so it's easier...you'll have to color match the stain if it's stained. This is where it comes in handy to have a few extra scraps of wood to test out the stain on to get it "close enough"

Good luck! I'm glad you didn't just put a piece of plywood down, cover it with carpet and then sell it to the next guy...hence my closet. I took the seller of my Christmas card list.