Renovation of oak engineered wooden floor

[gxr]

We have a wooden floor on the ground-floor of our house: plywood backing with a veneer of real wood (oak), tongue and groove edges. Probably 20 years old. Laid over concrete (in kitchen) and timber floor (dining room, hall etc).

2 problems.

1. Hall and kitchen are looking knackered!! I plan on sanding it down to bare wood and re-varnish. Presumably that's OK, assuming I don't sand off too much veneer????

2. The floor bows up in places and creaks and groans when walked on (especially in summer)...has a very distinctive "cracking" & "sticky" sound. I'm guessing it was glued down and the glue has failed over the years. There are no expansion gaps: the flooring butts against the skirting boards. Is it worth cutting some expansion gaps (e.g. using a Fein Multimaster) ???? Is it worth trying to fix down the bulging bits (!) in some way....could I even screw them down (and hide screws with wooden plugs)???

I know a new floor would be better!!!

PS If a floor is glued down, should it have expansion gaps? Does it expand if fixed to the substrate (e.g. concrete or floor boards)??

thanks

 

[WoodYouLike]

2 problems.

1. Hall and kitchen are looking knackered!! I plan on sanding it down to bare wood and re-varnish. Presumably that's OK, assuming I don't sand off too much veneer????

Check the thickness of the veneer first. With a good sanding you normally take off 1 - 1.5mm

2. The floor bows up in places and creaks and groans when walked on (especially in summer)...has a very distinctive "cracking" & "sticky" sound. I'm guessing it was glued down and the glue has failed over the years. There are no expansion gaps: the flooring butts against the skirting boards. Is it worth cutting some expansion gaps (e.g. using a Fein Multimaster) ???? Is it worth trying to fix down the bulging bits (!) in some way....could I even screw them down (and hide screws with wooden plugs)???

Never screw a wooden floor, that makes it impossible to move (and wood moves, expanding, shrinking during the seasons is normal). That the floor is creaking more in summer is normal (higher humidity then in Winter), might also be the reason why it's bucked up against the skirting. Were the skirtings installed later (resting on the floor) or earlier (reading your story I think the latter)? A feinmaster will take a lot of time, a special circular-saw might be better/easier.

PS If a floor is glued down, should it have expansion gaps? Does it expand if fixed to the substrate (e.g. concrete or floor boards)??

Yes and yes! Always leave expansion gaps around wooden flooring, wood works always.

 

[gxr]

Thanks for the reply WoodYouLike.

It looks like the skirting boards are in their original position and the wooden floor was laid (i.e. afterwards) with no expansion gap. I'm not sure if that was common practice at the time (guessing 20 years ago, before we were in the house!!!)...

The problem is getting worse over the years....perhaps as the glue fails letting the wood expand more, or more moisture getting in because the surface is worn???

 

[WoodYouLike]

The latter, I'm afraid.
And no, it's never been common practise to not have expansion gaps (of course, depending on the fitter, could have been someone with no experience?)